Revison notes on the key themes and comparisons in Seamus Heaney poems
Key themes and comparative quotes for each poem Digging – identity, admiration, hardwork, childhood and memory Techniques used in digging . Enjambment - It is defined as a thought or clause that does not come to an end at a line break; instead, it moves over the next line. For example, “The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge Through living roots awaken in my head.” 2. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five 3. 4. senses. For example, “Between my finger and my thumb”, “The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft” and “The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap.” 5. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of /e/ in “The squat pen rests; snug as a gun” and the sound of /ea/ in “Nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods”. 6. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of /l/ in “The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap” and the sound of /ng/ in “Nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods.” 7. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick successions. For example, the sound of /t/ in “He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep” and the sound of
Seamus Heaney.
Seamus Heaney Heaney was born on April 13, 1939, the eldest of nine children, to Margaret and Patrick Heaney, at the family farm, Mossbawn, about 30 miles northwest of Belfast in County Derry. He attended the local school at Anahorish until 1957, when he enrolled at Queen's College, Belfast and took a first in English there in 1961. The next school year he took a teacher's certificate in English at St. Joseph's College in Belfast. In 1963 he took a position as a lecturer in English at the same school. While at St. Joseph's he began to write, publishing work in the university magazines under the pseudonym Incertus. During that time, along with Derek Mahon, Michael Longley, and others, he joined a poetry workshop under the guidance of Philip Hobsbaum. In 1965, in connection with the Belfast Festival, he published Eleven Poems. In August of 1965 he married Marie Devlin. The following year he became a lecturer in modern English literature at Queen's College, Belfast, his first son Michael was born, and Faber and Faber published Death of a Naturalist. This volume earned him the E.C. Gregory Award, the Cholmondeley Award in 1967, the Somerset Maugham Award in 1968, and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, also in 1968. Christopher, his second son, was born in 1968. His second volume, Door into the Dark, was published in 1969 and became the Poetry Book Society Choice for the year.
Digging Analysis
Ravi Aggarwal GCSE English Coursework Digging Analysis I will approach this piece of coursework by first analysing both poems separately and then talking about their similarities and differences at the end. The two poems have similar themes in that they are both about the poet's memories of their ancestors. They are both about how the poets deal with their feelings by writing a poem. The poem is about a man who has grown up on a farm in which his ancestors have always worked digging for potatoes. The man in the poem feels guilty because he feels that he is letting his predecessors down because he has found a talent in writing. He feels that he does not want to dig for a living. The poem starts in the present tense. In the first line you find out that the poem is personal because of the word "my". The unusual simile "The squat pen rests, snug as a gun" is odd because guns are not thought of as snug or cosy so perhaps he is showing that the pen is like his weapon and can be very powerful or effective in some way. In the second stanza the man hears a sound from "under his window." The poet uses onomatopoeia to describe the sound, which gives us a sense of hearing and being able to imagine the "rasping" sound. There is also alliteration with "spade sinks" and "gravely ground." The persona knows what the "rasping" sound is without even looking down, probably because
Analyse how Seamus Heaney uses language to convey his childhood experiences to the reader in his poems
Analyse how Seamus Heaney uses language to convey his childhood experiences to the reader in his poems "Death of a Naturalist" and "Blackberry Picking." Both poems are similar in their content as they are both written by Seamus Heaney about his childhood experiences. I also believe that both his experiences have a similar content. In "Death of a Naturalist" we find that the poem is about being out in fields collecting frogspawn. In "Blackberry Picking" the poet is speaking again about his childhood experiences in the fields. This time he is collecting blackberries. This is similar to "Death if a Naturalist" as it is in the wild at a young age enjoying nature. The titles are not so similar; "Death of a Naturalist" is a symbolic title. The title is not literal, no one actually dies in the poem. The death is of the way the poet feels about the frogs. In the first verse the poet feels for the frogs but in the second verse he almost fears them. "Blackberry Picking" on the other hand is not a symbolic title it is literal. In the poem the poet goes blackberry picking and this is explained in the title. Although the title could be considered symbolic also as perhaps the simplicity of the title portrays the simplicity and innocence of the child's mind. The mood between the two poems is also very similar. In "Death of a Naturalist" the mood changes between the two verses. In the
