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How do Heaneys 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". ...
However, despite these nice images, Heaney also uses such words as "sweating" and "stumbled" alongside them. ...
Another aspect of country life is expressed by Heaney in his words like "grow up and plough" and "follow in his broad shadow" . ... Heaney wanted to grow up and plough like his father, and so we can extract from this that country life was fun at times, but it was really about families, because it can get lonely on a farm in the middle of nowhere. ... However, here, it is clear to see that Heaney is not just describing any father-son relationship, but a very special one, and Heaney is seen to be very much in awe of his father, "All I ever did was follow. ... This serves to illustrate more the skill of the father because later on in the poem, Heaney says that "I was a nuisance, tripping, falling, yapping always" and for the father to produce such perfect work in the face of provocation shows the reader that, through the image of a small boy tagging along, country life can be very trying at times.
Lastly in "Follower", Heaney says "It is my father who keeps stumbling behind me, and will not go away". This tells the reader that on a farm, and in the close-knit communities of country areas in general, there is a much larger sense of family, and even though Heaneys father may be a nuisance now, because of the strong bonds that exist on the farm, he is not send off to a retirement home, but kept as a family member. ...
In "The Early Purges" Heaney uses words such as "drown", "trapped", "snared", "shot" or "tug" to describe the various ways in which animals are killed on the farm. ... Taggart and the young Heaney.
Country life is seen here through the eyes of the young Heaney as brutal and unfair on the animals, "Dan Taggart pitched them [the kittens]. ... However, the words which Heaney uses are very clever, because the reader does not necessarily side with Heaney. ... " are seen to be reasonable later on in the poem when Heaney says "It makes sense". The images which he uses, however, encourage the reader to sympathise with Heaney, such as "Suddenly frightened, for days I sadly hung round the yard" where we picture this small boy frightened at the power of adults over the poor helpless animals. ... This means that we concentrate more, and, like Heaney, we are more in awe of his father.
This poem is also about the admiration and respect which Heaney shows towards his father. ... Heaney wants to be like his father, but the difference between this poem and "Follower" is that Heaney realises that he has "no spade to follow men like them. ... " show that in the country, it is often expected that people like Heaney will follow in their fathers footsteps, but Heaney is seen here to choose to be a writer. The image of Heaney digging out his memories with pen are very effective because the reader can visualise the likeness between poetry and farming.
Approximate Word count = 2626
Approximate Pages = 10.5
(250 words per page double spaced)
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