‘heart’ – centre of emotions and essential organ for life
“The human heart feels things the eyes cannot see, and knows what the mind cannot understand”
‘had never spoken’ – silenced/unemotional
The heart has not functioned it part – he underestimated his feelings but realised too late
Masculine character – strong figure linked to the ‘tall tower’
‘In eighty years of days
O for the tall tower broken’
‘eighty years of days’ – used instead of eight years of life
Each day was unique and a challenge for Baxter’s grandfather
Draws out the time – shows adds to the distance shown in the title
‘O for the tall tower broken’ – ‘tall tower’ metaphor for life.
Life is a process of different events that help us to grow, physically in height and emotionally to build our knowledge.
The floors of a building are the ages of life – the taller the tower, the more experience a person is in life and the older they are
‘broken’ – when things are falling apart – linked to the point of realisation
‘eighty years of days’ links to the use of the ‘tall tower’
‘tall tower’ – alliteration. Added to exaggerate the length of life
‘tower’ – usually seen as something strong and sturdy, and characteristics linked to males
With the addition of ‘broken’ it implies how life is unexpected and can fall apart
‘They stood by the graveside
From his bitter veins born
And mourned him in their fashion’
‘they stood by the graveside/…/And mourned him in their fashion’
The theme of death is present as the author is talking about the burial of his grandfather
The family members were finding it difficult to mourn for his death as they all ‘mourned him in their fashion’
The family members did not actually know how the grandfather wanted to be fare welled as ‘his heart had never spoken’, he hadn’t expressed what he wanted of felt.
‘From his bitter veins born’
‘bitter’ – resulting from grief, anguish and disappointment.
Links back to the ‘heart had never spoken’
The grandfather felt ‘bitter’ after ‘he knew in the hour he died/…/that his heart had never spoken
‘He could slice and build…
On his walking shoulder held
Under the lion sun’
‘He could slice and build’
A more active time in life – active verbs ‘slice’/‘build’ – Prime stage for him
Author is praising the grandfather for his skill and commitment – Adds a slight more positive tone for this section of the poem
Linked to summer – A stage in life where we are most active
Contrasts what's on the next slide
‘On his walking shoulder held’ – Metaphor
Carrying the load on his shoulders – carrying the pressures of life along with him
Being the man of the family – having to stay strong as the masculine figure and carry more of the load.
‘lion’ – a strong authoritative/dominant figure
Linked to the ‘tall tower’
‘summer’ – season – linked to the life cycle
‘When he was old and blind…
He sat in a curved chair’
‘old and blind’ – aging
Live is catching up to Baxter
Capability to be the strong figure fading
‘When’ – past tense – reflection of what used to happen before the grandfather passed away
‘sat in a curved chair’
Contrasts the active words mentioned in the previous slide
As the time is coming nearer to the cold ‘Winter’ of end, things are becoming progressively slower – the tone is transferred back to being dull
‘sat’ enhances the grandfathers incapability
Reflects the old age of inability in contrast to the prime age of activeness
‘The tongues of water spoke
And his heart was unafraid’
‘tongues of water spoke’ – personification
Another person of his conscience talking to him in his dreams
Reminding him that all this time the grandfather had been able to keep the emotions bolted in and now death shouldn’t be something to bring them out
Baxter’s father’s father was aware of the cycle of life – shown through the various seasons
This aided his heart to be ‘unafraid’
‘water’ also has its own cycle, like the life cycle
It is an essential element for life, like the ‘heart’
The ‘heart’ and ‘water’ are both natural aspects of life – Baxter uses these aspects to explain how natural death comes as a process of life
Despite the grandfather’s failure to express feelings, he was sensitive to his experiences of the natural world around him.