Heaney-north and sunlight
...tations of Iceland would never compare to Ireland. The “raiders” did not succeed in taking over. Ireland is a strong and mighty county and was not easy to come away from alive. The “raiders” are lying dead beneath the soil, “their long swords rusting”. Heaney is inspired to write by his country and its history, and all the great battles it has concurred , “Lie down in the word-hoard…”. He wants to collect and save his countries history by putting it all down in words. The things he writes, he does not know for sure, “compose in darkness”. He is like a blind man, feeling around, experiencing it with something more than sight, “trust the feel of what nubbed treasure your hands have known”. The poem “Sunlight” is a more personal outlook to his origins, the similarity of both the poems is that he is writing about the things that he loves. In the first stanza he makes referrals to words, “pump”, “honeyed” and “water”. Another referral to food,...