Commentary on "Casualty" by Seamus Heaney.
IB English 2002: Dianna Gu Commentary on "Casualty" by Seamus Heaney The poem "Casualty" by Seamus Heaney is strong in emotive language and possesses a sensitivity that reaches down to the core of feeling. "Casualty" is written in three distinct sections, each of which conveys a slightly different tone and mood, though each retains the vivid imagery and lyrical warmth that is so typical of Heaney's poems. The poem speaks mainly of a drinker that the poet knew but who was killed when the pub he was drinking in was bombed. Through his reflections about his feelings towards this man, Heaney also conveys some political views, subtly, yet effectively, bringing forth the tension between the Irish Catholics and Protestants. This he achieves through mockery of trivial concerns, especially in part one. Part one of the poem elicits the deep admiration that the poet felt towards the drinker. This feeling is conveyed by the warmth of the language used as well as by the slow steady pace of the meter. The first image portrayed in the poem is, however, one of solitude. The line "He would drink by himself" conveys this sense of aloneness, yet, at the same time, suggests secrecy and the possible participation in something that is prohibited. The next line mitigates this desolate feeling through a delightful physical description: "And raise a weathered thumb". This is the first
Compare and Contrast how the central child characters in the poems, "We are seven" and Mid-term Break" deal with the experience of death in childhood.
English Coursework Compare and Contrast how the central child characters in the poems, "We are seven" and Mid-term Break" deal with the experience of death in childhood. In this assignment I will analyse two poems, 'Mid-term break' and 'We are Seven' and study the ways in which each of the children in the poems deal with the death of a family member. In Seamus Heaney's poem, 'Mid-term break', he shares his thoughts about the death of his little brother and his feelings on the wake and the funeral. In William Wordsworth's poem, 'We are Seven' we learn how a little girl reacts to the death of her brother and sister and her attitude to her experience of death. The first poem I will analyse is 'We are Seven' written by William Wordsworth. William Wordsworth is a famous pre-nineteenth century English poet. He was one of the most accomplished and influential of England's romantic poets, whose theories and style created a new tradition in poetry. Wordsworth was born on April 7, 1770, in Cockermouth, Cumbria, and educated at St John's College, Cambridge University. He developed a keen love of nature as a youth, and frequently visited places noted for their scenic beauty. Poetry, he believed, originates from "emotion recollected in tranquillity". He began to write his own unique style of poetry, he abandoned the dull, wordy, intellectual style used by previous poets and adapted his
How does Seamus Heaney use words to capture early sensations, such as sound, smell, touch and sight?
James Davies English-Seamus Heaney 25th June 2001 9VP How does Seamus Heaney use words to capture early sensations, such as sound, smell, touch and sight? Seamus Heaney the Irish poet and writer (1939- ) uses a wide variety of words and phrases in his poems to introduce to you his early sensations. Heaney portrays through a number of his poems including 'Storm on the Island' and 'The Early Purges' early sensations through describing senses such as sound, smell, touch and sight. Heaney chooses his words very carefully and effectively which make his words appeal to the senses, thus creating in the mind of the reader a mental picture true to the poet's intention. I am going to look at two of Seamus Heaney's poems 'Storm on the Island' and 'The Early Purges' and I am going to investigate how Heaney uses words and phrases to capture his early sensations, such as sound, smell, touch and sight. Seamus Heaney's main style of writing used in capturing his early sensations is through choosing his words with ultimate precision to ensure that they create the correct effect on the reader. In both of the poems 'The Early Purges' and 'Storm on the Island' the words and phrases Heaney has put together were chosen carefully and individually to guarantee the poem is crisp and precise in creating the view and to capture the
Summary of Digging
The poem 'Digging' was written by Seamus Heany five years before the outbreak of violence in Northern Ireland, however, everyone was aware of the conflict that would occur. It was written in 1964 and it was the first poem where he felt he had really "let down a shaft into his real life". Heany starts by saying, "the squat pen rests, snug as a gun." He treats the pen as his weapon, like a gun and he uses a very confident tone. His grandfather and father were both farmers they dug. The noise of the turf and the smell of potatoes brings back his memories and makes him aware of the vital link that binds him to his family. Heany's admiration for his forbears oozed out of the poem. He 's proud of them and knew their dedication to their job. He has several options of his career to choose from and he wasn't sure what he should choose. In the poem, Heany makes use of words to describe sights, smells, touch and hearing. He describes what he sees in great detail. "Nicking and slicing" was used to describe the sound of the sods being heaved up and down. The quotations "Loving their cool hardness in our hands" and "the cold smell of potato mould" were used by Heany to describe touch and the smells he recalls respectively. Heany creates the first two stanzas to have a perfect rhyme. The rhymes are "thumb" to "gun" and "sound" to "ground". Heany makes use of the rhymes to make the start
The main theme for these two poems is death and how it effects Heaney in its different forms as a child.
