"Elegy for my Father's Father" was written by New Zealand poet James K. Baxter (1926-1972). As its title suggests, the poem is an elegy—a lyric poem lamenting the death of someone close to the speaker, in this case the speaker's grandfather. Whereas readers might typically expect a poem with this title to focus on regret, Baxter subverts this idea by presenting the grandfather as an emotionally distant character—as someone who did not have a close relationship with his family and thus will not be especially mourned.

• Read the full text of “Elegy For My Father's Father”

• “Elegy For My Father's Father” Summary

• “Elegy For My Father's Father” Themes

  • 

    Family, Death, and Legacy

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-6
    • Lines 9-11
    • Lines 18-20
    • Lines 27-30
    • Lines 31-38
  • 

    Masculinity and Pride

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-4
    • Lines 12-17
    • Lines 18-20
    • Lines 27-30
  • 

    The Comfort of Memory

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 12-26
    • Lines 31-38
  • 

    Humanity and Nature

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 4-8
    • Lines 12-17
    • Lines 18-20
    • Lines 21-23
    • Lines 24-26
    • Lines 33-38

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Elegy For My Father's Father”

  • Lines 1-3

    He knew in ...
    ... years of days.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 4-8

    O for the ...
    ... aaronsrod and blossom.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 9-11

    They stood by ...
    ... in their fashion.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 12-17

    A chain of ...
    ... the lion sun.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 18-20

    When he was ...
    ... the kitchen fire.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 21-26

    Many hours he ...
    ... in their hand.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 27-30

    The pride of ...
    ... or bridal bed.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 31-34

    And the naked ...
    ... a child’s sake:

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 35-38

    To the waves ...
    ... heart was unafraid.

    

    

    

    

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• “Elegy For My Father's Father” Symbols

  • 

    Fire

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 7-8: “The pipes could set ablaze / An aaronsrod and blossom.”
    • Line 17: “Under the lion sun.”
    • Line 20: “All day by the kitchen fire.”
    • Lines 22-23: “The stars in their drunken dancing / Through the burning-glass of his mind”
  • 

    The Heart

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “his heart had never spoken”
    • Line 10: “From his bitter veins born”
    • Line 27: “The pride of his heart was dumb.”
    • Line 29: “his heart had never spoken”
    • Line 38: “And his heart was unafraid.”

• “Elegy For My Father's Father” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “his heart had never spoken”
    • Line 4: “O for the tall tower broken”
    • Lines 6-8: “And the unchanging cairn / The pipes could set ablaze / An aaronsrod and blossom.”
    • Line 10: “From his bitter veins born”
    • Line 17: “Under the lion sun”
    • Line 22: “The stars in their drunken dancing”
    • Line 23: “the burning-glass of his mind”
    • Lines 24-26: “the green / Boughs of heaven folding / The winter world in their hand.”
    • Line 29: “his heart had never spoken”
    • Line 31: “the naked thought fell back”
    • Lines 35-37: “the waves all night awake / With the dark mouths of the dead. / The tongues of water spoke”

  • Personification

    

    

    

    

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    Where personification appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “his heart had never spoken”
    • Line 10: “From his bitter veins born”
    • Line 22: “The stars in their drunken dancing”
    • Lines 25-26: “Boughs of heaven folding / The winter world in their hand.”
    • Line 27: “The pride of his heart was dumb.”
    • Line 29: “his heart had never spoken”
    • Lines 35-37: “To the waves all night awake / With the dark mouths of the dead. / The tongues of water spoke”
    • Line 38: “And his heart was unafraid.”

  • Alliteration

    

    

    

    

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    Where alliteration appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “his heart had”
    • Line 4: “tall tower”
    • Line 7: “ablaze”
    • Line 8: “blossom”
    • Line 10: “bitter,” “born”
    • Line 12: “sods”
    • Line 13: “slice”
    • Line 14: “High,” “head”
    • Line 21: “he had,” “seen”
    • Line 22: “stars,” “drunken dancing”
    • Line 23: “burning-glass”
    • Line 24: “sober,” “green”
    • Line 25: “Boughs,” “heaven”
    • Line 26: “winter world,” “hand”
    • Line 27: “his heart”
    • Line 29: “his heart had,” “spoken”
    • Line 30: “song,” “bridal bed”
    • Line 35: “waves,” “awake”
    • Line 36: “With,” “dark,” “dead”
    • Line 38: “his heart”

  • Consonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where consonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “died”
    • Line 2: “his heart had,” “spoken”
    • Line 3: “eighty,” “days”
    • Line 4: “tall tower,” “ broken”
    • Line 5: “denied”
    • Line 6: “cairn”
    • Line 7: “could,” “ablaze”
    • Line 8: “An aaronsrod and ,” “blossom”
    • Line 9: “stood,” “by,” “graveside”
    • Line 10: “bitter ,” “veins ,” “born”
    • Line 11: “And ,” “mourned,” “ him in their fashion”
    • Line 12: “sods,” “day”
    • Line 13: “could,” “ slice and build”
    • Line 14: “High ,” “head ”
    • Line 15: “flowering cherry tree”
    • Lines 16-17: “shoulder held / Under”
    • Line 17: “ lion sun”
    • Line 18: “old and blind”
    • Line 19: “curved ”
    • Line 20: “kitchen ”
    • Line 21: “he had seen”
    • Line 22: “stars,” “drunken dancing”
    • Line 23: “burning,” “glass,” “mind”
    • Line 24: “sober,” “green”
    • Line 25: “Boughs”
    • Line 26: “winter world,” “hand”
    • Line 27: “heart ,” “dumb”
    • Line 28: “died”
    • Line 29: “his heart had,” “spoken”
    • Line 30: “song,” “bridal bed”
    • Line 31: “back”
    • Line 32: “waterside”
    • Line 33: “wind”
    • Line 35: “waves ,” “awake”
    • Line 36: “With,” “dark,” “dead”
    • Line 37: “water”
    • Line 38: “his heart”

  • Assonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where assonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “spoken”
    • Line 4: “broken”
    • Line 6: “unchanging ,” “cairn”
    • Line 7: “ablaze”
    • Line 9: “graveside”
    • Line 10: “veins,” “born”
    • Line 11: “mourned,” “him in”
    • Line 12: “chain,” “day”
    • Line 13: “slice”
    • Line 14: “High”
    • Lines 14-15: “man / And”
    • Line 15: “cherry tree”
    • Line 17: “Under,” “sun”
    • Line 33: “shaken”
    • Line 34: “child’s,” “sake”
    • Line 35: “waves,” “night,” “awake”
    • Line 38: “unafraid”

  • Enjambment

    

    

    

    

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    Where enjambment appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-2: “died / That”
    • Lines 2-3: “spoken / In”
    • Lines 4-5: “broken / Memorial”
    • Lines 6-7: “cairn / The”
    • Lines 7-8: “ablaze / An”
    • Lines 9-10: “graveside / From”
    • Lines 10-11: “born / And”
    • Lines 12-13: “day / He”
    • Lines 13-14: “build / High”
    • Lines 14-15: “man / And”
    • Lines 15-16: “tree / On”
    • Lines 16-17: “held / Under”
    • Lines 18-19: “blind / He”
    • Lines 19-20: “chair / All”
    • Lines 21-22: “seen / The ”
    • Lines 22-23: “dancing / Through ”
    • Lines 23-24: “mind / And”
    • Lines 24-25: “green / Boughs”
    • Lines 25-26: “folding / The”
    • Lines 28-29: “died / That”
    • Lines 29-30: “spoken / In”
    • Lines 31-32: “ back / To”
    • Lines 32-33: “waterside / And”
    • Lines 33-34: “shaken / Then”
    • Lines 35-36: “awake / With”
    • Lines 37-38: “spoke / And”

  • Sibilance

    

    

    

    

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    Where sibilance appears in the poem:

    • Line 7: “pipes,” “set ,” “ablaze”
    • Line 8: “aaronsrod ,” “blossom”
    • Line 9: “stood ,” “graveside”
    • Line 10: “his ,” “veins ”
    • Line 11: “fashion”
    • Line 21: “hours ,” “seen”
    • Line 22: “stars ,” “dancing”
    • Line 23: “burning-glass,” “his”
    • Line 24: “sober ”
    • Line 25: “Boughs ”
    • Line 32: “house ,” “waterside”
    • Line 33: “leaves ,” “shaken”
    • Line 34: “child’s sake:”
    • Line 35: “waves”
    • Line 36: “mouths ”
    • Line 37: “tongues ,” “spoke”

  • Refrain

    

    

    

    

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    Where refrain appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-2: “He knew in the hour he died / That his heart had never spoken”
    • Line 3: “In eighty years of days.”
    • Lines 28-29: “He knew in the hour he died / That his heart had never spoken”
    • Line 30: “In song or bridal bed.”

• “Elegy For My Father's Father” Vocabulary

  Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

  • Memorial
  • Cairn
  • Pipes
  • Aaronsrod
  • Sods
  • Burning-glass
  • Boughs
  • Bridal bed
  • (Location in poem: Line 5: “Memorial ”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Elegy For My Father's Father”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “Elegy For My Father's Father” Speaker

• “Elegy For My Father's Father” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “Elegy For My Father's Father”

• More “Elegy For My Father's Father” Resources

  • External Resources

    • Baxter on the Maori in New Zealand society — A video of Baxter discussing discrimination against Maori and their role in a future cultural revolution.

    • In the Footsteps of Baxter — The poet Chris Gallavin writes about his visit to Jerusalem (Hiruharama), the commune where Baxter lived the last three years of his life.

    • James K. Baxter's biography — A concise biography of Baxter by the New Zealand state history website.

    • Masculinity and Stoicism — An article from Psychology Today on why men (like the speaker's grandfather) often bottle up their emotions.

    • Elegies — A discussion of the history and characteristics of the elegy poetic form.

  • LitCharts on Other Poems by James Baxter

    • Farmhand

    • The Bay

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