Walking Away (AQA GCSE English Literature)
Revision Note
Each poetry anthology at GCSE contains 15 poems, and in your exam question you will be given one poem - printed in full - and asked to compare this printed poem to another. As this is a closed-book exam, you will not have access to the second poem, so you will have to know it from memory. Fifteen poems is a lot to revise. However, understanding four things will enable you to produce a top-grade response:
The meaning of the poem
The ideas and messages of the poet
How the poet conveys these ideas through their methods
How these ideas compare and contrast with the ideas of other poets in the anthology
Below is a guide to Cecil Day Lewis’ poem Walking Away, from the Love and Relationships anthology. It includes:
Overview: a breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations
Writer’s methods: an exploration of the poet’s techniques and methods
Context: an exploration of the context of the poem, relevant to its themes
What to compare it to: ideas about which poems to compare it to in the exam
Overview
In order to answer an essay question on any poem it is vital that you understand what it is about. This section includes:
The poem in a nutshell
A ‘translation’ of the poem, section-by-section
A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Cecil Day Lewis’ intention and message
Walking Away in a nutshell
Walking Away, written by the poet Cecil Day-Lewis, a former Poet Laureate, reflects on the separation and distance which occurs between parent and child as time passes. The autobiographical poem explores the painful process as a natural part of life and relationships.
Walking Away overview
Lines 1-2
“It is eighteen years ago, almost to the day —
A sunny day with leaves just turning,”
Translation
The poem begins with a measure of time passing, suggesting the triggering of a memory
Day Lewis’ intention
Day Lewis’ speaker marks the moment as significant as they remember a day eighteen years ago
The poet uses natural imagery to describe the day as autumnal, creating a nostalgic mood
Lines 3-4
“The touch-lines new-ruled — since I watched you play
Your first game of football, then, like a satellite”
Translation
The poem’s speaker describes the day, eighteen years ago, when they watched their child play football
Day Lewis’ intention
The poet breaks the speaker’s voice here to indicate the emotional memory of his child’s first game of football
Lines 5-7
“Wrenched from its orbit, go drifting away
Behind a scatter of boys. I can see
You walking away from me towards the school”
Translation
The poem’s speaker describes the painful moment the child leaves their side to go to school
The speaker compares the separation as their child walks away to a satellite pulled out of its orbit
Day Lewis’ intention
The poet vividly describes the way the child leaves them, disappearing into a group of children, to convey the loss the parent still feels as they remember
Day Lewis compares the dependant relationship of parent and child to a satellite in its orbit, describing how each life revolves around the other
However, the violent image of the satellite pulled out of orbit conveys the way the parent feels as their child is no longer dependent on them and their life no longer revolves around the parent
Lines 8-10
“With the pathos of a half-fledged thing set free
Into a wilderness, the gait of one
Who finds no path where the path should be.”
Translation
The speaker describes the child as unprepared, like a baby bird as it is “set free” from a nest
He describes the way the child walks; he is nervous as he does not know where to go
Day Lewis’ intention
The poet uses natural imagery again to present the natural process of separation in family relationships:
Here, he uses the image of a baby bird flying from its nest into the dangerous wilderness to represent the child leaving the safety of the home
The imagery conveys the parents own feelings of hesitation
Lines 11-12
“That hesitant figure, eddying away
Like a winged seed loosened from its parent stem
Translation
The speaker continues to describe the child’s anxiousness as they leave
The parent describes the child as if they are floating away
They compares the child to a seed falling into the ground
Day Lewis’ intention
Day Lewis presents the process of the child leaving and beginning their own life as natural
The poet uses comparisons with nature to consider how the emotions the child and parent feel as they separate are a natural part of life
The new life the child is about to experience is conveyed with the simile, comparing the child to a seed about to grow
Lines 13-15
“Has something I never quite grasp to convey
About nature’s give-and-take — the small, the scorching
Ordeals which fire one’s irresolute clay.”
Translation
The speaker begins to reflect on these ideas:
The speaker explains their confusion about the pain and love (the give-and-take) which is a necessary part of relationships and growing up
They acknowledge the power of nature, which creates pain (fire) to strengthen us and mold us(clay)
Day Lewis’ intention
Day Lewis presents the process of the child leaving and beginning their own life as confusing:
He considers how love and growing up is a painful, yet powerful and natural process
Lines 16-17
“I have had worse partings, but none that so
Gnaws at my mind still. Perhaps it is roughly”
Translation
The speaker explains that the painful emotions on the day their child went to school for the first time does not compare with any other moment of separation, suggesting the power of family love
The speaker vividly describes the impact of the memory
Day Lewis’ intention
The poet uses language which presents the relentless agony of parent and child separation:
The memory “gnaws” even eighteen years later
The poet ends the line with the word “roughly” to highlight the harsh emotions felt
Lines 18-20
“Saying what God alone could perfectly show —
How selfhood begins with a walking away,
And love is proved in the letting go.”
