Follower Seamus Heaney Flashcards
Which colloquialisms reflect on the rural world?
’ Yapping,’ and specialised words like ‘ sock,’ and ‘headrig.’
What is the background of Seamus Heaney?
He was one of Ireland’s greatest poets and was winner of the Nobel prize in literature in 1995. He was born and brought up in Northern Ireland. Speaking of his early life and education, he commented, he learned that his local Derry experience which he had considered archaic and a irrelevant, was to be trusted.
What are the main ideas and themes in Follower?
Relationship between father and son, aged and you.
Role models – father/son and reversal of roles.
Appreciation of hard work of the artisan and skilled Ploughman seen through the eyes of a younger generation.
An old rural world of manual labour.
What are the aspects of style which are effective?
The metaphor of following enough fathers foot steps.
There are many nautical images to suggest ploughing is like navigating a ship: skilful and disciplined.
There are many active verbs suggesting the physicality of the task.
There are colloquialisms which give a feeling of the rural world.
There is a regular rhyme in the poem giving a sense of authority and skill of the father as well as the contrast between father and son
What are shafts ?
These are long wooden things the farmer holds on to.
What is the furrow?
This is the deep line in the earth that the plough is cutting as it moves along.
What is the headrig?
This is what moves the horses.
What is hob-nailed?
These are boots with nails.
