Essay Dichotomy in Seamus Heaney’s Poetry

In part Seamus Heaney uses his poetry to explore himself but he also explores beyond himself. In his earlier work he mainly explores his childhood. However this develops in his later work, where he looks at his nationality and explores the concept of Irish identity. Heaney also explores darkness on varying levels from the literal to the metaphysical in terms of morality, as well as shining effulgence on the forgotten people.

The poems ‘Limbo’ and ‘Bye Child’ by Seamus Heaney are poems that evoke the casualties of sexual and emotional repression in Ireland, as well as and the oppression of both women and un baptized children, in a time where religion was most prominent and people were confined to the guidelines of the church and it’s community, as it was the ruling power. Both poems present this idea through the use of a child, representative of innocence and vulnerability. Through his poetry, Heaney gives a voice to those who have been silenced by society. Heaney manages to create this extended voice and

Like a shovel to dirt as a pen to paper. In “Digging,” Seamus Heaney uses specific elements such as diction, and imagery to convey his meaning that children don’t always want to be like their past generations of men.

because he is so much smaller than his father, but he also looks up to

Heaney’s attitude towards death is presented in different perspectives within Funeral Rites. A pun, based on a homonym, embedded within the title itself, suggests one’s right to have a funeral : for there to be an occasion for family and friends to mourn one’s death whilst celebrating their life. In Funeral Rites, Heaney demonstrates the beautiful serenity associated with death, while also highlighting the tragic aspect of death and dying. Funeral Rites is composed of three parts (the first of which I am going to focus on in this essay), with Heaney focusing on different attitudes towards death and dying within each section. For example, in the first section, Heaney concentrates on funerals in the past, as established by use of the past tense. The transition to present tense in the second section is confirmed by the strong adverb ‘Now’, and future tense in the third section highlights the change in customs within the change in time period. With Funeral Rites’ distinct structure, Heaney is indicating his nostalgia for the past, as well as highlighting his outlook on the situation in Ireland.

Seamus Heaney and Thomas Hardy both depict images of rural life as difficult and uncomfortable. In their poems ‘At a Potato Digging’ and ‘A Sheep Fair’ they describe different aspects of rural life; these were elements of life that would have been familiar to the poets and ones that they would have experienced. In their poetry Heaney and Hardy

He was also proud of his grandfather, who was so keen to work that he

Seamus Heany could also have family issues and uses the good times in his life, or the berries, to help portray them. On the surface of his

Likewise, In ‘Mid-Term Break’ Heaney reinforces the idea of an innocence experience as seen in ‘Holy Thursday (Innocence)’ in which a description of an episode in the poet’s childhood is described. However, this time Heaney does this in a more serious way as he portrays the experience of grief of a loved one. The title ‘Mid-Term Break’ is an abstract noun with a double meaning, as it’s telling us that it was a break from school which directly implies that the poem focuses on a childhood memory, and also portrays the broken heart of the innocent child. As usual in Heaney’s poetry, the use of iambic pentameter in ‘Mid-Term Break’ not only suggests

in the third person for the majority of the poem and it is only really

Using diction, Heaney further demonstrates the speaker's transition from optimistic to pessimistic as time goes on. In the beginning of the poem, Heaney has a entirely different diction than he concludes with. Choosing such words as "glossy"(4), "sweet"(5), and "tinkling"(13), Heaney gives a sense of cheer and happiness as the reader follows along to the speaker's reminiscing, as express that the speaker has a past of joy and innocence. Heaney creating this diction is highly important in the poem as Heaney drastically changes diction in the second stanza representing the speaker's transition into depressing adulthood. Now using words like "glutting"(19), "stinking"(20), and "rot"(23), Heany provides insight on how the speaker, like many of

In Blackberry-Picking, describes not only a literal experience of blackberry picking, but of a love that always seems to end in tears. The poet achieves this meaning through diction, imagery, and figurative language. Heaney first creates a vivid image through descriptive words given such as “a glossy purple clot” and “wet grass bleached our boots.” It is clear to the reader that the speaker and the speaker’s partner seem to have a romantic or deep connection similar to the experience of blackberry picking. Seamus Heaney uses imagery and diction to create the image and shape the meaning of this love.

Seamus Heaney uses complex and deep language throughout his writing. He tells of the optimism and hunger of being a youth through the masted use of imagery, diction, and symbolism. Heaney uses images to show the life of the speaker as a youth. As the poem progress it shows how people grow up and lose their adolescent behavior. Using non parallel structure produces the imbalanced feeling of how the optimism of being young is more important than the greediness. As people grow up they learn that the world may not be peaches and cream like their younger self

Death is a recurrent premise in Seamus Heaney’s poems. In 1966, his book of poems entitled Death of a Naturalist was published. “Midterm Break”, which is a part of this collection, articulates Heaney’s memories of his four year old brother’s death. In the poem "Midterm Break," Seamus Heaney successfully uses imagery, diction, and structure to portray his first experience with personal loss.

Seamus Heaney (1939-2013) was an Irish poet and playwright. His poem “Punishment” was first published in 1975 in a collection of poems called “North.” Heaney wrote this poem and collection of poems after discovering several bog bodies which dated back to the 1500s. The particular women he is describing in the poem, Windeby, is thought to have died of unnatural causes. Heaney compares the circumstances to that of the IRA against the British in Ulster. Heaney talks about the injustice and brutality of the crimes committed to