Explore Heaney's Presentation Of The Irish Conflict In, "Whatever You Say, Say Nothing"
Explore Heaney's Presentation Of The Irish Conflict In, "Whatever You Say, Say Nothing" The poem, "Whatever You Say, Say Nothing", was written by Heaney in the North collection of poems, therefore we can establish that Heaney will be considering the nature of the Irish conflict in this poem. The poem is split up into three sections, with each section dealing with a different viewpoint on the conflict. Section one takes a political stance, showing Heaney's attitude toward the media representation of the conflict, presenting an outsiders viewpoint, while the third section deals with the nature of the Irish conflict from the views of the Irish themselves and also showing Heaney's frustration. The last section concludes with a morbid conclusion of what is to come. The poem opens with, "I'm", maybe allowing the reader to acknowledge that the issue in which Heaney will talk about, is something he feels deeply connected with. While the others poems in this collection are from a third person point of view, this is from a first person point of view, establishing a strong connection between Heaney and the issue at hand, showing that Heaney is possible protective of the nature of the Irish conflict. Furthermore, the opening line of, "I'm writing this just after an encounter with an English journalist", gives the impression of an informal tone, almost conversational, however the
Explore how Heaney writes about suffering in 'Bye-Child' and in one other poem of your choice.
Explore how Heaney writes about suffering in 'Bye-Child' and in one other poem of your choice. In both 'Bye-Child' and 'Limbo', Heaney concentrates mostly on pain and suffering of individuals who have been born into a world where they are not allowed to be seen or acknowledged. In both cases, these individuals are innocent children, who, unfortunately due to the rigid and uncompromising Catholic community, are forced into a life of deprivation and suffering. "Bye-Child" is an amazing encapsulation of the thoughts and feelings that Seamus Heaney has towards mistreated and abused children, and the poem, though inspired by a specific case of abandonment of a child, could be seen as Heaney's attempt to reach out to any child who has had bad experiences in their lives. Heaney exposes the pain and neglect suffered by those who are unwanted by entering their lives and situations and giving them a voice. In 'Bye-Child', the reader is first drawn to a paragraph of information. Pain and suffering is apparent right from the beginning, as Heaney mentions words such as 'confined' and 'incapable'. This prepares the reader for the fact that the child is mistreated. Heaney shows his empathy immediately towards the child, and it is clear that he feels strongly towards this inhuman act. We are then reminded of the neglect of the child with 'a yolk of light' and 'the lamp glowed'. Despite
Drawing examples from a range of poems discuss Heaney's treatment of what he has called History, Memory and Attachemetns.
MEGAN MCCLUSKIE ADVANCED HIGHER ENGLISH DRAWING EXAMPLES FROM A RANGE OF POEMS DISCUSS HEANEY'S TREATMENT OF WHAT HE HAS CALLED "HISTORY, MEMORY AND ATTACHMENTS." The Irish poet Seamus Heaney has written many poems focusing on the history of Ireland and his own personal memories. In these poems Heaney looks closely at the problem of sectarianism and violence in Ireland during 'Digging' is one of Heaney's poems, written at a time when his poetry was more concerned with the personal - his relationships to his family and the rural world in which he was born. In the poem Heaney memorialises the cycles of manual labour on his family's farm - digging up potatoes and cutting turf on the bog. On one level this seems hardly the material that might engage a poet, but in celebrating the familial and the local, Heaney is drawing attention to the significance of ordinary people on the land as well as attempting to find his place in the world and the very nature of this relationship to that world. Thus, I believe that It is fair to say that this poem clearly demonstrates Heaney's treatment of what he has called "history, memory and attachments. 'Digging' is centrally concerned with the alienation felt by Heaney and the need to negotiate the distance between origins and the present circumstances. In Ireland when he was growing up Heaney was the first generation of working class people
In what ways do these two poets tell their stories so that readers will be shocked and moved?Which poem shocked and moved you more and why?
