Seamus Heaney - The Skunk analysis

The tail of the skunk also reminded Heaney of the 'chasuble' because of its rounded shape. Later, in the fourth stanza, Heaney mentions the beautiful scent of the eucalyptus tree. This 'tang' or aroma probably reminded Heaney of the sweet smell of incense used during the funeral mass by a priest. This is another reason why he makes the very unusual comparison of the skunk to a priest's vestment. The sights and scents of the garden in combination remind him of a funeral mass.

Heaney makes it clear that he was thinking of his wife back in Ireland. He missed her physically and tenderly. Something about the curved shape of the skunk's tail and its black and white colours had put Heaney in a mood to be with his wife. He reveals in the last stanza how the skunk made him connect to his wife. There is a connection between his wife in her nightdress and the skunk's tail. Thus the skunk's tail reminded Heaney of both religious and sexual garments. He immediately began to write passionate letters to her: 'After eleven years I was composing love-letters again'. Heaney admits he began to see the common word 'wife' as a precious word again. He compared the word to a wine barrel hidden away; 'like a stored cask'. The central image is an unusual comparison between the poet's wife and a skunk. In this image, Heaney connects two realities. The skunk, in the California garden, reminded him of Maire, who he missed dearly. Later in a bedroom scene back in Ireland, Maire bends over naked to pick up a nightdress. Her posture in the darkened bedroom reminds Heaney of the skunk over in California. The words 'glamorous' and 'mysterious' often refer to a lover. 'Intent' means with purpose. Do lovers have 'intent' when they make secret night time visits? The words also remind us of the word 'visitor' used earlier. The next two lines explain the use of the word 'ordinary'. It is linked to the word 'demythologized'. Heaney puts into words the moment when he saw the full body of the skunk on his veranda. House light on the veranda made the skunk fully visible. He packs the moment into a difficult two-word line: 'Mythologized, demythologized'. Mythology is a word for mysterious stories about gods. 'Mythologized' here means that Heaney knew the skunk only from stories, before he came to California. When he saw the skunk's tail casually wandering around the garden it had fascinated him. Then he saw the entire skunk before his eyes. At that moment, the skunk became ordinary. Its mystery vanished when it came into full view. Without its mystery, the skunk was 'demythologized'. It was snuffing the floor within five feet of Heaney. These two lines explain the word 'ordinary'.

In the final stanza, Heaney reveals that the first five stanzas were based on a memory: 'It all came back to me last night'. What caused Heaney to remember the visit of the skunk? What 'stirred' the poet to remember? His wife Marie provides the answer. Heaney was lying in bed when his wife entered the darkened bedroom. She took off her clothes and bent over to search in a drawer for a suitable nightdress, the 'plunge-line' one. The invented word 'sootfall' indicate the light noise of his wife's clothes hitting the ground. The word also shows that he heard rather than saw her undress. The phrase 'tail up hunt' is a clear reminder of the skunk. It confirms the link he had made between Maire and the skunk during his night of longing in California; 'the skunk's tail paraded the skunk'. The plunge-line nightdress indicates 'intent'. It seems a deliberate choice of a sexy nightdress. Heaney remembers the moment in considerable detail. The nightdress is black, like the skunk, as mentioned in line one. Although Heaney doesn't use the word 'voyeur' again, that is exactly what he is in the last stanza. He watches his wife prepare for bed in a darkened bedroom. He obviously feels a sense of mystery about her, particularly in the darkness. The word 'stirred' reveals the effect that watching his wife had on the poet.

In conclusion to my essay I would like to articulate how Heaney's flamboyant imagination can be grasped wrongly. Some opinions would say that it was disrespectful of Heaney to compare a skunk to his wife; others would say it was Heaney's bizarre way of reminiscing about his wife. My opinion is that Heaney possesses such a great love for his wife that anything in particular brings back memories of her, thus showing he is a very sensitive, loving man with a great amount of love and respect for his wife.

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Caolán Byrne