Lammas Hireling

Question 1

Form + structure

Answer 1

• very controlled and regular sestets: very repressed and conformist, shows how he has a facade of rationality in his actions
• however the free verse (no rhyme scheme and enjambed lines) contrast this and create a sense of authenticity at his raw and unsupressed emotions
• enjambed over stanzas shows how he has failed to ‘box in’ his feelings/desires

Question 2

Title

Answer 2

• focus on the victim of the attack: this places the blame emphatically on the ‘warlock’ for his death, could also show the retention of his actions as he is trying to flee from his desires
• lexis ‘lamas’ connotes a midsummer pagan festival- this denotes to the sacrifice they entail at the festivals and also links the hireling to paganism, making him synonymous with the evil spirits

Question 3

Contrast between first and last stanza

Answer 3

• antithesis of one another, shows how his life has become solitary and bleak at the removal of the desire/ lover in his life
• ‘I dont dream’ implies bleakness and a void of love that was there prior. Emphatically placed after a caesura at the end of a line.
• the herds lack of plentifulness furthers the notion that his life has become bleak and unsuccessful, the phrase ‘elf shot’ implies that fairies have taken his life away, links to how the gay lover is associated with magic and paganism

Question 4

That knew when to shut up

Answer 4

• emphatical placement; end of stanza and enjambed lines and followed by caesura to give moment of consideration
• links to homoeroticism as for the farmer his desires have to be kept secret

Question 5

Dreams of my dear late wife

Answer 5

• perhaps he has reached out to the hireling as a way of replacing his loss
• lexis ‘dear’ can show proximity and affection OR irony at his lack of attraction
• consonant alliteration ‘d’ show forcefulness at the memories

Question 6

I knew him a warlock..

Answer 6

• these are idioms for a hare
• hares typically connote innocence and youth which reveals maybe he is not denagerous after all
• the idea of the supernatural separates the religious farmer and sets the warlock up as the antithesis of him. This tension between magic and religion show the struggle in his feelings
• magic/ paganism is the embodiment of sin

Question 7

Through his heart.

Answer 7

• end stop connotes finality as he has ended the hirelings life and thus their homoerotic desires
• lexis ‘heart’ shows affection and proximity, implies ‘breaking their heart’

Question 8

His lovely hair thinned. His top lip gathered. His eyes rose like bread.

Answer 8

• end stops signify the finality of his death and how he cannot be brought back despite his supernatural undertones
• very affectionate tone with an innate focus on his physical appearance which implies affection
• anaphoric repetition of ‘his’ is very personal and gendered, obsessive

Question 9

I carried him..

Answer 9

• emphatically placed as enjambed over a stanza which shows a complete dissaray of feelings
• puts pressure on the guilt he is experiencing

Question 10

Bless me, father I have sinned.
It’s been an hour since my last confession

Answer 10

• allusion to repention, something often associated with homosexuality as well as murder- as an Irish poet he may be alluding to the harsh conservatism of the catholic irish
• places the reader as a priest which thus invites us to closely scrutinise his account if events and notice the queer undertones
• lexis ‘last’ is a polysémie phrase which both implies he has an abundance of sins or immense guilt over his actions or a senes of finality, implying he feels his loving feelings have been killed by the murder of the hireling