Open Ground Poems 1966-1996 - Seamus Heaney

When analyzing the writings of Seamus Heaney, it is often important to take into account the situation of the poet himself to enable the reader to put his poetry into context. Heaney's poetry is particularly influenced by the history and politics of his home country Ireland and a strong theme of politics runs through the majority of his works. The extent to which this theme is exploited varies from the implicit 'Digging' to the explicitly political poems such as 'The Ministry Of Fear.' Heaney was raised within a family and culture that very much relied on the land, the significance of which is ... more

Opened Ground is the greatest introduction that any reader of contemporary Irish poetry should endeavour to obtain. Heaney demonstrates an ability to find a very suttle voice from the fragments of a dis-membered 'Northern' Irish Catholic community. It is hard not to see him as the likely heir to the crown left by W.B Yeats in the earlier part of this century. As a poet 'Heaney' is at best human and at worst selfless, there is no great ideological metaphysical boundaries to fight, as you may find in Hughes. His work is economic, has much verve and written with a quelled passion. In making a ... more

'Death Of A Naturalist' I am going to be focusing on one of the most compelling poems in this book of Irish poems which is Death of A Naturalist. This is one of the most, I think, best ideas for a poem as it contains both side of an arguement, a very hard thing to do in a poem. I think Irish poems don't get a lot of credit from modern day reviewers. It has kind of been 'swept under the mat' which I think is extremely wrong. At the opening of the first paragraph, the writer makes it clear that he, as a young boy, enjoyed wildlife. He tells of the times when he used to go down to the flax - dam ... more

“Follower” by Seamus Heaney is a thought-provoking poem. It raises issues such as childhood, growing up and old age. Heaney adds power to his consideration of these issues by his use of effective language. Each of these issues are vividly developed throughout the poem. Heaney introduces the theme of childhood by stressing the admiration that he had shown towards his father. Growing up is conveyed when Heaney states that he wants to be exactly like his father- a skilled farm owner. Old age is developed in the final stanza of the poem when the poet’s father has grown old and ... more

My favorite poem by Seamus Heaney is Mid-term Break, and i am particularly captivated by the way he explores grief. In the 1950's Seamus Heaney's brother, who was four at the time, was hit and killed by a car. Seamus was at boarding school at the time and recalls to us what happened immediately after the accident. To start with Heaney begins by describing how he sat in the sick-bay waiting for some-one to come and pick him up. Although he is in the sick-bay he is not at all sick, he is sitting there bored waiting to be driven home to see his dead brother. The bells he refer to - q. "…Counting ... more