Follower đđ Flashcards
Fill in the gaps and give analysis : His â________ ______â âlike a full ___ strungâ
Hint: L, D, L- siblance.
His âshoulders glovedâ âlike a full sail strungâ
L= simile- generates an image of the speakerâs father as someone who is a necessity/ an essential, since his âglobedâ shoulders, are compared to a sail that is fully strung on a boat.
D= and sails of a boat, let a boat move- perhaps this [parallel] emphasises the speakerâs father as someone who on one level is skilled at directing the plough, like how a sail directs the boat.
D= but on a deeper level, the speakerâs father points the speaker into the correct direction, giving him motion. [for his life]
- By comparing his fatherâs shoulders to a sail on a boat, it emphasises how much the speaker admires his fatherâs power.
L= sibilance of âshouldersâ and âsailâ suggests the father works very smoothly, and desperately. Because to the son, the father appears larger than life.
- I= ; this could perhaps be a reference to the Greek god strength- of atlas- who was forced to carry the âheavensâ due to being punished by Zeus, after attempting to rebel against him.
- This is because from a historical perspective, atlas means to support- therefore this imagery of the fatherâs âglobedâ shoulders, could reflect the speakerâs sense of awe/admiration towards the speakerâs father.
- as he portrays/plays God, and supports the speaker, similar to how atlas supported the heavens and the Earth.
âI stumbledâ
Hint: L, I, C + contrasts with skilful movements offâŚ, C
L= verb
- contrasts with the skilful movements of his father and the speaker sees himself as clumsy.
I/C=an alternative interpretation is that this is perhaps why Seamus Hadley did become a farmer, like his father.
- âstumbledâ also implies the uncertainties Heaney has about his ability to take the same path as his father becauseâŚ
C= this is contextually important, as being the eldest of nine children, Heaney had a lot of pressure to conform to, such as the expectations of his farming environment (and upbringing): to be skilled at farming, just like how his father was.
- shift to first- person, as the speaker admits he is unable to keep up with his dad- further highlighting, how he admires his father.
âshadowâ
Hint: L, I, D + feels overshadowed.
L= noun
I/D= An alternative interpretation is that this is literal- his father casts a shadow as he ploughs and the speaker walks in the shadow.
But on a deeper level, an alternative interpretation is that he is feels he is overshadowed by his father.
- also expresses his wish to follow in his fatherâs footsteps when he was older.
âstumblingâ
Hint: role reversal, L, D
L= verb
- The father is now dependent upon the speaker and there is a role reversal, because the father is now a burden on the son- contrast to how the speaker was dependent on the father, and how he used to be in his fatherâs way.
D= On a deeper level, it suggests how in old age people regress to a second childhood as the father on his old age is clumsy.
- Contrasts with previous verb/nouns to the describe the father such as âglobedâ/ âan expertâ, as the tone of the poem is changed due to the conjunction âbutâ
- highlights the cyclical form of the poem by repeating the word, but fixing it to his father
- is this a commentary of how father-and-son relationships will always have a role reversal and change of roles ?
Fill in the gaps and give analysis: â______ __ ____ __and ploughâ
Hint: L, C
âI wanted to grow up and ploughâ
L= past tense verb- suggests he grew out of his ambition to be a farmer, as he grew older.
C= the speakerâs experience of growing out of his ambition, reflects how Heaney did not become a farmer like his ancestors but a poet instead- clearly shows the impact that the speakerâs father had on him.
- ; there is also evidence of most of the poem being in past tense, yet in stanza 6, this then alternates to present tense- perhaps highlighting the emotional distance between the two.
- Additionally, there is a subtle juxtaposition between what the speaker âwantedâ to do, compared to âfollowingâ- the speaker desires to become like his father; he appears to lack how/not suit the [physical] hardness that being a farmer entails.
Fill in the gaps and give analysis: âAn ______. He would set the ____.â
Hint: L, I, C, change in mood, attitudes towards elderly, pride/admiration to irritation.
âAn expert He would set the wing.â
L= the caesura after expert emphasises his fatherâs skill and knowledge of farming- itâs undeniable that the father is an expert farmer- which shows again how the speaker admires his father.