Translation
The speaker ends the monologue referring to religious ideas:
The speaker believes God and nature are at work in the process
He believes love is felt most strongly at moments of separation
Day Lewis’ intention
Day Lewis presents the process of the child leaving and beginning their own life as not only natural, but as part of God’s plan
He ends the poem with a conclusion, prefaced by a dash, that painful separations can build our character and prove our love
Writer’s Methods
Although this section is organised into three separate sections - form, structure and language - it is always best to move from what the poet is presenting (the techniques they use; the overall form of the poem; what comes at the beginning, middle and end of a poem) to how and why they have made the choices they have.
Focusing on the poet’s overarching ideas, rather than individual poetic techniques, will gain you far more marks. Crucially, in the below sections, all analysis is arranged by theme, and includes Cecil Day Lewis’ intentions behind his choices in terms of:
Form
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
Distance within family relationships | Walking Away presents the first-person perspective of a parent as they remember watching their child leave for school: “I can see you walking away” | Cecil Day Lewis uses the form of an intimate monologue to convey a parent’s feelings as they reflect on parental love as they reflect on the growing distance in family relationships |
The speaker directly addresses the child: “since I watched you play/Your first game of football” | Although the speaker addresses their child, the listener is silent, highlighting the distance between them | |
The poem follows a disciplined ABACA rhyme scheme to reflect the parent’s stable tone as they reflect | Day Lewis employs a regular rhyme scheme to present the parent as calm despite the painful memory, perhaps implying the stoic nature of the parent | |
Day Lewis’ poem about distance in family relationships takes the form of a parent’s personal reflection, which begins with a sentimental and reflective conversation to their child | ||
Structure
The poem is divided into four quintets which show the speaker’s flowing thoughts as they reflect on the relationship between parent and child. At first, the memory is triggered by a similar event occurring in the present day. However, the memory develops as the parent reflects on other moments of separation. Finally, the poem ends with a clear acceptance of the natural and positive elements of the process.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
Complex relationships | The poem’s first line introduces the idea of a triggered memory with a reference to time: “It is eighteen years ago, almost to the day –” | The poet immediately introduces the poem as a reflection of a past event, suggesting the impact of the moment both then (when the child first leaves for school) and now (when the child leaves as an adult) |
The speaker begins with past-tense verbs to indicate the moment the speaker begins his reflection: “since I watched you play/Your first game of football” | Day Lewis presents the way a memory can create a bond of shared experiences in family relationships | |
The second stanza depicts the speaker going back in time to their child’s first day of school, however the speaker uses present tense verbs to convey the immediacy of the vivid memory:
| The poem moves chronologically through the process of reflection as the parent’s memories trigger powerful emotions | |
The poem ends with a conclusion: “I had had worse partings”
| Cecil Day Lewis conveys the idea of a rite of passage in family relationships through the structure of the poem, which mirrors the parent’s painful memory progressing towards acceptance and a stronger understanding of love | |
Walking Away follows the speaker’s reflections across four stanzas to depict the progression of the speaker’s thoughts, beginning with a nostalgic memory and ending with a conclusion about the inevitability of separation in relationships | ||
Language
Cecil Day Lewis combines violent imagery with natural imagery in the poem to convey the doubt and pain of the parent as their child leaves the safety of home towards independence, as well as the speaker’s reflection on separation as a natural part of parenthood.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
Parental love | The poet uses natural imagery to present the vividness of the memory:
| The descriptions of seasons connotes to a natural change and development for the parent and his child, however it can also allude to endings, noticeable in “the leaves are just turning” |
The speaker compares the moment of separation to a satellite “wrenched” from its orbit:
| The poet uses the simile to present the process of separation as painful and unfamiliar, bringing distress and confusion | |
However, while the process is presented as painful, the child is described in natural imagery:
| Here, Day Lewis uses softer imagery to describe the child and show its vulnerabilities:
| |
Repetition of the word “away” emphasises the constant moments of separation as the child walks away, drifts away and eddies away:
| Day Lewis implies the continuous nature of painful moments in family relationships, yet the poem’s resolution suggests “walking away” and “letting go” build a stronger bond | |
Cecil Day Lewis presents a parent’s intense emotions with metaphorical language which convey the speaker’s pain as well as their acceptance | ||
Context
Examiners repeatedly state that context should not be considered as additional factual information: in this case, it is not random biographical information about Cecil Day Lewis which is unrelated to the ideas in Walking Away. The best way to understand context is as the ideas and perspectives explored by Day Lewis in Walking Away which relate to love and relationships. This section has therefore been divided into two relevant themes that Day Lewis explores:
Complex family relationships
