Eden rock

• Eden rock quote 1

  somewhere beyond Eden Rock:
• Eden Rock quote 2

  the sky whitens as if lit by 3 suns
• Eden rock quote 3

  I had not thought it would be like this
• "somewhere beyond Eden Rock"

  • somewhere- preposition, vauge, hints that it is not real
  • Eden Rock- perfect, biblical reference, peacefull
• "the sky whitens as though lit by 3 suns"

  • whitens- pure, heavanly
  • three- holy trinity (holy spirit, god ,jesus), close to heavan, links to his family ?
• "I had not thought it would be like this"

  • mono-sylabic, simple tone
  • ambiguous meaning :
  • life
  • death- reflecting on his own death
• context: Charles Causley

  • lived in cornwall
  • father died when he was 7
  • nursed his mother in her final years
  • was 61 when eden rock was published
  • autobiographical poem
• Eden :

  • serene
  • whimsical
  • etherial
  • biblical
  • peacefull
  • angelic
• Structure

  • half rhymes - natural rhythm
  • final line shows speration from parents
  • each stanza has 4 lines (apart from final)
• more context

  • we can assume the poem is at least semi-autobiographical as the poem was written after both his parents death
  • he was a Christian and we can see an abundance of religious imagery in this poem
• summary of poem

  recounts a picnic held by the speakers deceased parents, the poem is partially metaphorical as he describes his (dead) parents in vivid detail, leading us as readers to be unsure if the speaker is retrospectively recounting a memory or having a hallucination as the speaker is, himself close to his own death. the poem has an immensely eerie feel.