Seamus Heaney

The poem is an intense play-by-play recount of a rebound followed by a fast break. The imagery within the poem are all primarily action based, conveying a feeling of suspense. Maloney

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

The memories in the poem maintain a cohesiveness and continuity of experience through repeated motifs such as the violets and the ‘whistling’. Memories also give us a recovered sense of life, as shown through the final line of the poem ‘faint scent of violets drifts in air’. This example of sensory imagery also creates a rhythmic drifting sense linked closely to the “stone-curlews call from Kedron Brook”. It echoes images of the speaker’s mind drifting into reflection and aurally creates transience between the present and the past.

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

“Poets are the record keepers and moral consciences of their times.” In response to this view, explore connections between the ways in which Heaney and Sheers write about memories. As poets are known to be record keepers memories are a key theme that poets often write about due to it being a theme with such a wide range. Heaney and Sheers have both written poems about memories. The two poems that i have chosen to focus on for this essay are ‘Mametz Wood’ by Owen Sheers and ‘The Strand at Lough Beg’ by Seamus Heaney.

The three poems that highlight Seamus Heaney’s response to the modern world unequivocally are entitled: ‘Anything Can Happen’, ‘Helmet’, and ‘Out of Shot’. ‘Anything Can Happen’ has four quatrains with each line structured around ten syllables. Adding to this structure, the poem is constructed of eight sentences and a singular rhetorical question. In contrast, ‘Helmet’ is a poem that consists of seven tercets with a high use of enjambed lines. The poem, also, has two main sections: the first ends in the use of an ellipsis and the second with a full stop. In further contrast, ‘Out of Shot’ is a sonnet without a rhyme scheme. It is a singular sentence separated by the use of a semicolon and an em dash. As obvious in these three poems, Seamus

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.

Apart from that, the poem consists of a series of turns that reflect different parts of the speaker’s feelings and the experiences he had. The significance of these turns is made possible through the use of stanza breaks. For example, the first

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

This essay will analyse the challenges Seamus Heaney faced during the process of translation and writing, including his own conscious effort to make the play suitable for a modern audience. It will demonstrate how Heaney’s use of language and poetry aided in presenting modern ideas through the timbre of Irish/English diction and idiom in an attempt to make the play more ‘speakable’. Identifying features of Greek theatrical conventions and how Heaney used these to shape his play. Heaney also presents social and political issues through The Burial at Thebes in a way that resonates with a contemporary audience.

The anthology targets two very different demographics and as such, the concept and purpose are two-fold. For young adults the poems act as a cautionary tale against going down a path that leaves one unfulfilled, whether this is a result of the direction one is going in or the vices that

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

In Seamus Heaney’s poetry, there is a recurring theme of his talking of the past, and more predominantly about significant moments in time, where he came to realisations that brought him to adulthood. In “Death of a Naturalist” Heaney describes a moment in his childhood where he learnt that nature was not as beautiful as seem to be when he was just a naive child. Heaney does this on a deeper level in “Midterm Break” describes his experience of his younger brothers funeral and the mixed, confusing feelings he encountered, consequently learning that he no longer was a child, and had no choice but to be exposed to reality. Robert Frost in one sense also describes particular moments in time, where his narrator comes to realisations. However,

The tone in these lines are often humorous and at the same time genuinely loving. In short, the tone of this poem is as complex as the subject with which it so memorably

Seamus Heaney uniquely constructed his poem “The Forge” to tell a story of an inspired outcast scrutinizing a man while he conducts true art. This poem is not only about an outsider fantasizing about the unknown, but also about a blacksmith’s every move and more. The audience is left questioning “who is this mysterious blacksmith?” and “who even is this being of inspiration?” After profound research was done, it was uncovered that the narrator is actually Heaney, and the blacksmith is his dexterous neighbor, Barney Devlin. Heaney’s definitive word choice was significantly influenced by his young, budding mindset as a child, leading him to speak so strongly about someone that he hardly even knew.