Climbing My Grandfather Essay Questions

How does Waterhouse write about nature in this poem?

The speaker describes his grandfather as a mountain that he climbs. Rather than being an inanimate landscape hewn into the shape of the grandfather, the terrain of the grandfather is still an active, breathing, and moving being that just happens to be a giant-sized version of a person. This imbues a sense of life into mountains, which people tend to think of as inanimate natural structures. The metaphorical figuring of the grandfather as a mountain also intertwines a sense of familial love into the idea of a mountain, which personalizes what might otherwise be an impersonal relationship between people and nature.

The comparison between the grandfather and a mountain appears specifically at several points in the poem. For example, the skin of the grandfather's finger is compared to the smooth thickness of warm ice. While warm ice does not exist in nature, it makes sense in the context of the poem since the grandfather himself is the mountain. The oxymoron of warm ice also assists with characterizing the grandfather as a warm and loving person. Another example is when the grandfather's mouth (his teeth and saliva) are compared to a body of water where the speaker drinks and refreshes himself. The words "teeth," "screed," and "cheek" appear within close succession to the description of the speaker refreshing himself, and they invoke the word "creek" (a stream or brook). In another example, the grandfather's thick hair is described as "soft and white / at this altitude." This again evokes snow without focusing on temperature.

In all, the poem conveys a sense of awe and discovery as the speaker encounters a previously unscaled force of nature. Nature is not something that the speaker admires from a distance—he physically and emotionally interacts with nature in the poem.

How does the form of the poem reflect the content?

The poem consists of a single long stanza that visually reflects a mountain, as well as the effort of climbing that mountain. Though the speaker rests at the grandfather's shoulder and mouth, he has to continue on climbing and traveling upward in order to reach the summit. Most of the lines are enjambed, and the whole poem is written in free verse. This represents the irregular movements and rhythm of free climbing.

How does the poet use metaphors and imagery to characterize the grandfather? In what ways does the poet hold back on explicit information about the grandfather's character?

The entire poem relies on an extended metaphor outlined in the title: "Climbing My Grandfather." From the first line onwards, the grandfather is compared to a mountain or natural formation that the speaker climbs. Rather than state any explicit information about what kind of person the grandfather is, Waterhouse uses imagery to portray the character of the grandfather. For example, the grandfather's old, dusty, and cracked brogues imply that he is a hard-working person who spends a lot of time outside and who does not throw things away at the first sign of disrepair. From this, the reader may glean that the grandfather cares deeply about the natural world. His "earth-stained hand" also supports this. Another example is the way that Waterhouse repeatedly compares parts of the grandfather's body to snow or ice, but specifies that in the comparison, the ice is not cold. The skin of the grandfather's finger is likened to "warm ice," and his hair is described as "soft and white / at this altitude." This helps portray the grandfather as a warm person even while comparing parts of him to snow or ice. The grandfather is also shown to be smiling and is receptive to the speaker climbing him, which shows the bond between them. It is not until the end that the speaker explicitly points out that his grandfather has a "good heart."