I= But alternatively, it could also suggests that the speaker feels inferior/lesser than to his father, since it reflects how the poet came from a family of farmers but Heaney did not follow in that path.
[ - This shows the speakerâs admiration + pride of his fatherâs skill but it changes from pride to irritation as he explains that his father âwill not go awayâ which suggests that the speaker feels his father is now a nuisance.
- Because the change of mood suggests that the father is now dependent upon the speaker (his child) who now finds him a burden
C= which is also contextually important because it reflects how negative attitudes towards the elderly in the society- even though they have raised the next generation but as seen as a ânuisanceâ
What poems should you compare Follower to?
- climbing my grandfather
- mother, any distance
- walking away
Fill in the gaps about the structure of Follower: The poem is written in _______ _________, which reflects the neat __________ of the farmerâs plough lines
Hint: quatrains
The poem is written in regular quatrains which reflects the neat regularity of the farmerâs plough lines
Fill in the gaps about the rhyme scheme of Follower:
- Follower has an _________ rhyme scheme, which can deviate to ____ rhyme or _____ rhyme in some parts of the poem.
- This suggests that the speaker feels he will never live up to his fatherâs _______to farm-work, nor will he ______ like his father.
- Follower has an alternate rhyme scheme, which can deviate to near rhyme or slant rhyme in some parts of the poem.
- This suggests that the speaker feels he will never live up to his fatherâs attitude to farm-work, nor will he become like his father.
- I= alternatively, by using alternate rhyme which in some parts of the poem, changes to slant rhyme or near rhyme, it could also create an atmosphere that is hesitant/uncertain as well.
What alternative interpretations can you comment on, about the rhyme scheme of follower ?
- I= on the other hand. Or could also reflect how the speaker was unable to have the childhood he desired [as he was in his fatherâs shadow].
- I= ; it could also reflect the shift/passing of time from past to present, or the role reversal as the father now becomes a burden to the speaker.
- Fill in the gaps about the rhythm of Follower: some lines are written in _____ tetrameter which reflects the regular ______ of the horses _______ through soil + the regular rhythm of ________ seasons.
- and give an alternative interpretation.
- Follower: some lines are written in iambic tetrameter which reflects the regular rhythm of the horses plodding through the soil + the regular rhythm of changing seasons.
- I= ; perhaps also reflecting the title of the poem as the speaker is a âfollowerâ to his father; there is a role reversal of this later in the poem.
What alternative interpretations can you comment about the use of iambic pentameter in Follower ?
I= Additionally, it could also highlight the power struggle between the son [the speaker] and his father.
I= In contrast to this, by placing a second stress on the syllable, it could perhaps imitate the speaker âstumblingâ, when he was a young child.
âfurrow. The horses strained at his clicking tongueâ
L= verb- âstrainedâ is used to describe the horse, suggesting the work that the speakerâs father does, is hard, physical work- linking to the fact that his muscles are âglobedâ, and the speaker admires his fatherâs physical strength.
- L= sibilance imitates the hard and difficult work of ploughing the soil.
I= alternatively, does the use of sibilance and onomatopoeia perhaps reflect how the father is able to command/control animals and horses, as he is âclickingâ- suggesting the farmer has a relationship, where he is at one with them.
âSometimes he rode me on his back Dipping and rising to his plodâ
- L= verb- ârodeâ and âplodâ describes how the speaker rides on his fatherâs back. [and horses are associated with these verbs, suggesting his father is a physically large and strong man].
- the fact that his father allows him to ride on his back, tells us that the two of them have an emotionally close relationship.
- ; their relationship over the years, has has its ups and downs because as the speaker describes himself âdipping and risingâ, this is suggested by these verbs,
- these two lines of this stanza, also suggests that his father has a close bond with nature and the animal kingdom.
- a reference to the Greek god atlas, yet this is a clear indication that the speaker admires his father, and to extent worships him- this imagery is warm-hearted and loving, since it describes the speaker piggybacking/jumping on his father.
