Analysis Of Follower By Seamus Heaney

The poem ‘Follower’ by Seamus Heaney is a poem expressing the great admiration that Heaney had for his father as a child. He was brought up on a farm, and often watched his fathers skill in awe as he ploughed the fields. The poem is made up of six quatrains, and a regular rhythm is present, much like that of a horses plodding, across the fields. Also, the poems rhyming pattern is precise, possibly referring to

Like a shovel to dirt as a pen to paper. In “Digging,” Seamus Heaney uses specific elements such as diction, and imagery to convey his meaning that children don’t always want to be like their past generations of men.

The poem starts to narrow in on the relationship of apprentice and master with the lines, “This was his son, who sat, an apprentice, night after night, his glass of coals next to the old man’s glass of coals.” (ll 12-14). “This was his son,” is a powerful statement that gives not only a parental relationship but also of a father forging his son into a man. We all learn from our fathers and in the old days a lot of sons stayed home and

In the first half of the poem the poet draws a vivid portrait of his

“You always think ahead. I was a boy who kept his clothes on numbered hangers… bothered my teachers for homework assignments far ahead their due dates...I thought ahead.” This shows that the father’s son always thinks ahead and was organized, responsible, and mature. “...my mother was still angry with him for sneaking me into a nightclub during his last visit, to see Thelonious Monk… Don’t ever try this yourself.” This shows that the father is the opposite of the son and is more rebellious and fun. “He promised, hand on heart, to take good care of me and have me home on Christmas Eve.” This shows that the father really does love his son and will protect him and bring him home in time. Going home was difficult in the snow but the father managed to drive through it and make it

“Poets are the record keepers and moral consciences of their times.” In response to this view, explore connections between the ways in which Heaney and Sheers write about memories. As poets are known to be record keepers memories are a key theme that poets often write about due to it being a theme with such a wide range. Heaney and Sheers have both written poems about memories. The two poems that i have chosen to focus on for this essay are ‘Mametz Wood’ by Owen Sheers and ‘The Strand at Lough Beg’ by Seamus Heaney.

This poignant dichotomy is seen explicitly in two poems in Seamus Heaney’s Field Work. One poem, “The Strand at Lough Beg” is written for “Heaney’s cousin Colum McCartney (ambushed and shot in a sectarian killing)” and is rich with pastoral scenery, dark tones, and religious imagery (Vendler 60). Another poem, “A Postcard from North Antrim” is about “his friend the social worker Sean Armstrong (shot by a ‘pointblank teatime bullet’)” (Vendler 60). These two elegies, both with a strong presence of Heaney’s personal voice, are imbued with a sort of ambiguity as Heaney struggles with the death of two people who were both very close to him. In both poems, Heaney “tries to converse with and question the dead” in an attempt to rationalize, or at least display his sentiments on the untimely deaths (Parker 159). It is interesting to watch Heaney oscillate in imagery, tone and diction as he progresses through both poems. This wavering can be seen as a result of Heaney’s background.

conversation. It isn't like a poem at all. It says "By god the old man

Heaney’s attitude towards death is presented in different perspectives within Funeral Rites. A pun, based on a homonym, embedded within the title itself, suggests one’s right to have a funeral : for there to be an occasion for family and friends to mourn one’s death whilst celebrating their life. In Funeral Rites, Heaney demonstrates the beautiful serenity associated with death, while also highlighting the tragic aspect of death and dying. Funeral Rites is composed of three parts (the first of which I am going to focus on in this essay), with Heaney focusing on different attitudes towards death and dying within each section. For example, in the first section, Heaney concentrates on funerals in the past, as established by use of the past tense. The transition to present tense in the second section is confirmed by the strong adverb ‘Now’, and future tense in the third section highlights the change in customs within the change in time period. With Funeral Rites’ distinct structure, Heaney is indicating his nostalgia for the past, as well as highlighting his outlook on the situation in Ireland.

Heaney continues to do this by glorifying the frogspawn, using alliteration “jam pots of the jellied specks”. This creates a soft and gentle rhythm for the reader, portraying Heaney’s fascination with nature a child.

He also describes the conditions of the father's hands demonstrating that he was a hard worker and still woke up before everyone else to warm up the rooms. The father basically says love in the simple act he does. Like many people I can personally relate to this poem. My father was not always demonstrative and affectionate but during my childhood years he always made sure I had everything I needed. That showed me that my father cared.

This arising tone of regret and distance is also formed by the speaker’s depiction of his father having “cracked hands that ached,” (1. 3) which further signifies the father’s struggle with the severe coldness. The concept of self-sacrifice is apparent in this portrayal of his father’s disregard to his own pain in order to provide warmth and light for his family’s home. The stirring of “banked fires blaze” (1. 5) within the house,

is the idea of the bone as stone, with the mind as a catapult. This

Seamus Heaney is a widely celebrated poet from Northern Ireland and was well known for writing about his culture and song-like pieces that touched on historical and ethical natures. In “Punishment”, the piece focuses on the image of a dead girl, now a preserved piece of history, who was supposedly killed for committing adultery in Germany. In the dark, dramatic, and historical poem “Punishment” by Seamus Heaney, he uses overt words and phrasing, internal rhyme, as well as alliteration, metaphors, and other literary devices to uncover the brutality, injustice, and chilling exposedness of the murder of the young girl, who is the subject of the piece.

Seamus Heaney uniquely constructed his poem “The Forge” to tell a story of an inspired outcast scrutinizing a man while he conducts true art. This poem is not only about an outsider fantasizing about the unknown, but also about a blacksmith’s every move and more. The audience is left questioning “who is this mysterious blacksmith?” and “who even is this being of inspiration?” After profound research was done, it was uncovered that the narrator is actually Heaney, and the blacksmith is his dexterous neighbor, Barney Devlin. Heaney’s definitive word choice was significantly influenced by his young, budding mindset as a child, leading him to speak so strongly about someone that he hardly even knew.