English Commentary on 'Mother of the Groom'.

        The poem is 12 lines long and it has been separated into three equal stanzas of four lines each. As the poem progresses from the first line each stanza is separated into different memories that the mother has of her son during his early childhood.

        It is ironic how ‘soap could ease off the wedding ring’ but in the next line the wedding ring is ‘bedded forever now.’ Heaney uses this irony to describe the how it was hard to take off the rings when she had to give her son his bath, but she hopes that their love is forever so the ring that is on her son’s and daughter in-law’s hand stays on forever like their love.

The tone in ‘Mother of the Groom’ is very mixed. There is happiness in her memories when she connected with her child. Yet there is also sadness and fear of loosing her child to another woman. These memories may be fond but during this part of her life they seem to haunt her. As a mother she feels that the moments where she could connect with her son are gone. So the poem is sad and happy at times.

Many ideas are embedded into the poem and the choice of words match the situation that has been described. The mother feels that her son was truly precious when she was bathing him. She uses the word ‘glistening’ to describe the glow that her son puts out when his back is wet. This enhances how much her innocent baby means to her during the time she gives him a bath. The mother feels that there is something missing a gap or emptiness on her lap. Heaney uses the word ‘voided’ to illustrate the emptiness that the mother feels. ‘Voided’ is a word that catches the reader’s eye which makes them also see how much her precious son means to her.

To Conclude, Heaney chosen a theme that is very touching for a mother and a moment which is very symbolic in a person’s life. He has brought out the mixed emotions that a mother will feel on the day that her son gets married to another woman. Recalling the memories from the past is also very important in this poem because it enhances sadness and the things that have connected them in such and close way. These feeling are described by the best possible selection of words which makes this poem so outstanding.