Follower

Question 1

‘will not go away’

Answer 1

Role-reversal: father is now a burden to the son

The father is dependent on him and that responsibility will not leave

Question 2

‘clicking tongue’

Answer 2

L: onamatopia
He controls the animals and is one with them

Question 3

Enjambent between stanza 2 and 3, why?

Answer 3

L
Reflects smooth movement of the plough from the furrow to another like the poem moves from one line to another

Question 4

‘expert.’

Answer 4

Causera - Structure device - emphasises his fathers skill and knowledge of farming
L: noun - his father is very skilled and the son admires him

Question 5

‘stumbled’ ‘fell’

Answer 5

L: verbs describing the speaker - contrasts with skilful movements of his father as the speaker is clumsy
C: perhaps this is why Seamus did not become a farmer like his father

Question 6

Title

Answer 6

Ambiguous title
I: 1) Heaney literally following his father and
2) metaphorically following him as any child ‘follows’ a parent

Question 7

‘wanted to grow up and plough’

Answer 7

L: past tense verb ‘grow’ - suggest his ambition has changed, he grew out of his ambition to become a farmer like his ancestors but a poet instead
C: reflects how Heaney did not become a farmer like his ancestors

Question 8

Structure

Answer 8

Written in regular quatrains - reflects near regularity of the farmers plough lines

Question 9

Rhyme scheme

Answer 9

abab alternate line rhyme scheme to reflect the neat regularity of the plough lines and the farmer’s life

D: half rhymes like ‘plough’ ‘follow’ reflects the fact that the farmer and speaker are close but different

Question 10

Rhythm

Answer 10

Some lines are written in iambic tetrameter which reflects the rhythm of horses plodding through the soil and regular rhythm of changing seasons

Question 11

Mood

Answer 11

Pride and admiration: ‘expert’
Irritation: ‘will not go away’

There is a change in mood to show that the speaker has got older and now the father is dependant on him, the speaker finds him as a burden

C: reflects negative attributes towards elderly in society - they have raised the next generation but are seen as a nuisance

Question 12

Messages

Answer 12

1. Over time relationships between children and parents change
2. Children need to step out of their parents shadows to firm their own interests (C: reflects how Heaney did not become a farmer but a poet instead)

Question 13

‘shadow’

Answer 13

L: metaphor - the speaker wants to follow his father and he like him

I: 1) literally - his father casts a shadow as he ploughs and the speaker walks in his shadow
2) the speaker is overshadowed by his father