Walking Away was written in 1962 and appears in Day-Lewis’ collection of poetry called The Gate
In the collection it is dedicated to Cecil Day-Lewis’ son, Sean, about his first day at school
The poem, written from a first-person perspective has a personal tone as the parent silently addresses their child during a painful memory
However, the poet has stated the poem is about all parents and their similar experiences, suggesting the timeless nature of complex family love
Walking Away, although written In the 1960s, was influenced by the Romantic tradition of poetry, which centres around complex emotions
Day Lewis was influenced by Romantic poetry in his early career, citing Wordsworth’s poetry as particularly inspiring
The simplicity of the natural imagery and the focus on complex personal emotions in Walking Away is an essential element of Romantic poetry
Distance and separation
Walking Away’s themes are concerned with the relationship between parent and child, and in particular, their separation
Cecil Day Lewis may have been influenced by his own childhood, losing his mother at a young age and becoming distant with his father
The poem deals with the natural, yet painful process of separation
While the themes of Walking Away are complex, the poem is written in a simple and melodic form, typical of lyrical poetry
The regular rhyme scheme of Walking Away suggests the influence of lyrical poetry
Day Lewis belonged to an auspicious literary group where he met celebrated poets who wrote in this tradition, such as the poet WH Auden
The simplicity of the images, despite the painful and complex emotions, is conventional within lyrical poetry, in order to present the purest expression of feelings
What to Compare it to
The essay you are required to write in your exam is a comparison of the ideas and themes explored in two of your anthology poems. It is therefore essential that you revise the poems together, in pairs, to understand how each poet presents ideas about love or relationships, in comparison to other poets in the anthology. Given that Walking Away explores the ideas of complex relationships and separation in love, the following comparisons are the most appropriate:
For each pair of poems, you will find:
The comparison in a nutshell
Similarities between the ideas presented in each poem
Differences between the ideas presented in each poem
Evidence and analysis of these similarities and differences
Walking Away and Letters From Yorkshire
Comparison in a nutshell:
Both Cecil Day Lewis’ Walking Away and Maura Dooley’s Letters From Yorkshire use natural settings for their personal poems about distance within families to reflect on separation as a natural part of relationships. However, while Cecil Day Lewis concludes his poem with an acceptance of separation, Maura Dooley resolves the problem and finds a way to maintain the connection.
Similarities:
Topic sentence | Both poems comment on desire and physical love in romantic relationships | |
Evidence and analysis | Walking Away | Letters from Yorkshire |
Day Lewis uses natural imagery to represent the changes in nature and relationships:
| Dooley also uses natural imagery to compare the distance in the relationship to changing weather : “You out there, in the cold, seeing the seasons/turning” | |
The speaker uses gentle comparisons to show his nervousness about the child’s new independence:
| Dooley’s speaker too, describes the father with soft and natural imagery to indicate her constant thoughts of him:
| |
Both poems present separation and changes in family relationships as natural as the seasons, while also acknowledging the painful endings involved | ||
Similarities:
Topic sentence | Both poems convey intimate family relationships, despite distance or separation | |
Evidence and analysis | Walking Away | Letters from Yorkshire |
Day Lewis presents the first-person perspective of the parent as they address their child, who due to the separation, cannot answer:
| Dooley, too, conveys, via a first-person perspective, the intimate feelings as a child addresses their distant father: “Still, it's you/who sends me word of that other world” | |
Day Lewis uses the form of a memory to convey the intimacy of the parental bond:
| Similarly, Dooley presents a reflection of an adult child as they imagine their father’s actions: “he saw the first lapwings return and came indoors to write to me” | |
Day Lewis and Dooley both convey the sentimental nature of family relationships separated by distance with detailed descriptions which allude to their strong, unbreakable bond | ||
Differences:
Topic sentence | While Day Lewis concludes that separation is a natural part of life which must be accepted, Dooley resolves the problems of distance with communication | |
Evidence and analysis | Walking Away | Letters from Yorkshire |
Day Lewis ends the poem concluding that separation not only proves love, but builds character:
| However, Dooley uses sensory language to present the emotional connection in the family relationship despite physical distance: “watching the same news in different houses, our souls tap out messages across the icy miles” | |
The poet uses metaphorical language to present the process of parenthood as fierce and painful: “the small, scorching/Ordeals which fire one’s irresolute clay” | In contrast, Dooley’s poem presents the way emotional closeness brings relief within family relationships separated by distance with gentle metaphorical language relating to communication: “pouring air and light into an envelope” | |
While Day Lewis shows no resolution for the relentless painful memories, Dooley finds comfort in the separation by finding connections which bridge the distance | ||
Walking Away and Mother, Any Distance
Comparison in a nutshell:
This is an effective comparative choice to explore family relationships, specifically about distances between parent and child surrounding the theme of growing up. Although Walking Away is written from the perspective of a father, Mother, Any Distance is written from the perspective of a child.
