Eden Rock

• ‘They are waiting for me somewhere beyond Eden Rock:’


  Present tense of ’waiting’ makes it seem more real and vivid as it’s in the moment. ‘Somewhere’ is very vague hinting at imagined scene. Biblical allusion of ‘eden rock’ as also seen in title reflects that the place is perfect and peaceful.
• ‘My father, twenty-five, in the same suit/Of genuine irish tweed, his terrier Jack/Still two years old and trembling at his feet.’


  Sibilance of ‘same suit’ shows specific detail, perhaps narrator takes comfort in remembering his father this way. Dog ‘still’ being young gives a sense of reflection or imagined scene. Harsh ‘t’ sounds in last line emphasise precision of detail suggesting its importance.
• ‘My mother, twenty-three, in a sprigged dress/Drawn at the waist, ribbon in her straw hat,/Has spread the stiff white cloth over the grass./Her hair, the colour of wheat, takes on the light.’


  Introduction of both parents mirror each other ‘my mother/father’ reflecting closeness of relationship. Mother description more detailed as dad died when he was younger so knows less about him. ’ribbon’ can be associated with beautiful and sweet suggesting its a precious memory. Angelic image, the mother described in a heavenly pure way.
• ‘She pours tea from a Thermos, the milk straight/From an old H.P sauce bottle, a screw/Of paper for a cork; slowly sets out/The same three plates, the tin cups painted blue.’


  Detailed description of specific ordinary things like ‘thermos’ shows the importance of his parents and the affection he has for how his parents did things. Mothers actions are peaceful as she does them ‘slowly’.
• ‘The sky whitens as if lit by three suns.’


  Religious reference to trinity representing the family being in harmony. Like an heavenly light. Also hints at something other worldly contrasting the ordinary descriptions in first 3 stanzas.
• ‘My mother…looks my way/Over the drifted stream.’


  Even stream is peaceful suggesting it wont be difficult to cross.
• ‘Leisurely,/They beckon to me from the other bank.’


  Enjambment shows there’s no rush. They’re encouraging him to join them by crossing river.
• ‘I hear them call, ‘See where the stream-path is!’


  Possible metaphor for crossing into death as the stream is moving on his die but not on parents; everything is fixed suggesting their dead but he’s alive.
• ‘Crossing is not as hard as you might think’

  Parents comfort and encourage him which is a typical parental role. It’s eupherism as they are are saying it gentler then it is as crossing means dying.
• ‘I had not thought that it would be like this’

  Ambiguous ending as reader doesn’t know what ‘it’ refers to. Perhaps preparing him to die or talking about his parents in the afterlife. Monosyllabic language creates a tone of a child like simplicity giving a sense of overwhelming feelings from his parents death.
• what does gap between last stanza and last line show?

  It literally reflects stream. Or the separation between the child and the parents in afterlife. Or symbolise gap between life and death in general.
• Who wrote Eden Rock?

  Charles Causley
• Who is Causley?

  A quiet and modest man who lived in Cornwall and wrote about family. His poetry is known for simplicity and directness.
• Why did Causley write this poem (context)?

  He talks about when he enjoyed a picnic with his parents. His father a gardener died from ww1 wounds when he was 7. Mother fell ill later in life so he nursed her for 6 years until death.