Follower Flashcards
Context for the poem?
Written by Seamus Heaney who was born into a family of farmers but became a scholar and poet
The people in his poems struggle with what they want to do with their life similarly to Heaney
How is love presented in the poem?
Paternal, emotionless
What are some themes in the poem?
Disappointment, upholding family traditions, idolisation
“Like a full sail strung”
Simile - father is very muscular from the hard farming work
Sibilance - emphasises this, also sail is a driving force like the father is for the farm
“Dipping and rising”
Verbs - boy is doing the same thing as the father, aspirations to become a farmer
Metaphor - could symbolise the ups and downs of their relationship
“Broad shadow”
Metaphor - the speaker can’t live up to his father, his father is outperforming him
Also could indicate they have an emotionally distant relationship
“The sod rolled over without breaking”
Preposition - father is gentle and caring with his work, son doesn’t realise these qualities in his father
“Tripping, falling, yapping”
Power of 3 - sense that he is a hindrance and can’t live up to his father
Yapping - annoying and doglike but very loyal
“Behind me, and will not go away”
Negative ending - father is now the nuisance, now the speaker is older he realises the father isn’t the hero he thought he was
What is the importance of the rhyme scheme?
It follows an A B rhyme scheme but the first rhyme in the pair is a half rhyme, this represents the speaker as they aren’t fully complete and can’t live up to the father
What is the importance of the structure?
It follows a set quatrain structure meant to be boring and repetitive, just like how the speaker sees farming
Links to other poems?
Link to MAD - both include a change in relationship which leaves the parental figure behind
