STANZA 4
“ I stumbled in his hob nailed wake” - Symbolic of the ‘family footsteps’ Heaney is being expected to follow, especially as the oldest of nine children. ”Stumbled” implies the uncertainties Heaney has about his ability to take the same path as his father, and may also imply the innocence and inexperience he has due to his young age, further planting the poem in the realm of childhood memories. The plosive sounds of “stumbled” and “hob” replicates the jittering, untrained movements of Heaney’s younger self and contrast with the smooth sibilance used to describe heaneys father and his work.
STANZA 5
“ I wanted to grow up and plough” – expresses his wish to follow in his fathers footsteps when hes older
STANZA 6 –
“yapping always” - Transposed sentence: this would make more sense as “always yapping”, but this ‘incorrect’ grammar could either display traditional dialect or show how all consuming the boy’s admiration for his father is.
Written in a cyclical narrative which means some part of the lngage r theme or narrative is mirrored or regained at the end of the pooem frm the start. “stumbling/stumbled” demonstrates strong paternal bnd between the speaker and his father and how the roles between children and parents change as they grow up.
Blackberry picking key quotes
Structure - abab
The poem is about hpe and dissapintment and blackberry picking becomes a metaphor for other experiences
“late august given heacy rain and sun for a full week, the blackberries would ripen” – nostalgic look back at the summers of his childhood when each august he and his friends would spend a week blackberry picking. Sense its temporary and nothing here is forever. Metaphor for life
Rain and sun is juxtaposition. Shows how these are memories of his past with a childhood friend.
“sweet like wine” – similie. This is how he describes the first blackberry he tasted.
“summers blood” – how the berries were ripe and juicy. Words such as “lust” and “flesh” mark the urgency of his need. Vivid colour imagery and images of desire.
“leaving stains upon the tongue and lust” , 2hunger£ - joyful and encapsulate eager and excited children. May be seen as greedy.
“like a plate of eyes” “with thorn pricks” – personificqtion. Victims? Depression image of reality
“we hoarded the fresh berries” – greed possessive childish
“ rat grey fungus” – rot / decay. Possible representation of anything sinister that might destroy ones dreams or aspirations.
“ what was sweet becomes sour” – fricative sounds hallmarks of passing time
“each year id hope they would keep knew they would not” – contrast. Hoped is innocent desire. Knew is experience and maturity
Death of a naturalist – key quotes
Similar t blackberry picking with structure and also explains heaneys change in his attitude towards nature. . The title is ironic, it’s a metaphorical death of a potential naturalist. The title also plays on the loss of innocence, as a child the narrator was enthusiastic about nature and fascinated by watching frog spawn. However by the end of the poem, the narrators shift in perception of nature highlights the way peoples views change as they grow up just like follower/blackberry picking. There is an analogous stand between the life cycle of the frog and the development of the boy. Innocence is transformed with one that threatens and digusts.
“all year The flax dam festered in the heart” – poem opens up with evocation of summer landscape. The verb festered has negative connotations and usually associated with decay. The diction of the flax dam being a major central part of the heartof the townsland creates the effect of childlike innocence and naivety. The alliteration used in stanza one eg flax festered creates a nursery rhyme like tone reflecting the personal youth.
“But best of all” - internal rhyme of “slobber and clotted” “mammy and daddy frog” reinforces the childlike voice and curuiosity that was created.
STANZA 2
The indented 22nd line reinforces the change in tone marked by change in imagery.
“angry frogs” – anthromorphism reflects adolescence ; escpae from childhood innocence. Negative language choices show that the persona feels scared or uncomfortable
“cocked, pules, slop, plop, genades” – military metalanguage reflects emotional/harmonal change from childhood into puberty. (visceral imagery). Imagery is unfied by a semantic field of war showing the nature and man have gone from being allies to enemies.
“great slime kings” – persnificatin glrius/grotesque power
Personal helicon
Again like blackberry picking it’s the stages/ journey of life and the change in desire. Relates to irish people as this was where he was born. Writes about memories of his childhood. Heaneys own inspiration links to the well/ hidden world and the mystery, wonder, fear it brings.
Structure – organised in five quatrains around 10 sylabbles
Stanza 1
“ I loved the dark drop, the trapped sky, the smells of waterweed, fungus and dank moss” - sensory detail as if the speaker can visualise and smells the wells in the present. Shows speakers love for physical, tangible aspects of these wells from dark exteriors to the waters reflection f the sky. The use of aliteratin and sibilance heightens vividness of imagery and conveys the speakers experience of them as encompassing. Use of enjambment requires speaker to slow down which suggest speaker could go on about the aspects he lves without pausing infinitely.