Heaney Essay The main theme for these two poems is death and how it effects Heaney in its different forms as a child. Both poems discuss his emotions and how he reacts in each and every situation. Heaney was brought up in Ireland on a small farm so he had to deal with death on a day to day basis, whether it be newly born animals or loved ones; Heaney encountered it all. As the poems progress we begin to see more of Heaney's personality and how he deals with deaths not matter how small they are. Eventually, we begin to see changes in him, as the boy becomes a man and he starts to grow up. 'Midterm Break' begins with Heaney describing how bored he is and how slowly time is passing for him personally. He says, "I sat all morning in the college sick bay," this suggests that he feels like he has been waiting for ages. It is also ironic that he is sat in the college sick as he is not sick at all but his little brother is dead. "Counting bells knelling," really shows how bored he is, as you must be really stuck for something to do if you are counting the number of bells that ring. Within this line there is also evidence to show that death is at the forefront of Heaney's mind as he describes the bells as, "knelling." A knelling is what you would usually get at some ones funeral. Although it is not obvious, the thoughts of his brother's death are there they are just shown in very
Death has been described and explained in many different ways by many different poets, William Wordsworth and Seamus Heaney being two of them.
Poetry Coursework. Death has been described and explained in many different ways by many different poets, William Wordsworth and Seamus Heaney being two of them. Wordsworth's romantic poem We are seven is based in the countryside and is about a little girl telling Wordsworth about her family. In the poem, I see love, unity, and identification expressed by Wordsworth. Love is seen in stanza three Her eyes were fair and very fair; Her beauty made me glad. Unity can be seen in stanza eight and fourteen Seven boys and girls are we; Two of us in the churchyard lie, Beneath the churchyard tree. Together round her grave we played, My brother John and I. Identification is seen in stanza two She was eight years old, she said; Her hair was thick with many a curl That clustered round her head. The simple structure of the poem symbolizes the simple life of the little girl, A simple child, dear brother Jim, That lightly draws its breath, And feels its life in every limb, What should it know of death? From this stanza I can see that the little girl is very different from the children whom Charles Dickens wrote about, she seems happier. The little girl's innocence and immaturity appears in stanza five, Two of us in the churchyard lie, My sister and my brother; And in the churchyard cottage I Dwell near them with my mother. The little girl does not hesitate to say
Using the four poems; 'Song of the old mother' by William Butler Yeats, 'On my first sonne' by Ben Johnson, 'Digging' by Seamus Heany and 'Catrin' by Gillian Clarke, I am going to compare how the poets use different techniques
Choose; two poems from the poetry bank, one by Seamus Heaney and one poem by Gillian Clarke and compare all four poems on how they write about the relationships between parents and children. Using the four poems; 'Song of the old mother' by William Butler Yeats, 'On my first sonne' by Ben Johnson, 'Digging' by Seamus Heany and 'Catrin' by Gillian Clarke, I am going to compare how the poets use different techniques to show the relationships between parents and children, also how the writer conveys their ideas to the reader. In the following paragraphs I'm going to talk my interpretation of the four selected poems. In 'Song of the Old Mother' William Butler Yeats is the writer for this poem however he is not the narrator of this poem, his mother is. This poem is about growing old and how the mother thinks children take things for granted. The mother talks about everyday simple tasks, she has lots of work to do 'even before the children and sun come out'. She repeats that because she is old, she must work and she is warning her children that one day her children will too be old and have to work really hard and she is getting cold because it is getting late and the fires going out. I think by this the poet seems to be saying that the mother is getting to old and may die soon. She knows as well as the reader that the mother will have to get up early in the morning to start her
Post 1914 poetry. Other cultures- poetry of Seamus Heaney.
