Waking with Russell by Don Paterson - Higher English exam revision

Overview of Waking with Russell by Don Paterson

Waking with Russell is about the love Don Paterson has for his newborn son.
The poem begins with a tender moment where Russell’s smile brings the speaker joy and a sense of purpose.
In the second part, Paterson addresses his son directly, reflecting on how his presence has transformed life.
The recurring image of the smile symbolises the powerful bond and happiness they share, ending on a celebratory note.
The poem explores the theme of father and son relationships.

What does the title mean?

The title Waking with Russell uses the present participle "waking" to suggest an ongoing experience. Paterson’s joy at waking beside his son is continuous, with Russell’s smile remaining vivid in his memory and captured in the poem. The word also hints at "awakening", marking a moment of personal revelation for the poet.

Stop watch to represent quick learning section.

You can read Waking with Russell by Don Paterson on the Scottish Poetry Library website.

A father is lying in bed and holding hands with his baby, who is lying in a crib beside the bed

Form and structure

Paterson uses the form, but he reverses the order of the usual structure, with the beginning the poem before being followed by the . This upturning of the conventional structure perhaps mimics the impact that having a child has on the poet, who prior to this had been moving through life, merely existing.

In the sestet, Paterson portrays the moment of waking up next to his son. The shorter sestet is appropriate here, as it is a small, innocuous event that could easily be missed. Although the image of his smiling son comes to represent the joy he bestows upon his father, the poet, a joy which permeates the rest of the poem.

The octave, the longer section, addresses Russell and explains the positive impact he has had on his father. His arrival has "interrupted" the speaker’s course through middle age, and this line is importantly placed at the midpoint between the two sections to highlight this. Through delighting in his son’s presence, the poet finds his "path" through, rediscovering his zest for life. The final lines act as a climactic moment in this revelation with this use of the exclamatory:

How fine, I thought, this waking amongst men!

This is followed by the confirmation of his love in the act of a kiss, which consolidates his previous sentiments.

Sestet

The poem begins acknowledging "a difference" which Paterson goes on to define. "It all began" has the tone of a story or fairy tale, as if the incident about to be described has taken on the status of the extraordinary.

The poet wakes up "face-to-face like lovers" – both the word choice of "face-to-face" and the work to convey the intimacy in the relationship between father and son. The use of "four-day-old" suggests how young and potentially vulnerable the child is, which alerts us to the fact that his father has been sleeping next to him to care for him and protect him. Paterson describes the moment when the baby’s smile "dawned" on him, which vividly conveys how the smile lights up his face. It also links to the morning and the idea of new beginnings, which adheres to the central ideas of the poem. The use of "again" at the end of the lines implies that this is not the first time Russell has smiled and will not be the last.

The smile "possessed him", which tells us how it takes over the child, as if he is the smile – he is the joy. It "would not fall or waver" indicates its power and unrelenting strength. It is this power that affects the poet and leads him to "pitch back" his own smile. The poet notes that his usual "hard-pressed grin", which suggests something forced, difficult and disingenuous, has been replaced with him reflecting the child’s innocent, joyful smile. Paterson reverses expectation here, as usually babies emulate the adult’s behaviour, but here we have the father instinctively "copying" the child and in doing so he taps into the innocence and delight of youth which had previously been lost to him. The son’s smile allows the poet to "rediscover" his own innate happiness.

Octave

The octave begins the address to Russell. The speaker says that he had been on the "mezzo del cammin". This is taken from Dante’s Inferno, a poem that charts Dante’s journey through Hell. It translates as "halfway along the path (of life)" which implies that Paterson is reflecting on his middle age. The next line continues this idea and states that the "true path was lost" to the poet, suggesting that he did not have a purpose in life until the birth of his son.

Paterson describes how his son metaphorically "cut in front" of him on his journey, conveying Russell’s sudden appearance in his life as well as implying how the father’s priority has shifted as his son takes centre stage. Russell "lit" the poet’s road ahead as he "ran", revealing to him the way forward. The fact he is running also reminds us of the boy’s youth and energy that revives the middle-aged poet. The repeated "t" sound in the ninth line also creates a sense of the abruptness of the child’s arrival, which gives the poet the definite direction previously lost to him.

The final returns to Russell’s smile. The poet refers to it as "the true gift" which paradoxically "never leaves the giver" – it is a genuine power the boy will always have. The use of the of "r" in the following line evokes motion, as if the smile is indeed "rolling on" to the next line that culminates in the simile:

the smile poured through us like a river.

A river is life-giving and pure, which is a fitting image to describe Russell’s smile that will never cease. The expression "poured through us" implies that Russell’s smile flows through the recipient, filling them with joy until they too experience the wealth of happiness. It is therefore viewed as being selfless and innocent.

The final lines of the poem celebrate the speaker’s newfound delight and his awakening in a world with such love and purpose:

How fine, I thought, this waking amongst men!

The exclamation gives a sense of a climactic moment. He now wants to share his joy with us, the reader. He refers to himself and his son as men as if through Russell’s presence he has been elevated to a greater, more worthy status. The poem ends with the shared smile uniting in a kiss and in so doing the poet "pledged" himself "forever" to his son. The word "pledged" indicates strong commitment, as if Paterson is promising to be a good father. This neatly ends the poem on a note of optimism.

Theme

Father and son relationship

In this poem, Paterson reflects on the joy his son has brought him. Prior to his birth, the poet was "mezzo del cammin", middle-aged and lacking direction. Russell brings the poet such joy, represented by his son’s smile, to the extent that Paterson says he is set on a "true path" – one of purpose and meaning. Paterson describes how the child "lit" this path, revealing to him the way forward.

The use of the simile in the final lines comparing the smile to a "river" pouring through them evocatively describes the mutual love they have for each other that flows continuously. Through the love he has for his son, the poet takes his position "amongst men", as he finally realises his role and identity, giving him a new status in the world.

Comparing Waking with Russell to other Don Paterson poems

Waking with Russell and Why Do You Stay Up So Late? are poems about Paterson's relationship with his son, Russ.

Both poems explore the meaning that Paterson derives from being a parent. In Waking with Russell, Russ "lit" a "true path" for him. Similarly, in Why Do You Stay Up So Late? Paterson sees the "the secret colour" of "dull things" through the eyes of his son - both hinting that he sees things in a clearer or different perspective.

The Thread and The Circle also explore the bond between father and son but these poems are dedicated to his other son, Jamie, and are tied more specifically to the challenges Jamie's difficult birth presented.

The Swing looks at another parent-child relationship but it is much more solemn in tone than Waking with Russell, exploring the grief of losing an unborn child. Despite the difference in tone, both poems clearly emphasise the importance Paterson places on being a father.

Paterson uses water imagery in many of the set texts to describe his experience of fatherhood and the transient nature of life:

Poem	Imagery
Waking with Russell	His son's "smile poured through [them] like a river". The reader is given the sense that Russell's smile, and the joy Paterson gets from it, is flowing and endless like a river.
Why Do You Stay Up So Late?	Paterson recalls a day with his son "at the rockpool". He goes on to compare Russell's imagination to a "pool" through which ordinary items, like stones, are transformed into magical treasures. It is only through his son's eyes that Paterson can access this magic: "I've no pool to help me tell"
The Swing	Paterson describes the experience of losing an unborn child as "handing us from dark to dark / like a rope over a stream". In his grief, he feels ungrounded and cannot see clearly, suggesting the intangible and unknowable nature of the loss

Unlike these other poems, 11:00: Baldovan does not explicitly explore a parent-child relationship but does examine childhood, change and loss. They focus on change and first experiences in Paterson's life: