Follower Flashcards
“my” father
L: possessive pronoun
Emphasises how emotionally close they are
“like a full sail strung”
L: simile
shows the father is skilled at directing the plough like a sail directs a boat
“expert”
L: noun
shows that he admires father and he’s contrasting himself with his father (he’s a beginner and not an expert)
“without breaking”
L: technical terminology
implies that the father knows his way around the farming equipment
What does the enjambment between lines 5 and 6 show?
reflects the smooth movement of the plough from one furrow to another, just like the poem moves from one line to another
“single” pluck
L: adjective
shows his affinity with the horses and control of them
“stumbled” “fell”
L: verbs
These contrast with the skilful movements if his father - speaker is clumsy
C: perhaps this is why Heaney did not become a farmer like his father
“wanted” to grow up and plough
L: the past tense verb shows that he grew out of his ambition to be a farmer
C: Heaney did not become a farmer like his ancestors but a poet instead
“shadow”
I:
- the father is a shadow literally as he casts a shadow as he ploughs and the speaker is in the shadow
- the son is overshadowed by his father
“all” he ever did was follow
This shows that speaker needs to move out of his fathers shadow to find his own identity and selfhood
What does the caesura in line 22 signify?
I and D:
- shift in focus from speaker as a child to the father as an old man
- shift in time from past to present
“will not go away”
L: verb
The verb describes the father in old age and how he has regressed to a second childhood
This shows the roles have reversed and the father is now dependent and a burden on the son
what does the half rhyme “plough” and “follow” reflect
Reflects the fact that they are close but also different
What does the iambic tetrameter reflect?
Reflects the regular rhythm of the horses plodding through the soil and regular rhythm of changing seasons
Why is there a change in mood from admiration to irritation?
The father is now dependent upon the speaker who finds him a burden
C: reflects negative attitudes towards elderly in society - they have raised the next generation but are seen as a nuisance
