Eden Rock by Charles Causley Flashcards
Impact of the title of the poem
“Eden” has biblical references and suggests perfection and godlike. This makes 5e actions of the Poem seem pure and perfect. Linking to the idea the poem is about the after life
Compare Eden rock to…
Follower (parent child relationship)
Before you were mine ( childhood memories)
Letters from Yorkshire (distance)
Structure of the poem
5 stanzas of 4 regular lines
Roughly 10 syllables per line
First 3 stanzas show the affection he has of his parents
Stanza 4,5 and last line turns the attention onto him and his parents beckoning him
Half rhyme creates a gentle and natural tone
REFLECTS THE STEADY PARENTAL RELATIONSHIP
OR THE NORMALITY OF THE ACTIONS UNTIL THE ENDING
First line of the poem
The use of present tense makes the scene he’s describing feel more vivid “are waiting for me”
“Somewhere behind Eden Rock” - vague description hints that this is an imagined scene/ suggests physical distance or something other worldly
Biblical reference to the garden of Eden suggests that the place with his parents is perfection
“White”
“Takes on the Light”
Pure, heavenly colour
Links to the idea thy she is in the past Life/heaven
The light in his mother’s hair is an angelic image
Contrast between first and second stanza
Flat conversation on first stanza whereas stanza 2 is descriptive and poetic and angelic
What’s the change in stanza 4
Changes to a magical atmosphere
“The sky whitens as if lit by three suns”
Heavenly language
Simile
Positive imagery , sun suggests new life linking to the idea that his parents are in the after life and he needs to join them
“Crossing is not as hard as you think”
Metaphor for the afterlife
Direct to the reader
Parental support
Effect of language about memory
Uses childhood memories to create a vivid scene
The beautiful and peaceful description of his parents reflect how special a memory his childhood is
Why does the poet call the place Eden rock?
Links to the idea of the garden if Eden meaning it is a place of perfection, where he is taken back to the people who created him like Adam and Eve created the human race.
It exaggerates the perfectness if something that people are scared of (afterlife)
Why is the last line separate to the other stanzas?
“I had not thought that it would be like this”
Monosyllabic language shows it is childish
The separation if the last line could reflect the separation he feels from his parents
Ambiguos ending
Feeling and attitudes in the poem
DEEP AND LASTING BOND
NOSTALGIA
PEACEFULNESS
Summary of poem
The speaker recalls a family memory. He sees his parents in their youth with their dog,
having a summer picnic.
- speaker’s mother looks towards his across a stream
and his father spins a stone across the water.
-The speaker’s parents call to him to follow the path of the stream, so that he can cross
over to where they are.
-The speaker does not imagine the experience to be as he thought it would
“They are waiting for me somewhere beyond Eden rock”
Vaguea description- imaginary scene
Present else makes it seem more vivid
Links to garden of Eden