Similarities:
Topic sentence | Both poems explore the idea of growing up, which creates distance within family relationships | |
Evidence and analysis | Walking Away | Mother, Any Distance |
Day Lewis uses first-person to convey the personal thoughts and feelings of a father as he reflects on moments of separation as their child grows up, bringing a sentimental tone to the poem: “Your first game of football”
| Similarly, Armitage uses first-person to present the intimate feelings of a child who is leaving home and feeling a sense of strangeness: “I space-walk through the empty bedrooms,” | |
Day Lewis employs metaphorical language to allude to the child’s vulnerabilities when letting go: “a half-fledged thing set free Into a wilderness”
| Armitage, too, symbolically represents the fragility of the child as they become independent using the metaphor of an anchor to represent the stability and safety of home against a kite which, fragile and small, flies at the whim of nature | |
The speaker in Walking Away refers to the natural process of change in relationships by referring to flight: “That hesitant figure, eddying away/Like a winged seed loosened from its parent stem” | Armitage alludes to natural processes too:
| |
The poets comment on the idea of nervous children reaching independence and the pain caused when the parental bond is broken | ||
Differences:
Topic sentence | While the speaker in Walking Away finds comfort in the idea that separation is a natural part of family relationships and love, the speaker in Mother, Any Distance does not find clear resolution | |
Evidence and analysis | Walking Away | Mother, Any Distance |
Day Lewis presents ideas about family relationships from the perspective of a father as he remembers moments with his son:
| However, Armitage’s poem is written from the perspective of a child addressing their mother in present tense: “You come to help me measure windows, pelmets, doors” | |
The poem ends with the speaker’s acceptance of separation: “How selfhood begins with a walking away, / And love is proved in the letting go”
| Whereas, Armitage’s poem ends with less of a clear resolution:
| |
While Day Lewis considers a parent’s ultimate acceptance of their child’s independence, Armitage considers a parent and child both unsure about the process | ||
Walking Away and Winter Swans Comparison in a nutshell:
Both Cecil Day Lewis’ Walking Away and Owen Sheers’ Winter Swans explore separation and distance in relationships. While Day Lewis depicts the continued distance as a harsh rule of nature, Sheers depicts a renewed physical closeness found through observation of nature.
Similarities:
Topic sentence | Both poems highlight the challenging emotions of distance and separation in relationships | |
Evidence and analysis | Walking Away | Winter Swans |
Day Lewis uses a simile to compare the painful emotions of separation: “like a satellite Wrenched from its orbit” | Correspondingly, Sheers uses natural imagery to convey the heavy emotions caused by the conflict: “the waterlogged earth/gulping for breath at our feet” | |
Day Lewis uses present-tense verbs which illustrate the pain as the parent and child separate: “grasp” and “gnaws” | Similarly, Sheers uses alliteration to draw attention to the verb which connotes the awkward emotional distance between the couple: “we skirted the lake, silent and apart” | |
The poet describes the silent distance between the parent and child: “I can see/You walking away from me” | Here, too, the poet illustrates the lack of communication between the pair: “I didn’t reply” | |
The poets both comment on the challenging emotions of separation by describing recollections of painful moments in their relationship in vivid detail | ||
Differences:
Topic sentence | Cecil Day Lewis describes the process of separation as natural while Owen Sheers presents the way nature brings harmony and closeness to the distant couple | |
Evidence and analysis | Walking Away | Winter Swans |
Day Lewis’ speaker uses present continuous verbs to illustrate nature as constantly separating relationships: “drifting away”, “walking away” and “eddying away” | Whereas, Sheers’ speaker suggests the act of watching the swans brings the couple together: “silent and apart,/until the swans came and stopped us” | |
Day Lewis depicts nature as harsh with imagery alluding to challenge and pain: “About nature’s give-and-take — the small, the scorching/Ordeals” | Sheers, however, describes nature as peaceful and gentle, using imagery which shows the swans working in harmony:
| |
Walking Away uses the image of wings in a simile which compares the natural separation within relationships to that of nature: “Like a winged seed loosened from its parent stem | However, Winter Swans uses the imagery of swans wings to present renewed love: “like a pair of wings settling after flight” | |
Cecil Day Lewis chooses to end his poem, Walking Away, depicting a relentless, yet natural separation in family relationships, while Owen Sheers ends his poem, Winter Swans, with a natural resolution as the speaker and their loved one find physical intimacy | ||
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