Themes
English Lit: AQA GCSE Poetry - Love & Relationships, topic 15.1.2
Technical Language in Climbing My Grandfather
The poet uses technical language to convey the image of a child climbing up their grandfather.
Extended metaphor
- The poem uses the language of rock climbing – ‘do it free’, ‘rope’, ‘net’, ‘traverse’, ‘glassy ridge’, ‘screed’, ‘summit’ and ‘altitude' to show the scale of the task of climbing his grandfather.
- Rock climbing acts as an extended metaphor throughout the poem to show how simple life was for the child.
Comical image
- The very technical language used in the poem is contrasted to the slightly comical image of a child climbing his grandfather.
- The poet uses complex, adult language to convey a sense of innocence and naivety.
Child's Perspective in Climbing My Grandfather
Although the poem is written when the narrator is an adult, the poet uses various techniques to show that the memory comes from his childhood.
Epic proportions
- He presents his grandfather in epic (very large) proportions – the way he would have seen him as a child.
- His grandfather’s scars become a ‘glassy ridge’; his head is a ‘summit’ and his mouth is a ‘river’.
- This reflects the fact that the poet is looking back on a memory that is limited to the perspective of a child.
Tenderness
- There is also sense of tenderness beneath the serious technical language of rock climbing.
- Underneath the mountain image of his grandfather is ‘his good heart’ and the simile ‘like warm ice'.
- This gives a sense of the deep love that the boy has for his grandfather.
Test yourself on Themes
What does the image of rock climbing act as throughout Climbing My Grandfather?
What technique is used to associate his grandfather's fingers with 'warm ice' in Climbing My Grandfather?