Stanza 2
“s deep yu saw no reflectin in it” – second person prnoun “you” invites reader to imagine themselves in the scene and involvement is heightned from casualness. Adjective “deep” links t physical depth and emotional depth as suggests profound internal experience like loss of self as he looked fr his reflection and only saw the darkness.
Stanza 4
“others had echoes, gave back your own call with a clean new music in it “ – consonance is used as speaker evokes experience of calling int a well and hearing his vice returned to him though it would be different and transformed smehow. Metaphor indicates looking and speaking into wells the speaker implies that what is compelling to him is how hrough encountering the mysterious and unknown his voice has changed
To stare, big-eyed Narcissus, into some spring is beneath all adult dignity.' - Speaker can no longer act on his childish curiosity because it would be considered beneath the way adults are expected to act.
Classical Allusion- 'Narcissus' who fell in love with his own reflection when looking into a spring located on Mount Helicon. Through this is a reference back to the title and implies adults might view children's curiosity and inquisitiveness as something vain or ev ven selfish, as the character of Narcissus is viewed.
MID TERM BREAK QUOTES AND ANAYLSIS
About the death of heaneys infant brother and how Heaney and other people react to this.
“I sat all morning in the college sick bay” – sense of islation and immediate suggestion of death.
Stanza 2
2 in the porch I met my father crying he had always taken funerals in his stride” – sense the father is outwith the grief f the house, hiding his feelings. Death had been experienced before but not in this way. Foreshadows possible explanation fo who was the victim.
“big jim evans saying it was a hard blow! – pun. Child was killed by a literal hard blow, while the family are metaphorically hurt
“the baby cooed and laughed” – baby is inncent and oblivious to the events and grief which surround it. Could be considered lucky
“ and tell me they were sorry for my troubles” – euphemism anger that no one actually can be as sorry as he is
Use of punctuationa dn full stops in fifth stanza accentuate the finality of the words and how his brother is gone for good
“next morning I went u pto his room - I saw him for the first time in six weeks. Paler now.” – sense of guilt. Realisation that things happen while your away/ Heaney has a memory of his brother prior to this
“ a four foot box a foot for every year” – signifies the brieviety if childs life. Sadness.
HAILSTONES KEY QUOTES AND ANAYLSIS
Hailstones is a extended metaphor for painful memories.
“my cheek was hit and hit” – hit is relentless. Plosive sounds enforce the sense of force of pain.
“whipped and knowledgeable” – adjective whipped creates sensory imagery envisions the pain to the reader
“those brats of showers” – colloquial term – young and annoying personified as a inconvenience plosive harsh and invasive. Tone shifts to immaturish child voice
“like a ruler across the knuckles” – feels like a punishment through the use of a similie
“ when the shower ended and everything said wait for what? For forty years” – figurative. Growing up. Rarity of snow.
NIGHT DRIVE KEY QUOTES AND ANAYLSIS – relationship, family, memory, love
Heaney is on a drive at night through France. He is reminiscibg about his wife and connecting his surroundings to her and aspects of their relationship. In nightdrive he doesn’t seem to lng for his wife as much there is a sense of excitement at visting new places. Hence t regards new experiences rather then focusing entirely on memory.
“ the smell of ordinariness were new” – abstract noun. Constrats familiar/new location back to Ireland
“rain and hay and woods on the air” – enjambment/listing. Describing imagery and insight to his surroundings
Stanza 2
“ promised and promised” – verb. Shows sense of longing. Allows us to quicken pace in this instant to mimic the imagery of scenes passing by a car.
“ I thought of you continuously” – reminiscing notslagic of his wife. Stative verb portrays longing
“ your ordinariness was renewed here” – heaneys penultimate 2renewed” of spakers belief in life as redemptive.
BROAGH KEY QUOTES AND ANAYLSIS
In this poem, Heaney explores the naming ofn place and draws parallel between the naming f the place and the settings characteristics. The poem describes a unknown place apparently a farmland. “ broagh” metaphor/analogy for unwelcome tension caused from English invlvment in the troubles
“riverbank, the long rigs” – establishes settings. “rigs” reflect northern Ireland identity. Rigs perhaps infers the land hast been looked after for a long time.
