“Seamus Heaney’s poetry moves between earth bound realities and flights of poetic fantasy”.

Discuss to what extent you agree or disagree with this view of Heaney’s poetry, supporting your answer with references to the poems by Heaney on your course.

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Throughout his poetry, Seamus Heaney shows a remarkable ability to move between earth bound realities, focused on personal experiences and memories, and streaks of poetic fantasy, exploring abstract philosophical ideas and mythological tales. His ability to seamlessly blend these two worlds in poems such as “The Underground”, “The Forge”, and “Postscript” add layers of symbolism and depth to his writing, while in poems like “A Constable Calls ”, his focus on the earthly serve to heighten the emotional impact of the poem.

Heaney’s ability to move between earth bound realities and poetic fantasy is immediately apparent in “The Underground”, where he intertwines a personal memory from his honeymoon with mythological fantasy to capture his complex relationship with his wife. Heaney initially recounts himself and his wife “running, speeding”, “like a fleet god gaining” through the London underground. The past participle of “ing” accompanied with the enjambment throughout these lines lend a sense of movement and excitement to the image, emphasizing the energy of the young couple. This image also weaves the earthly with elements of mystical fantasy, alluding to the myth of the god Pan and the nymph Syrinx. In the next image Heaney returns to reality, adding a hint of eroticism, detailing a “new white flower japped with crimson”, a metaphor suggesting that his wife’s purity has been tainted. He also recalls how “button after button sprang off and fell in a trail”, eliciting images of undressing and intimacy. These titillating images call to mind other poems of Heaney’s, such as the “The Skunk”, where he employs similarly erotic language, describing himself as “tensed like a voyeur”. Heaney soon shifts back to mystical fantasy, comparing himself to Hansel, as “he came on the moonlit stones / retracing the path back”. This flight of poetic fantasy is continued in the final image of the poem, where the underpinning tone becomes far more sinister and tense. As Heaney and his wife enter a “draughty lamplit station”, he becomes conflicted, hesitant to turn around, declaring “damned if I turn back”. This image alludes to the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, where Orpheus loses his wife after looking back at her. While Heaney begins the poem as a lustful pursuer chasing after his wife, it appears that the excitement of the marriage has now faded. He now finds himself trailing ahead like Orpheus, unwilling to look back at the past and be “damned” by what he sees. (This is an excellent paragraph, well done! You demonstrate a broad vocabulary and knowledge of the poems of Heaney. I would recommend perhaps splitting this paragraph in two, as you have a lot of information here. Perhaps you could start a new paragraph at ‘These titillating images…’)

Heaney’s “The Forge” differs from “The Underground”, as it is predominantly rooted in reality, however there are brief streaks of poetic fantasy that contribute to the poem’s rich imagery. Heaney describes a blacksmith at work, which he explores as a symbol of creativity, craftsmanship and the changing nature of art. The poem begins with a bleak and archaic description of outside the forge, where Heaney describes “old axles and iron hoops rusting”. This anachronism is a powerful metaphor for the nature of the Blacksmith and his craftsmanship, suggesting that his work is no longer of relevance and merely a thing of the past. Inside the forge is starkly different, which Heaney brings to life through energetic language like the onomatopoeia of a “short pitched ring” and a “hiss”. Heaney moves away from the earthly towards fantasy, using the mythological metaphor of an anvil “horned as a unicorn” to highlight the magical and ethereal nature of the Blacksmiths work. He compares the anvil to “an altar”, transforming it into a place of divine worship, and he describes how the blacksmith “expends himself in shape and music”, an almost otherworldly image that highlights his unbridled creativity. The poem soon returns to earth bound reality, as the Blacksmith “recalls a clatter of hoofs”. The onomatopoeia and harsh plosive “k” sound , inject this image with energy, while the enjambment mirrors the movement and pace of the horses. The blacksmith returns inside and makes a final resolution “to beat real iron out”, in one final act of defiance.

You need to begin this paragraph by referring back to the question in the opening line as you have lost some marks here for coherence as you are not directly focused on the question here until halfway through the paragraph. A little bit of reorganising this paragraph is needed. “Postscript” differs heavily from “The Underground” and “The Forge”, as it features no humans or characters, and instead attempts to capture a fleeting encounter with nature’s beauty during a drive to County Clare. The poem begins with the conjunction “and”, suggesting that the poem is part of a conversation, lending an immediate sense of intimacy to it. Heaney advises the reader in a didactic tone to “sometime make the time to drive out west”, repeating “time” to stress the urgency and importance of the journey, and the internal rhyme of “I” to create a sense of rhythm and movement. Heaney describes the beauty of the “Flaggy shore” where the “wind and light are working off each other” and where “the ocean on one side is wild”. This image is particularly powerful as it almost hovers between the earthly and the fantastical, as the confluence of these elements has a magical quality to it. This mystical image is quickly interrupted and brought back to reality with the description of the “surface of a slate grey lake”, where Heaney incorporates assonance and sibilance to create a soothing and therapeutic tone. Again, the imagery drifts away from the earthly towards the magical as he describes a “flock of swans” who are “white on white” against the monochromatic lake. This image has a distinct ethereal quality, evoking images of swans from Irish folklore where they represent mysticism and otherworldliness. In the final image of the poem, Heaney moves away entirely from the literal and the tangible, towards the abstract and unearthly, as he grapples with the ability of poetry to transport us to places that exist between the physical and the imagination, explaining “you are neither here nor there”. Heaney also comments on the transient and impermanent nature of these fleeting moments, stating it’s “useless to think you’ll park and capture it”. (very good second part of this paragraph, well done!)

