About the text
Walking Away by Cecil Day-Lewis is a poetry anthology text on the UK English Literature specifications. Use the section below to find your specific exam board and level, then work through the revision focus and exam-technique guidance further down the page.
Full study guides for Walking Away
We have a comprehensive study guide for Walking Away, written for the specification listed below. Each guide covers themes, characters, key quotations, exam technique and worked examples.
AQA GCSE
Walking Away
Walking Away by Cecil Day-Lewis is a deeply moving exploration of parental love and the painful necessity of letting a child grow up. It offers excellent opportunities for exploring extended metaphor and tracking emotional shifts, making it a highly rewarding text for the AQA Love and Relationships anthology.
Which exam boards and levels study Walking Away?
What examiners are looking for
For poetry - love and relationships questions, examiners reward analytical depth over plot summary. Focus your revision on:
- Themes shared across poems in the cluster
- Form and structure (sonnet, free verse, stanza shape, line length, enjambment)
- Language: imagery, sound (alliteration, assonance, sibilance), tone, voice
- Context for each poet (period, biography, social or political backdrop)
- Comparison: similarities and differences in how each poem treats the theme
Essay technique
For an anthology, examiners want sustained comparison — find a theme, pick two poems, and weave evidence from both throughout each paragraph. Don't analyse each poem separately.
How to revise Walking Away effectively
The most efficient approach is to alternate between two activities. First, build deep familiarity with themes and characters through active recall — close the book, write down everything you remember about a theme, then check what you missed. Second, practise essay structure by drafting paragraph plans for past-paper questions. Five focused plans will teach you more than one polished essay.
MasteryMind's adaptive quizzes cover Walking Away content alongside spaced-repetition scheduling, and the AI marker grades your written paragraphs against the official mark scheme — telling you exactly which assessment objectives you hit and missed.
Frequently asked questions
Is Walking Away on my exam?
Walking Away is studied on: AQA (GCSE). Check your exam board's specification document for the current academic year — set texts can change between series.
How many quotations should I memorise?
Aim for 8–12 short, flexible quotations per character or major theme — enough to support a range of essay questions without overwhelming your recall. Short quotes (3–6 words) embedded mid-sentence earn more credit than long block quotes.
Can MasteryMind mark my Walking Away essays?
Yes. Submit a typed or handwritten essay on any Walking Away question and our AI marker will grade it against the official mark scheme for your exam board, showing which assessment objectives (AO1, AO2, AO3) you covered and where to improve. Learn more about AI marking →
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