Understanding the poem ‘Walking Away’ by Cecil Day-Lewis
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how Cecil Day-Lewis conveys the significance of a past parting between the speaker and their child.
Key learning points
- The speaker, a father, reminisces on the moment their child left to go to school after his first football match.
- The speaker feels apprehensive about this parting, worrying the son is not ready.
- The moment of separation was not the worst the speaker has experienced, but was the most impactful.
- The speaker acknowledges and accepts that letting a child experience independence is a crucial part of parenting.
- The poem is semi-autobiographical and Day-Lewis originally dedicated it to his eldest son, Sean.
Keywords
Reminisces - recalls past events or experiences, often with nostalgia or sentimentality
Insecurities - feelings of doubt, uncertainty, or inadequacy about oneself or one's abilities
Pathetic fallacy - using descriptions of natural elements to emphasise a particular mood or emotion
Independent clause - contains a subject and verb, expressing a complete thought that can stand alone as a sentence
Dependent clause - contains a subject and verb but cannot stand alone as a sentence
Common misconception
Some pupils may think the parent and child never spoke or saw each other again after this moment in the poem.
The separation described in the poem isn't just physical but rather emotional. Day-Lewis describes a moment where the speaker feels like they lost a part of their son because he had grown up and gained his independence.
Teacher tip
Track the structure of the poem by encouraging students to pick out the most important key words from each stanza and map these out across the poem.
Equipment
You will need access to the poem 'Walking Away' by Cecil Day-Lewis. This can be found in the AQA Love and Relationships Poetry Anthology.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is being described here: 'the place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event takes place.'?
Q2.A dependent clause is...
Q3.What is being described here: 'the projection of human emotions onto non-human objects found in nature'?
Q4.If you feel 'insecure' this means...
Q5.A group of words that are related in meaning are known as a...
Q6.A is a direct comparison between two things using the verb 'to be'.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.'Walking Away' is thought to be semi-autobiographical. Who did Cecil Day-Lewis write the poem for?
Q2.Starting with the first, put these key ideas from 'Walking Away' into the order they appear in the poem.
Q3.How is the day in the memory described at the start of the poem 'Walking Away'?
Q4.Which word from 'Walking Away' best suggests the speaker doesn't think his son is quite ready to be fully independent?
Q5.What does it mean to 'reminisce'?
Q6.Which themes are explored in the poem 'Walking Away'?
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Understanding the poem ‘Walking Away’ by Cecil Day-Lewis, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Understanding the poem ‘Walking Away’ by Cecil Day-Lewis, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 English lessons from the 'Love and Relationships' unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.