Compare and Contrast The Grauballe Man(TM) and Punishment(TM) by Seamus Heaney

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Compare and Contrast 'The Grauballe Man' and 'Punishment' by Seamus Heaney

Both poems are inspired by Heaney's fascination with 'bog people' - age-old corpses preserved naturally by bogs. The Grauballe man concerns a photograph of a "bog man" found by Heaney. Heaney creates a vivid connection between the bog and man throughout the poem. As we see in the first stanza, the man 'lies on a pillow of turf and seems to weep the black river of himself'. The man and bog seem to be one with 'the black river of himself'. They appear linked and connected. The atmosphere seems calm and tranquil. The man, although brutally murdered, seems somewhat relaxed and peaceful; he 'lies on a pillow of turf'.

The idea of connection between bog and man continues as Heaney writes, 'the grain of his wrists is like bog oak'. Heaney seems to suggest that he has been there so long, they have almost merged together to become one being. Over time, the man has gradually become part of the bog; they have a mutual relationship. This theme continues as the man's 'instep' is described as being like a 'wet swamp root'. The man has gradually become at one with his surroundings, to the point that he and the swamp have effectively fused into one being. Throughout the first four stanza's, Heaney picks the man apart, comparing his various body parts to different elements of the swamp, namely in stanza four - 'his hips are the ridge and purse of a mussel, his spine an eel arrested under the glisten of mud'. This is done to the point that the man seems less human and more like an object, as you would view any other part of the bog. Furthermore, it seems to Heaney he appears to be an object of beauty. He describes him intensely, like a natural wonder. The persona seems fascinated by the body.
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The first four stanzas act as a significant contrast to the opening description of 'Punishment'. There is no sense of the beauty or delicacy that we find in 'The Grauballe man'. Heaney violently begins with 'I can feel the tug of the halter at the nape of her neck'. This discomforting beginning immediately creates a dark mood. Whilst in 'The Grauballe man' you are merely observing a body, here you are immediately being forced to connect and identify with it. It is much more personal. The raw description continues with 'the wind of her naked front'. The body ...

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