The tone of this poem is sacred, sexual, repulsive – it is erotically inviting. Using interesting descriptions, Heaney is able to convey this poem in a tender yet humorous tone. The language of this poem is heavily descriptive and is casual and conversational.
The first stanza portrays Heaney’s memory of a skunk that used to enter his garden at night while he was living in California. The tail of the skunk is described as a chasuble, a garment worn on a priest at mass. The tail also reminded Heaney of the chasuble because of its striped pattern – the tail was ‘damasked’. Heaney also compares the skunk to a “visitor”, which in the context of this poem, may mean secret lover. “I expected her like a visitor” is a smooth transition to the second stanza, where he recalls a particular memory of the skunk’s night time visits.
“I began to be tense as a voyeur” describes Heaney’s feeling of waiting for the skunk to make its nightly visit. This line foreshadows the last stanza, connecting the garden scene to the later bedroom scene with his wife, where he describes how he watched his wife undressing for bed.
The use of imagery is extremely creative and strange – the images take on sensuous, appealing and erotic qualities as the senses are treated to an array of smells, sights and sounds, all celebrating the primitive nature of sex. The central image is an unusual comparison between his wife and a skunk. The skunk reminded Heaney of his wife, whom he missed dearly. The dominant color of this poem is black, but it is black that comes with diverse association – wild animal, funeral mass and sexy nightdress.
Figures of speech have been used to create the visual imagery throughout this poem. There are unusual similes in this poem; “damasked like a chasuble” compares the color and pattern of a skunk’s tail to priest’s mass vestments, “tense as a voyeur” compares Heaney himself to a peeping tom, “like a stored cask” compares that the word ‘wife’ is like an old precious wine barrel in a cellar, “like inhaling you off a cold pillow” is a comparison to how Heaney feels lonely because of his wife’s absence. Metaphors can be found throughout the poem, most of them unusual; “whinnied into silence” compares the vibrating noise of the fridge to a horse’s whinny or moan.
There is a clever play on words to create aural imagery – alliteration, assonance and consonance can be found throughout the poem. Note the ‘s’ sounds in “stirred by the sootfall”. The ‘s’ sound is soft, like what is described. This is an example of sibilance. Note how the ‘u’ sounds of ‘the beautiful, useless tang of eucalyptus spelt your absence’ is an example of assonance.
There is no rhyming pattern in this poem, which suits the conversational manner of the poem. The rhythm of this poem is end stopped and enjambement. End stopped lines set the scene, while the enjambement allows a flow of feelings, creating a sense of urgency and excitement.