Religious motifs

        

While reading ‘Clearances’ one may find a great number of religious references almost in every sonnet. Those references constitute another theme which binds the poems into one coherent cycle.

The cobble that is thrown at the poet’s great – grandmother is definitely one of the religious symbols of suffering, pain, rejection and punishment. Heaney’s great – grandmother was stoned by the local people because she married a Catholic man and, therefore, ‘betrayed’ their religion. As it is stated in ‘Słownik symboli’, a stone symbolizes administering justice but it also is a tool to inflict punishment and martyrdom. ‘God establishes the stoning as a punishment for idolatry’ 

‘Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the Lord thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the Lord thy God. If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the Lord thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord transgressing his covenant, and hath gone and served other gods and worshipped them, either the sun or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded (…) then shalt thou bring forth that man or woman, which have commited  that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.’

Heaney’s great – grandmother married a Catholic man and therefore she was condemned by the local people. As St. John writes in his Gospel, stoning was also a punishment for adultery. 

 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted himself, and said unto them, he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.’ 

Jesus does not condemn those who act against him and is full of understanding for those who missed the proper way. He is always ready to forgive people all their sins. ‘A cobble thrown a hundred years ago’ that keeps coming at the poet has also other symbolic meaning. It is the sign of rejection; desire to annihilate and to take revenge. The Jews wanted to stone Jesus only because they did not understand him; they wanted to take revenge on him only because he was different and acted against the well – established religious and social patterns.

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‘Then said the Jews unto Him, now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, if a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? And the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered: Yet ye have not known him; but I know him and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. Then said the Jews unto him; Thou art not ...

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