Poetry of Violence and Injustice in Irish History Assignment title In what ways do these two poets tell their stories so that readers will be shocked and moved? Which poem shocked and moved you more and why? The two poems that I will be comparing and contrasting are "The Eviction" (from Laurence Bloomfield in Ireland) by the poet called William Allingham and "Claudy" by James Simmons. William Allingham was born in Co, Donegal in 1924 and he died in 1989. During his life he worked as a customs officer, first in Ireland then in England where he settled in 1963. His friends in the literary world were people such as Rosetti and Tennyson. James Simmons died at the age of 68 in June 2001. He taught at Friends School Lisburn for five years before moving to Africa to teach English in a school in Nigeria. He then returned to Coleraine and taught in the University of Ulster. He was born into a Protestant family who lived in Londonderry where his grandfather was the major. His reason for writing the poem "Claudy" was as a result of the I.R.A. setting off three bombs on the morning of July 31st 1972 killing nine people. "The Eviction" is simply about a village being evicted by their landlords and it shows the reactions of the people to this. "Claudy", however, describes what the people were doing at the time of the bomb and it shows their desperate attempts to fight death. In
Most, if not all, of Heaney's poems in 'Wintering Out' describe Heaney's uncertainty towards religion and his home land, Northern Ireland - "The Tollund Man" and "Westering" best illustrate these uncertainties.
Haneesa Latif Choose two poems to illustrate Heaney's feelings of uncertainty. Most, if not all, of Heaney's poems in 'Wintering Out' describe Heaney's uncertainty towards religion and his home land, Northern Ireland. "The Tollund Man" and "Westering" best illustrate these uncertainties. "The Tollund Man" is about a body found in a bog that has been preserved for hundreds and thousands of years. The body was a sacrifice made to the Pagan Goddess of fertility, otherwise known as the earth. The tannic acid in the bog preserved the body, replacing the skin with a thick, brown, leather like layer. In this particular poem, Heaney looks beyond the body being preserved by the tannic acid and questions whether the Tollund Man was more than a man. We begin to realize Heaney's uncertainty towards the Christian religion. -..his peat-brown head, the mild pods of his eye-lids, His pointed skin cap. Here, he describes the Tollund Man's appearance. He goes on to describe how he feels the Tollund Man ended up in the bog. - Naked except for the cap, noose and girdled, I will Stand a long time. Bridegroom to the goddess, she Tightened her torc on him... He talks about the Tollund Man as a Pagan sacrifice. He goes into the Past to learn more about the Tollund Man. He feels the need to know more about the Tollund Man because he is his new inspiration. He even -..could risk
'From our study in the "Clearances" collection, what is revealed about Seamus Heaney and his relationship with his mother, and his thoughts and feelings about other members of his family'
'From our study in the "Clearances" collection, what is revealed about Seamus Heaney and his relationship with his mother, and his thoughts and feelings about other members of his family' One of the most moving and emotional of Heaney's works is his collection of sonnets called 'Clearances'. These sonnets were written in dedication and memoriam to his mother Margaret Kathleen Heaney, who died in 1984. The eight sonnets are filled with lively, detailed and vivid memories, but the strong and loving relationship between Heaney and his mother is constantly referred to also. Heaney has no difficulty in expressing openly the love felt for his mother, both by him and his family, as we see in the invocation at the beginning of the collection; 'She taught me what her uncle once taught her'. Here we immediately see how his mother has taught him simple but great life wisdom, how to live and deal with problems in everyday life. This immediately identifies a clear picture of love and devotion towards her son, illuminating right from the beginning their strong mother/son relationship. This life wisdom is reflected again in sonnet 2, whereby she commands him on various rules before entering the house she grew up in; 'And don't be dropping crumbs. Don't tilt your chair'. This yet again shows the close bond Heaney and his mother share, as she warns him in order to avoid him getting into