9.1.1
Summary, Structure & Form
Summary of Eden Rock
Summary of Eden Rock
Charles Causley reflects on an imagined moment from his childhood when both of his parents were present.
Background
Background
- Causley's father died when he was 7 years old, which is important to consider in the context of this poem.
- Causley presents an idyllic setting in which both of his parents are present, but the poem feels more like an imagined moment or an amalgamation (combination) of childhood memories.
Summary
Summary
- The poem begins with the image of the present Causley looking back into the past, to when both his parents were still alive.
- Initially, it seems as if he is merely recollecting a moment in his childhood.
- He gives each parent a stanza of description – they are perfectly captured as they were in his memories.
- But the reader eventually realises that Causley is on the other side of the river, while his parents have a picnic by the imaginary Eden Rock.
- His parents are calling for him to cross – there are implications here that Causley’s parents are beckoning him into the idyllic afterlife.
Context
Context
- Causley doesn’t seem to be directly examining his relationships with his parents. Instead, the poem seems to explore what his memories of his parents represent.
- This is a narrator nearing the end of his life, looking back on his childhood - not as a way of evaluating his parents, but imagining what paradise would be like.
- The fairly simple memory of a picnic with his parents represents a moment in which he was blissfully happy – this moment of love and comfort is what he imagines the afterlife is like.
Structure and Form in Eden Rock
Structure and Form in Eden Rock
Here's an analysis of the structure and form of Charles Causley's Eden Rock:
Regularity
Regularity
- The poem has a gentle, steady feel.
- The poet creates this by the use of five stanza that are four lines long.
- There is no regular rhyme scheme, but rather half rhymes throughout.
Ending
Ending
- The regularity of the poem is broken in the final line – ‘I had not thought that it would be like this’.
- This line stands out and creates a sense of unease within the poem.
- The reader becomes aware that the narrator is older, looking back on a scene, potentially considering his death and the afterlife.
- The reader is left with an uneasy inconclusive sense that the narrator will inevitably cross towards this idyllic afterlife.
1When We Two Parted - Lord Byron (1788-1824)
2Love’s Philosophy - Percy Bysshe Shelley
3Porphyria’s Lover - Robert Browning (1812-1889)
4Sonnet 29 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)
4.1Sonnet 29 – ‘I think of thee!’ Analysis
5Neutral Tones - Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)
6Letters from Yorkshire - Maura Dooley (Born 1957)
6.1Letters from Yorkshire Analysis
7The Farmer’s Bride - Charlotte Mew (1869-1928)
8Walking Away - Cecil Day Lewis (1904-1972)
8.1Walking Away Analysis
9Eden Rock - Charles Causley (1917-2003)
10Follower - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)
10.1Follower Analysis
11‘Mother, Any Distance’ - Simon Armitage (Born1963
11.1'Mother, Any Distance' Analysis
12Before You Were Mine - Carol Ann Duffy (Born 1955)
12.1Before You Were Mine Analysis
13Winter Swans - Owen Sheers (Born 1974)
14Singh Song! - Daljit Nagra (Born 1966)
14.1Singh Song! Analysis
15Climbing My Grandfather - Andrew Waterhouse
15.1Climbing My Grandfather Analysis
16Grade 9 - Comparisons
16.1Grade 9 - Comparisons
Jump to other topics
1When We Two Parted - Lord Byron (1788-1824)
2Love’s Philosophy - Percy Bysshe Shelley
3Porphyria’s Lover - Robert Browning (1812-1889)
4Sonnet 29 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)
4.1Sonnet 29 – ‘I think of thee!’ Analysis
5Neutral Tones - Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)
6Letters from Yorkshire - Maura Dooley (Born 1957)
6.1Letters from Yorkshire Analysis
7The Farmer’s Bride - Charlotte Mew (1869-1928)
8Walking Away - Cecil Day Lewis (1904-1972)
8.1Walking Away Analysis
9Eden Rock - Charles Causley (1917-2003)
10Follower - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)
10.1Follower Analysis
11‘Mother, Any Distance’ - Simon Armitage (Born1963
11.1'Mother, Any Distance' Analysis
12Before You Were Mine - Carol Ann Duffy (Born 1955)
12.1Before You Were Mine Analysis
13Winter Swans - Owen Sheers (Born 1974)
14Singh Song! - Daljit Nagra (Born 1966)
14.1Singh Song! Analysis
15Climbing My Grandfather - Andrew Waterhouse
15.1Climbing My Grandfather Analysis
16Grade 9 - Comparisons
16.1Grade 9 - Comparisons
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