GCSE English Seamus Heaney - 'At a Potato Digging', 'Follower', 'Death of a Naturalist', 'Mid-Term Break', 'Digging', And 'Storm on the Island' Poems
•? •? •? •? •? •? •? Seamus Heaney - 'At a Potato Digging' The poem deals with two different potato harvests. One is the harvest from the present day that goes successfully and which delivers a rich crop. The second potato harvest looks back to the famine of 1845 when the crop failed and many people starved. Whilst the famine is no longer a threat, its ongoing fear remains and this can be seen in the use of religious language throughout the poem. For example, the bowed heads of the potato pickers suggest the desire to respect the gods and show them respect. The poem begins with Heaney describing workers in a potato field in Ireland. They follow a machine that turns up the crop and they put these into a basket and then store them. The second section of the poem involves the healthy potatoes being described. The third section writes about the famine of the past. Fungus destroyed the entire crop of potatoes and this happened for three consecutive years. Ireland was devastated and there were many deaths with people being forced to flee Ireland. In the final section of the poem, Heaney returns to the first section of the poem - Ireland in the 1960s at lunchtime. The workers sit happily, with food to eat. The rhythm of the poem changes in the third section of the poem. This is well suited to the changing
How does Seamus Heaney portray childhood and the loss of innocence that accpmpanies growing up?
How does Seamus Heaney portray childhood and the loss of innocence that accpmpanies growing up? Heaney particually portrays the theme of 'loss of innocence' as a child through his peoms, 'Death of a Natrualist', 'Blackberry picking', 'Poem' and 'Personal Helicon'. Death of a Naturalsit of the first of Heaneys poems to really express this theme. 'All year round the flax-dam festered in the heart of the townland;green and heavey headed Flax rotted there.' In the first stanza Heaney uses rich imagery and purposeful child-like language such as 'festered' and 'warm thick slobber'. These create a sense of the childlike adventure to be found in the surrounding area and time that he had as a child. The language and images created by Heaney help to engage the readers senses. These, although not always pleaseant images portray the excitement to be found as a child. They are also positive and fresah. As thepoem progresses into the following stanza there is a destince change in the mood of the peom. 'The air was thick with a bass chorus' Agaijn Heaney uses rich imagery to explain his point. Phrases such as 'angry frogs' tell how his feeling towards them as a child has changed and now they seem 'angry' rather then the 'nimble swimming tadpoles' that thery were before. Heaney expresses this change in nature as the change of season as wel for him as the actual changin from
A comparison between Seamus Heaney's
In both the poems "Digging" by Seamus Heaney and "Catrin" by Gillian Clarke the main theme is that of parent child relationships. "Catrin" relates to the inner thoughts and feelings of a mother giving birth whilst "Digging" shows a son's admiration for his father. In "Catrin" we first see the title, one that could possibly be addressed to a real daughter or exploring the relationships between mother and daughter in general, whereas "Digging" simply states the subject matter. In "Catrin" the author is initially quite cold and impersonal as she addresses child before birth, waiting for her arrival; "As I stood in a hot, white room at the window watching", possibly showing this as being her first child, so she is unsure of what to expect, and unsure of her feeling towards the child. This phrase seems very clinical and resembles a hospital ward. However from the very beginning of "Digging" we are greeted with warmth in the form of assonance such as the words "snug as a gun", which in addition are references to the way a gun is crafted for a person, so also the pen (and thus poetry) is perfect for Heaney, or vice versa. These comforting semantics are built upon with words such as "clean" and the sibilance; "spade sinks" and alliteration; "gravely ground." These phrases just roll of the tongue, easy top speak so easy to accept. By contrast Clarke has begun to create a semantic
How do Heaney's words show what country life was like and how effective are the images he produces - Follower
How do Heaney's words show what country life was like and how effective are the images he produces In "Follower", Heaney uses words such as "globed" and "strained". These are words which show that life in the country is difficult and that the work involved can be strenuous. They do however, produce good images about the country, because "globed like a full sail strung" conjures up many ideas of the hard work involved in life on the farm, and "strained at his clicking tongue" not only shows the difficult job of the horses, but through the effective image produced, it shows the reader how skilled Heaney's father is. Other words which show the skill involved in country life include "expert", "without breaking" and "exactly". These all show the reader what an accomplished farmer Heaney's father is, but they also have another use. They show us what country life is like, as mentioned previously, by illustrating how much skill goes into a seemingly mundane task such as ploughing a field, but they also produce very effective images. "The sod rolled over without breaking" not only illustrates skill in the country, but also beauty. The idea of freshly ploughed soil, perfectly formed adds to the readers perception of the country as a beautiful place, and so country life is also portrayed as very happy. However, despite these nice images, Heaney also uses such words as "sweating" and
At A Potato Digging
At a Potato Digging Monday 17th March ) Write four brief and simple paragraphs explaining the subject matter of each of the four sections of the poem. In Section I a spinner (which is a machine once used for spinning the potatoes out of the ground) moves across the field. The labourers follow the machine, picking up the potatoes and putting them into baskets. It is cold; the worker's fingers are dead with cold. Every so often they take their full baskets back to the pit to empty them. In Section II Heaney writes specifically about the potatoes. They lie on the ground; some of them are "flint-white" and some are "purple". Sometimes potato crops were blighted (by a fungus) making the whole crop fail, and in earlier days this resulted in famine as the population relied on the potato harvest for food. But in this case the crop is a "clean birth", and the potatoes are fine. The soil falls away from the potatoes as they are picked from the ground. In Section III describes the misery and tragedy caused when the potato harvest in Ireland failed for five years in a row (The Great Potato Famine 1845-1849). The rural poor depended entirely on the potato crop for food, and many died of starvation or from diseases resulting from starvation. Many immigrated to places such as America and Britain. In 1844
The poem Mid-Term Break versus the poem Caged Bird.
