AQA Love and Relationships

Climbing My Grandfather Quotes3 key quotes with full analysis.

A child imagines climbing his grandfather like a mountain, using the extended metaphor to explore admiration and intimacy.

by Andrew Waterhouse

Context

Published in 2000 by Waterhouse. An affectionate poem about a grandchild's closeness to and awe of a grandparent.

All Climbing My Grandfather Quotes

“I decide to do it free, without a rope or net”
Familial LoveMemory

Context: The opening introduces the extended metaphor of climbing the grandfather like a mountain.

Analysis

The climbing metaphor ("free, without a rope or net") suggests complete trust and intimacy between grandchild and grandfather. It also conveys the child's view of the grandfather as vast and impressive, like a mountain. Waterhouse establishes admiration and closeness from the first line.

Language Techniques:

Extended metaphorClimbing semantic fieldFirst person

Exam Tip

Use for intimacy and trust in family love. The whole poem is one extended metaphor — track the climbing imagery.

“to his thick hair (soft and white at this altitude), reaching for the summit”
Familial LoveMemory

Context: The climb reaches the grandfather's head.

Analysis

The grandfather's head as a "summit" at "altitude" conveys the child's sense of his grandfather's greatness and the achievement of reaching closeness. "Soft and white" hair gently signals the grandfather's age and tenderness. Waterhouse captures awe and affection.

Language Techniques:

Extended metaphorMountain imageryParenthesis

Exam Tip

Use for a child's awe of an elder. The "summit" shows the grandfather is admired as something vast and impressive.

“gazing out at the view, I feel his heat, knowing the slow pulse of his good heart”
Familial Love

Context: Having reached the top, the speaker rests and feels close to his grandfather.

Analysis

Reaching the "summit", the speaker feels the grandfather's warmth and "good heart", the climb rewarded with emotional closeness and security. The "slow pulse" conveys both calm and the grandfather's age. Waterhouse ends on deep love and the comfort of family bonds.

Language Techniques:

Extended metaphorTactile imagerySymbolism of the heart

Exam Tip

Closing quote on the reward of family intimacy. The "good heart" makes the grandfather's character, not just size, the point.

Compare Climbing My Grandfather With…

In the exam you compare two poems on a shared theme. These poems share themes with Climbing My Grandfather:

When We Two PartedLord ByronNeutral TonesThomas HardyWalking AwayCecil Day-LewisEden RockCharles Causley

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