Content and meaning Flashcards
meaning
The narrator describes how a rural
island community prepared for a
coming storm, and how they were
confident in their preparations.
When the storm hits, they are shocked
by its power: its violent sights and
sounds are described, using the
metaphor of war.
The final line of the poem reveals their
fear of nature’s power
Why does Heaney use the word we a lot
Heaney adopts the pronoun ‘we’ throughout the poem
suggesting it reflects wider cultural experiences instead of the
first‐person ‘I’ which Heaney stated he used for his
autobiographical poems.
Poem is a metaphor for what
poem is extended metaphor of the military conflict in
Northern Ireland,
The extended metaphor of the ‘island’ as
as a battleground is
continued throughout the poem through the semantic field of
warfare. ‘We are prepared’ feels like a challenge; the ‘we’
evoking a unified force ready to take on whatever their
common enemy throws at them.
them. It is significant Heaney only
makes references to defence and protection
say its defensive
There is juxtaposition between ‘explode
comfortably’
comfortably’ which might suggest the battering ‘storm’ is just
something the ‘island’ inhabitants have had to grow used to in
their everyday lives.
lives. The final lines continue to focus on the
destructive power of the enemy,
but this time the violence is
juxtaposed with a sense of emptiness. Perhaps Heaney is
exploring the constant attempts of the British to erode the
cultural identity of the Irish