While “The Underground”, “The Forge”, and “Postscript” move between the earthly and the fantastical, “A Constable Calls” is rooted in harsh reality, as he recounts a frightening memory from his childhood during the height of the troubles when a constable visits his family farm. Heaney deliberately avoids ambiguity, instead using simple and arresting language to maximize the poem’s impact. The opening lines are ostensibly innocuous, however the sibilance in the description of the “bicycle stood at the window still” indicates a subtle threat. The “fat black handlegrips” sound ugly and unpleasant, and the image of the “dynamo gleaming and cocked back” evoke the image of the trigger of a gun, further establishing a threatening and menacing tone. Heaney uses a synecdoche to describe the Constable, labelling him the “Boot of the Law”, indicating that the constable is not a face to young Heaney, but a symbol of “the law” and its concomitant threats. Even when the officer’s cap is removed, “the line of it’s pressure ran like a bevel”, suggesting that his authority and threat linger after it is taken off. When the constable questions the family on the tillage returns, Heaney recounts the monosyllabic reply of “no”, emphasising the tenseness of the situation. Heaney’s nerves and discomfort are highlighted through the enjambment of the following lines as he appears to get carried away in emotion, imagining the “black hole in the barracks”, incorporating the plosive “ck ” sound and harsh alliterative “b” to further highlight the danger and threat. Even as the constable cycles away, the threat still lingers, as the bicycle “ticked, ticked, ticked”, a final image that evokes the sound of a bomb waiting to go off. Heaney’s imagery throughout “A Constable Calls” is rooted in earthbound reality, and as a result he is able to explore powerful themes of fear, curiosity, and authority, in a way that resonates with readers. Mystical language and flights of poetic fantasy are unnecessary in this poem, as the events of the poem are compelling and powerful by themselves.

Heaney’s poetry explores fascinating and often bleak themes, often through his personal encounters and memories, in a shockingly insightful manner. His extraordinary ability to strike a fine balance between earthbound reality and streaks of poetic fantasy, combined with his judicious use of rich and evocative imagery, make his poetry incredibly powerful, and lend his work a far-reaching appeal.

P    14/15

C    13/15

L     14/15

M     3/5

Total: 44/50 (H2) (88%)

This is an excellent piece of writing, very well done. You need to pay a little more attention to small details such a correct use of capital letters in order to get a H1. The content here is wonderful, and you demonstrate excellent vocabulary and an in-depth knowledge of Heaney’s works. You have also supported the points that you make with strong quotations, and you have focused well on the question asked. With some minor amendments, this is certainly a H1. Keep up the fantastic work!

Mythology and tradition play important roles in the poetry of Seamus Heaney.

#625Lab. Corrected and marked by an experienced SEC examiner, this non-H1 essay is full of feedback that you can learn from. Learn now, in the safety of 625Lab, and avoid mistakes in the real deal. You may also like: notes on Seamus Heaney or Complete Guide to Leaving Cert English (€).

This is the basis of a good answer. There needs to be more in depth explanation of the poems. Develop your points. Some sections are quite note-like. Statements or generalisations should be teased out. There is more engagement needed.

Coding would be T? and M?. All the elements are here, engagement with question, good quotes, personal engagement, expression is good. Development and consistency will help to improve.

(L) missing punctuation. All titles should be “The Tollund Man”

(S) spelling error.

Mythology and tradition are indeed important roles in Seamus Heaneys (L) poetry. Mythology is very much prevalent (Awkward phrasing, remove very much) in ‘The Tollund Man’ , ‘The Underground’ and ‘Bogland’. However, (Implies a contradiction where there isn’t one) there is a very poignant sense of tradition in ‘The Harvest Bow’. These poems all showcase Heaney’s talent for using deeply personal experiences in a way that transcend (This sentence is unclear, should it be as a way) into very traditional and mythological ones for the reader.

With The Underground(L) Heaney uses his personal memory of his honey(S) with his wife to expose the realities of love. Greek Mythology is employed effectively to connect the modern experience of the couple with the tales that are thousands of years old. Here, the experience of young love that is written about is timeless, eternal and universal. The poet describes himself as being “like a fleet God” chasing his wife “before you turned to a reed”. (It is not clear how Greek mythology is used here. Fleet God and reed need to be explained and developed) The rush of energy and youthful passion is expressed by Heaney’a(S) use of present participles ‘running’ ‘speeding’ ‘gaining’. This allowed me to vividly experience the rush of passion that Heaney is remembering. (How does it allow you to experience it? This is a generalisation, you need to prove it. You are leaving too much for me to do.)