Coursework assignment 5- post 1914 poetry. Other cultures- poetry of Seamus Heaney. Heaney often writes about his childhood. Choose two or three poems and discuss his presentation of this theme. We are studying the work of Seamus Heaney, a well known poet. Heaney's earlier poems were largely focused on his childhood and his upbringing on his family's farm in Northern Ireland. Both his father and grandfather were farmers, but Heaney did not share their ambitions, he followed his dreams to become a successful poet. I am studying two poems by Heaney, the first is called 'Digging' and the second 'Follower,' both of which are about his childhood and how he viewed his father and grandfather. The first poem, 'Digging', refers to the fact that Heaney did not follow in his family's tradition. The poem begins with Heaney describing how his pen fits snugly into his hand. It is suggested that the pen is a comfort to him but something that he has complete control over and which can be used as a powerful weapon. We are made to believe this by the line, 'Between my finger and my thumb the squat pen rests snug as a gun.' This makes Heaney sound slightly threatening as if with this weapon he could do anything. In the poem Heaney uses words such as 'rasping, nicking and slicing,' these words are all examples of onomatopoeia. They are effective as they convey the tone and sounds of the
Themes in Death of a Naturalist.
Themes in Death of a Naturalist In the early book of poetry Death of a Naturalist, several themes reoccur in Seamus Heaney's poems. The poems "Follower" and "Digging" show that although we might admire our parents' qualities, we cannot always lead similar lives to theirs. In "Follower" Heaney demonstrates his profound regard towards his father's work in the image "his eye narrowed and angled at the ground, mapping the furrow exactly" because it thoroughly describes how meticulous the father was at farming. Also, Heaney actually states that he desires to be as skilled and strong as his father, "I wanted to grow up and plough, to close one eye, stiffen my arm" but reveals frustration since he knows that he's incapable. The line "all I ever did was follow" also reveals Heaney's realization that he is incapable of being a farmer but can only follow his father. In addition, in the poem "Digging" images such as "nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods over his shoulder, going down and down" portray Heaney's respect and admiration for his father's hard labor, strength and endurance. Nevertheless, Heaney still is sure that he cannot be like his father although he admires him; he prefers to show the same qualities as him but in a different way. This idea is depicted in the lines "But I've no spade to follow men like them. Between my finger and my thumb the squat pen rests. I'll dig
What picture does O'Casey paint of the life and people of the Dublin tenements in 1920 in his play "The shadow of a gunman"?
What picture does O'Casey paint of the life and people of the Dublin tenements in 1920 in his play "The shadow of a gunman"? In your answer you should also comment on the ways in which O'Casey achieves his affect through characterisation and dramatic impact. Sean O'Casey paints a very dangerous although not totally realistic picture of the life and people of the Dublin tenements in 1920. He is not wrong, but just over exaggerates to make it more interesting. The play is about a man (Donal Davoren) who is 'the shadow of a gunman'. He actually is just a 'poet on the run' but most of the members of the tenements think he's an 'IRA gunman on the run'! The reason for not telling people he is not a gunman is the young and beautiful Minnie Powell; she falls in love with not him, BUT his imaginary status of being a runaway gunman. A good example of this is where Seamus says "A Helen of Troy come to live in a tenement! You think a lot about her simply because she thinks a lot about you, an' she thinks a lot about you because she looks upon you as a hero - a kind o'Paris......she'd give the worl' and all to be gaddin' about with a gunman" Donal was a poet; his visual possessions are the sort of things you would expect, typewriter, books, paper and some flowers. Seamus on the other hand was a very religious man and is a 'peddlar', his possessions were things such as the bible,
