Out of the Bag - Seamus Heaney

Question 1

What is ‘Out of the Bag’ about? (5 points)

Answer 1

It deals with the subjects of birth, childhood, family relationships, death, and the linking of past and present.

The title deals with the revealing of ‘secrets’ (‘letting the cat out of the bag.’) - once revealed, they cannot be unlearnt just like adult knowledge (the birth process was mysterious to Heaney as a small boy)

There are religious references, appropriate given Heaney’s Catholic upbringing

The humorous, innocence and warmth of the first section is replaced by a feeling of helplessness as the poet tries to recapture his childhood perceptions.

Ultimately, it is the newly-delivered mother and her baby who triumph.

Question 2

What is the form and structure of ‘Out of the Bag’? (4 points)

Answer 2

The poem is divided into four sections, the first being the longest and, probably, the most important, bearing in mind the impact of childhood memories and understanding on later life experiences

Subsequent sections deal with different life-stages

Each stanza is a tercet, that is, three lines each, in this case with irregular length - no rhyme scheme

The use of emjambment creates a free flow

Question 3

What are the language and devices used in ‘Out of the Bag’? (5 points)

Answer 3

The voice is that of the speaker and the tone is warm and humorous, with Heaney realistically, through child-like language, re-creating a child’s perception of birth e.g. baby-parts strung up

The poet uses a range of techniques:
+ Assonance e.g. in the line ‘those, nosy, rosy, big, soft hands’
+ Personification e.g. the doctor’s bag has a ‘trap-sprung mouth’
+ Alliteration and sibilance e.g. in the line ‘soft, Sud-luscious, saved for him from the rain-butt and savoured’ replicates the wooshing sound of life-giving, flowing water
+ An Irish expression ‘wee baby’ used at the end of the poem