The image of the buttons from the brides (L) coat is echoed in the second stanza when Heaney uses a fairytale allusion.’I come as Hansel came on the moonlit stones retracting the path back lifting the buttons’, Heaney is cleverly blending the nursery tale with Greek mythology. (Don’t state it prove it, explain.) The poem ends on a very mythological note. “For your step following and damned if I look back.” He is referring to Eurydice who was damned by Orpheus who looked back to see if she was following. (Good explanation.) Heaney is suggesting that he will be damned if he looks back, which gives a complexity to the poem.(Why is it complex?) I believe this deeply personal, mythological poem heralds how the change in a relationship can cause the pursuer to become the pursued. (New idea. It must be teased out.) T?M?

Similarly to The Underground (L), ‘Bogland’ is a very mythological poem with prevalent (Awkward, with aspects of) key aspects of tradition too. Bogs for Heaney (L) are central to Irish identity. The opening stanza begins with “we (L) have no prairies to slice a big sun at evening.” The prairies in America suggest an unlimited, (L)vast space of land with unrestricted opportunities. By stark contrast, in Ireland our sight is drawn downwards ‘it concedes to encroaching horizons’. The word concedes suggests a more restricted or limited view of life. (Link this to tradition.)

The ‘cyclops eye’ in the second stanza is an affecting metaphor for the sun. The cyclops eye evokes an imagine of the mythical one eyed (L) giants of Greek legend. I could vividly convey (Envisage) imaginative images of singular focused, yet narrow vision which distinguishes the Irish psyche. There are also several aspects of Irish tradition prominent in this poem. Personal memory is widespread as Heaney moves away from the personal pronoun ‘I’ to the plural pronoun ‘we’. It was intriguing to discover the treasures of the bog ” the Great Irish Elk.” The traditions of the past are discovered in the very poignant image of the butter. “Butter sunk under, more than a hundred years’. Again the butter is symbolic of Irish identity as it symbolises the richness and density of the bog. It is easy to see how Heaney makes potent use of mythology and tradition in this poem. (This seems tagged on. If you have proven the point, which you have then there is no need to flag that you have.) T?M?

Mythology and tradition play an extraordinary part in The Tollund Man.(L) Mythology is greatly referred to throughout the poem. (Awkward phrasing, Mythology dominates this poem.) The belief in the Mother Goddess is believed to have caused the Tollunds (S) Mans(L) senseless death, which I find deeply upsetting. ‘Bridegroom to the goddess.’(Explain) Similarly the belief in Mother Ireland has caused the futile deaths of hundreds during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The Tollund Man is highly symbolic of the sectarian violence that dominated the North at this time. (Develop)

The gold ‘torc’ worn by Irish Celtic royalty, is likened to the arms of the goddess encircling the bridegrooms (L) neck, but the metaphor reminds us that this embrace is a strangulation, (L)the noose of the victim bridegroom.” Naked, except for the cap, noose and girdle.” The victims defenseless, naked body symbolises his vulnerability. The poem ends with a very moving line ‘ I will feel lost , unhappy and at home.’ This terrible paradox closely links the two communities. (How and why?)T?M?

Finally, there is another type of mythology and tradition present in The Harvest Bow, the poem I enjoyed the most out of the four. This deeply personal poem moved me in several ways as it celebrated Heaneys (L) relationship with his Ireland and the peace in rural Ireland. Dissimilar to previous poems, there is no reference to mythology or fairy tales. However, the Harvest Bow is symbolic of a peaceful rural life of tradition and work that is sharply contrasted to the violent Northern Ireland of the 1970’s. Heaney is celebratory of his father in the first two lines of the poem.” You plaited the harvest bow” and recalls how ‘it tightens twist by twist.” I find it deeply admirable how Heaney greatly appreciated his fathers (L)work and skilfulness.(Link to the question)

Heaney creates richly sensuous imagery through the use of sibilance (L),consonance and alliteration all in one. “Whacking the tips off weeds, and bushes beats out of time, and beats but flushes.” All of these sounds (S) effects employed by Heaney undoubtedly appeal to our sense of hearing. Two very powerful similes that I found remarkable were ‘finger it like braille ‘ and ‘like a drawn snare.’ The first shows us important it is not to take simple things in life for granted , and the second is an extremely traditional symbol of how alluring the speaker found the bow to be. (You should strengthen the connection between the poem and the idea of tradition.)T?M?

In conclusion, I would certainly agree that mythology and tradition play hugely significant roles in the poetry of Seamus Heaney. He makes particular potent use of poetic techniques in each of this deeply personal poems to enhance his readers understanding of Irish tradition and mythology.

15-P-10

15-C-8

15-L-8

15-M-4

30/50

You may also like:

Details of Heaney’s Nobel Prize
Heaney’s obituary in the Irish Times