“ the garden mould brusied easily” – personification “bruised” asscociates with English when invaded and hw its just as vulnerable to damage now as then with no one lookin after it. Noun of mould reinforces idea its not been looked after
“in boragh its low tattoo … ended almost suddenly” – tattoo – permanence. End almost suddenly depicts how the land was contaminated by the engliush invaders “strangers”
“like that last gh the strangers found difficult to manage” – final stanza metaphorical analogy for unwelcome tension caused by the English invlvment.
BOGLAND KEY QUOTES AND ANAYLSIS
Heaney turns the peatbg into a metaphor for memory and feeling a place where identity is preserved. The bog acts as a presarvitive for history.
“we have no praires to slice a big sun” – we is a collective prnoun so speaking about irish people rather then general perspective.
“encroaching” – this verb suggests that the bogland is intruding on anyonbe trying to look into the distamce. Makes Ireland seem enclosed and crampled like the refenced bogland.
“they’ve taken the skelton of the great irish elk” – power and mystery. Belongs in Ireland. Great irish elk shows age of Ireland. That it is prosperous.
“butter sunk under” – harmony between nature and man. More respected 100 years ago.
“our pioneers keep striking” – to discver. Inks t 19th century pioneers who went t ameirca to discover.
“inwards and downwards” – looking to the past – internal/self contained. Not able to make progress if they keep looking in the past. Links to limited vision and should look forward
THE SKUNK KEY QUOTES AND ANAYLSIS – memory , rerlationships
Poem about heaneys married life. Tribute to his wife about how living away from home has caused him to miss his marriage life. First 5 stanzas ae based on memories of California nights and the last is a recent memory in his bed for his wife as she changes into her nightdress.
Themes of love and relationship and memory presented through zoomorphism sensorm imagery and use of sounds. Poem uses symbl of the skunk to represent the sacred and sexual relationship that Heaney shares with his wife.
“damasked like the chasuble” – emphaises how sacred the marriage is as chasuble is a priests robe. Shows how their elatinship is something worth worshipping.
STANZA 2
“small oranges” - distinct feature of a womans body. Sensual imagery
“beyond the veranda” – emphasises distance. American lexis. Shows how he misses his wife. Emphasises distance
“tense like a voyeur” – similie. Voyeur refers to smeone who enjys watching others associated with sexual pleasure. Reinforces the excitement he gets watching his wife.
STANZA 3
Uses enjambment to accelerate the pace f the poem and to increase the intensity f the poem. It creates a sense of urgency and excitement while allowing a flow of emotions.
“composing” and “love” – imply care and tenderness as he longs for the freshness of marriage
STANZA 4
“the aftermath of a mouthful of wine” – empahsies how wine should be something yu savour but at the same time it is bitter because he is longing for his wife being so from him.
STANZA 5
“intent and glamorous oordinary mysterius skunk” – allows reader to reflect on the contrasting adjectives . the cmmas have a plosive feel which allows for the reflectin hence the images are formed slowly and thoughtfully.
OVERALL EVIDENCE OF SENSORY IMAGERY SUCH AS “SNUFFING” “INHALING” “TANG OF EUCALYPTUS” WHICH MAKES USE OF SENSES TO EVOKE THE PRESENCE OF THE WIFE AND UNDERSCORES THE MULTIFACETED AND RICH ASPECTS F LVE AND SENSUALITY.
THE OTTER ANAYLISS AND KEY QUOTES
“the otter” extended metaphor/ conceit as he describes the relationship between him and his wife as he watches her swim. Again voyeuristic just like the skunk.
“when yu plunged the light of Tuscany wavered” – written in the pasy – speaker is remembering. Verb “plunged” suggests how the wioman has began swimming int the ool energetically which could suggest hw shes like a otter but also the energy that he has for the relationship. Metaphor for the profound impact she has on him and her ability to influence even the light of tuscany
“I loved your wet head and smashing crawl surfacing and surfacing again ” – animalistic. Smashing is a strong/aggressive verb. It can be seen as him finding it sweet how she is a bad swimmer or that he thinks she is smashing. Shows long duration of relationship. “surfacing and surfacing” – soft sibilance
STANZA 2
“I sat dry throated” – parched thirst she is in the water which he craves. She can be seen as life affirming
“you were beyond me” – sense of separation like the skunk but maybe also awe
STANZA 4
“thank god for the slow loadening – as the atmosphere on water” – ageing, sense of coming together inclusive prnoun of “we” reinforces this. Shoes there love growing strnger and how the meeting f air and water is almost seen as fundamental and elemental.