Ques 1. Choose one poem from the selection which has impressed you because of the emotion or mood which it conveys to you. And one poem which has made you think deeply or see a particular subject in a new light. In each case, use close reference to make clear the ways in which the poems have appealed to you. (500-600 words) Ans1. The poem 'Mid-term Break' by Seamus Heaney is a poem that made me feel extremely moved for the poet. It is a poem full of touching and heart-wrenching verses depicting poignant scenes of the family in mourning. As most people would think by reading this poems title, it is not about a joyous mid-term break of happy children enjoying their holidays. But in reality the poem is a sad one, which involves death and a bereaved family. A mid-term break is a time, which a lot of students look forward to because it is a break from school. It indicates a term being broken in half, a time of relaxation and enjoying the time of school. But the poem is nothing about that. It indicates a sad period for the people involved and when they should be having fun, instead they are grieving for the death of a family member. The beginning of this poem is appealing as it starts with an ominous tone. The poem starts off on a sad note, describing a boy sitting alone in suspense in the 'college sick bay'. This already gave me a gloomy picture in my mind of a depressed boy
The four poets present death in many but different effective ways. In .MidTerm Break. by Seamus Heaney a young boy has died
The four poets present death in many but different effective ways. In .Mid Term Break. by Seamus Heaney a young boy has died. It is written from the point of view of an older brother but this still makes this a very emotional poem because it is about a young boy having to deal with the fact that his four year old brother has been killed by a car. The poet presents death as being a very easy thing to happen, that the one .poppy bruise. could have killed this young child. Heaney uses many images in the poem so that you can almost feel the emotion that the family can feel. Personification and metaphors are used to create a calm and peaceful environment around the body. This death is shown as tragic but is not convey in a dramatic way. The poem is very peaceful. The body of the child was not hideously cut or dramatic, just a simple bruise. This is why the poem is just simple and I think this is how the poet creates a calming image to death. In .On the train. by Gillian Clarke, she writes about death in a very personal way. The poem is written about the Paddington Rail crash and about all of the people who lost their lives in it. Clarke also presents this death as something so easy to happen. The people who died where just having a normal train journey that they probably take every day, just like she was. She hears the news over the radio and imagines all of the
Comparing Two Poems - Follower and Digging
Patrick Weaver 10.3 Poems written by Seamus Heaney Comparing Two Poems Follower and Digging In this poem "Follower" the voice is that of the Son. He is speaking about his father who he looks up to and admires. The poem starts with the lines "My father worked with a horse-plough, his shoulders globed like a full sail strung". The image given to us immediately is that of a large piece of machinery controlled by a large a powerful man. We are told his shoulders are like a "full sail strung", straight away I think of I large yacht sailing at great speed across the world nothing can stop it. I think that the son is trying to portray this; therefore he has used the wording to great affect. The next significant line say's "The horses strained at his clicking tongue". The idea of these great beasts straining with effort to the command of their masters minimal effort command is a great one. The writer has used a great comparison between big and small to create a superb image of this grand master who controls all he does. The next verse starts with a powerful expression of admiration "An expert. He would set the wing and fit the bright steel pointed sock." The son then describes the sock in dangerous detail, making it sound as lethal as a samurai sword using words such as "Bright, steel and pointed" The next lines are "The sod rolled over without breaking. At the headrig, with a
Compare and Contrast Digging and Follower.
Compare and Contrast Digging and Follower. In "Digging" country life is portrayed in a slightly different way to "Follower". The skill Heaney's father uses is focused on in the poem Digging, and also the theme of relationships on the farm, how his father seemed to have a bond or some type of relationship with the farm is brought back in. Heaney's father had great skill when it came to digging, "Stooping in rhythm through potato drills". This shows the reader that country life is not as easy as one may think, and even to work on a farm you need to have quite a lot of skill. This conjures up an image of his father not only digging, but doing it with immense skill, which is not something we would associate with a job like that and like Heaney we are more in awe of his father because of this. Digging is also about the admiration and respect that Heaney had for his father. The words such as "Straining" show that his father worked very hard, as he did not break very often because he "stooped in rhythm". In "Follower" this is also the case. In the second verse he describes his father as "an expert". This shows a huge amount of respect. It is these words, which conjure up such image of Heaney's father never stopping unless he has finished a job, this image helps us to understand the young boy's admiration for his father. Country life is therefore seen as difficult, but there are
What are the preoccupations of Seamus Heaney’s poetry and how does he explore them?
Wednesday, 03 July 2002 What are the preoccupations of Seamus Heaney's poetry and how does he explore them? Heaney was born on April 13, 1939, the eldest of nine children. He grew up on the family's farm, Mossbawn in County Derry. The three poems I have selected are from Death of a Naturalist. These are; Digging, Follower and Mid-term break, I will explore these poems and search for Heaney's main preoccupations that can be found throughout his poems in Death of a Naturalist. The poem Digging was the first in the anthology so had to set the scene, so to speak for the other poems in the anthology. Digging deals with Heaney's poetry and how he will use it in relation to his family. The poem opens with Heaney contemplating the use of his poetry, "Between my finger and thumb the squat pen rests; snug as a gun." Here Heaney talks about the power or writing. He compares his pen to a gun, which has the power to take life this is why he must choose how he uses his writing because of the effect it can have. Heaney also describes the pride he has for his family, particularly his father and grandfather's work and their skills at digging, "The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft against the inside knee was levered firmly". By using words like "nestled" and "firmly" Heaney makes the action of his father digging sound co-ordinated and professional rather than just haphazardly
