LIT2 - Poetry - Storm on the Island

Question 1

Who wrote Storm on the Island? Give some context about the poem:

Answer 1

-Seamus Heaney (lived in Ireland)

-illustrates the uncontrollable power of nature with a sense of irony as there are no visible effects on their barren landscape, lending nature an elusive quality

Question 2

Give 5 quotes for Storm on the Island:

Answer 2

-We are prepared: we build our houses squat
-when it blows full/Blast: you know what I mean
-spits like a tame cat/Turned savage
-Space is a salvo. We are bombarded by the empty air
-Strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear

Question 3

We are prepared: we build our houses squat

Answer 3

-adjective “prepared” shows unwavering confidence shown by short phrase, but is also perceived as arrogance in the face of nature
-barrage of monosyllabic words to represent the barrage of the storm

Question 4

when it blows full/Blast: you know what I mean

Answer 4

-plosive b’s reinforces the sound of the barrage of the storm, and combined with enjambment the noun “blast” is emphasised
-conversational register reinforces his nonchalance about the storm, once again reinforcing their arrogance in the face of nature

Question 5

spits like a tame cat/Turned savage

Answer 5

-unexpected simile as it uses enjambment to magnify the effect of the “Turned savage” part, implying the sea has suddenly become threatening and dangerous

-implies that they had once assumed the sea was “tame” (echoing the arrogance from the first line), but it is clear now that their confidence is declining as the poem progresses, as they see it begins to “spit” and become “savage”

Question 6

Space is a salvo. We are bombarded by the empty air

Answer 6

-lexical field of conflict, could be interpreted as the storm being an extended metaphor for the violent political troubles experienced by Ireland
-short sentence with caesura to add emphasis on the oxymoronic phrase that implies even empty space is chaotic and dangerous (this idea is reiterated at the end)

Question 7

Strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear

Answer 7

-ambiguous conclusion shown by the oxymoron emphasises the irony of their fear
-starts with “we are prepared” but ends in “we fear”, clearly showing their dwindling confidence as the storm rages on

Question 8

Describe the structure in the poem Storm on the Island:

Answer 8

-dramatic monologue with iambic pentameter to give a conversational voice
-no consistent rhyme (some half rhymes, eg “air…fear”) to show that order cannot be imposed on nature
-frequent caesura also reflects the chaos and unpredictability of the storm