Stanza 5
“my two hands are plumbed water, you are my palpable, lithe otter of memory” – he is becoming thw water that is touching her, possessive, erotic, tactile
STANZA 7
“heavy and frisky in your freshend pelt, printing the stones.” – heavy and frisky imply sexualised connotations. Artistic impression suggesting she is the inspirtin for heaneys writing.
THE TOLLUND MAN KEY QUOTES AND ANAYLSIS
Body symbolises the nature of the mans death which include sacrifice and devotness. He compares this sacrifice of the TM to what the irish engaged in. they too hope their livea might mean something and in the end benefit those they love.
“some day I will go to Aarhus” – future tense is an indication of remoteness of poem from the time it speaks off. Aarhus is the 2nd largest city in Denmark and near to the muesuem where Tollund man is on display. Some day shows its expected and determined.
“his last gruel of winter seeds” – basic meal used to humanise the man whose distant from modern reader. Humble and poverty indicated.
“she tightened her torc on him and opened her fen, those dark huices working him to a saints kept body” – imagery is highly sexual in nature highlighting the fertility of relationship between mther earth and tollundman. Contrast the Tollund man death with the later unnecessary death of the brothers in the northern troubles. His death was bviously misguided but was carrid out with the best of intentions
“now his tainted face reposes as Aarhus” – the evocative term “reposes” very effectively captures hw at ease the tllund man is in his death
“the scattered ambushed flesh f labourers” – graphic imagery of violent death. Scattered and ambushed are effective in this.
“ I will feel lost, unhappy and at home” – Heaney combines both modern day of northern irish society and Danish society to the past. He knows he wont be able t speak the native tonguebut he will still be able to communicate with the danes. Effective end to ironic “home” asheaney suggests he is safe and comfortable when its not true.
PUNISHMENT KEY QUOTES AND ANAYLSIS
The poem becomes a form of protest/upstander. Heaney recognises the importance of challenging situations.
First stanza
“ I can feel tug of the halter at the nape of her neck the wind on her naked front” – alliteration N' focuses on anatomical features.
'Nape' is a sensual body part
'Naked front' highlights vulnerability as she is exposed to the elements
It shakes the frail rigging of her ribs - Compares her to a ship - constant comparison to things much larger than her.
She was a barked sapling - Metaphor; directly linking the woman to nature by comparing her to a young tree protected by bark - nature is protecting her.
Also suggests her youth and potential for life she had
Her shaved head like a stubble of black corn - 'Shaved' suggests indignity in the violent act of stripping away her femininity and identity
Simile comparing her to nature however black corn could imply cruelty and damage connecting the tar of the Irish woman
Stones of silence - Metaphor; religious and biblical connotations comparing throwing of stones to his lack of action towards the situation - Heaneys empathy.
Of your brains exposed and darkened combs - Exposed' reminds us of the beginning when she's in the wind and vulnerable with a lack of free will.
'Darkened combs' refers to the combs of a brain - feels like we're entering her soul and mind with darkened suggesting doom and violation
Connive in civilised outrage - Possible confession? with 'Connive' meaning to have secretly allowed something immoral to happen suggesting Heaney is implicit in the punishment due to him remaining mute
'Civilised outrage' oxymoron highlights the irony of the tribal cruelty in a time of supposed civilisation with no advancements
STRANGE FRUIT KEY QUOTES AND ANAYLSIS
Heaney wrote tis in response to one of the bog bodies. Highlighting the idea of the girls fate is ironic, to emphasie the point that our view of the past is wrng. Purpose is to see the individual lives lost in Ireland through religious conflict.
Here is the girls head like an exhumed gourd - i mmediate similie makes us aware of H's focus on drawing parallels. Adjective exhumed implies she was dehydrated sucked out. Unsettling imagery. “girl” – vulnerability and youth. Analogy of head serves to show how dehumanised we have become to murder /violence
made an exhibition of its coil - criticising human exhibitionism of death. Voyeuristic pleasure.
let the air at her leathery beauty - accentues her exposure, and uncomfortable, discordant vision of her 'beauty'
perishable treasure - paradox of beauty and preciousness contrasted with sense that she is withering to re-iterate the discordance of beautifying death
murdered, forgotten, nameless, terrible beheaded girl - list of adjs heightens her namelessness but the violence conveyed within each word is palpable and amounting. Lack of identity.
outstaring axe and beatification, outstaring what had begun to feel like reverence – beautufcation is from latin “blessed” religious concept- Catholicism tah tdied can enter heaven. Heaney challenged by the empty stare of the dead.
by
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