The Hill Fort (Y Gaer)

• "On a clear day"


  Contrasts Y Gaer, the son is still alive and pathetic fallacy reflects the happiness.
• Enjambment of stanzas 1 and 2 is emblematic of the boy running free.
• "One hand at the small of his back/the other tracing the horizon"

  Tender image of connection. The father's arms draw together the boy and the horizon - connection between man and nature.
• "The fathers and sons before them"


  Enforces the importance of father and son relationships in Welsh culture, makes the ending tragic.
• "but never said"


  Lack of communication/unspoken communication.
• "We're no more than scattered grains"


  Connotations of ashes, contrasting semantics of life and death - endless cycle reflects generations before them.
• "to tip these ashes onto the tongue of the wind"

  Personification of the wind (like in Y Gaer) sense of peace and reflection. Volta in the poem - discover the son is dead.
• "to heal or mend" "protect as much as they defend"


  Multifaceted ability, power of nature.