Question 1

Walking Away Context

Accepted Answer

Cecil Day-Lewis was born in 1904 and died in 1972. He was born in Ireland, but moved to England with his family when he was a young child. He was educated at Oxford and was appointed Professor of Poetry there in 1951. This was followed by his recognition as Poet Laureate in 1968 until his death in 1972. His second marriage was to an actress, Jill Balcon, and he had four children, including the Academy Award-winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Many of his poems are about his personal experiences and nature.

Question 2

Walking Away Structure

Accepted Answer

The poem is made up of four stanzas that are consistent in length. The poem moves chronologically through the difficulties that the poet faces in accepting the changes in their relationship. In the first stanza, he explores his feelings and the realisation of the changes when he first became aware of them. The second stanza recalls the experience of watching his child walk to school by himself and how this became a major change in his life as a parent. The third stanza becomes more accepting and explores the idea of his child in their determination to be more independent and to liberate themselves from their parent. The poem ends in the final stanza with the acceptance of Lewis that the change in their relationship is a natural, although difficult, part of life that must be faced as a parent.

Question 3

Walking Away Analysis

Accepted Answer

The poem demonstrates that the difficulty of accepting changes in the relationship between parent and child is not one that improves with the passing of time. The poet recalls how ‘it is eighteen years ago, almost to the day’ showing that his son must be well in to adulthood but that the memory is still vivid in his mind. The poet remembers how it was ‘a sunny day with the leaves just turning’, using the image of nature and the season of autumn to show that this is a time of change and development for the poet and his child.

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