Seamus Heaney Context

Question 1

Dichotomy between old and new in Heaney’s upbringing

Answer 1

Heaney’s father worked as a farmer (an exceedingly traditional Gaelic occupation) while his mother came from a long line of linen mill workers - SH remarked on this dichotomy between rural life and industrialisation as a source of internal tension

Question 2

Heaney’s rejection of British identity

Answer 2

Refused UK laureateship

Question 3

Oysters

Answer 3

Raised in a community that valued hard work and dedication was highly valued

Question 4

Nature

Answer 4

Stated in a 1980 interview that he viewed his childhood in a pre-mechanised Ireland as idyllic

Question 5

The troubles

Answer 5

Described his feelings towards religious division in Ireland as ‘weariness’ rather than ‘fear’ in a 1980 interview

Question 6

Francis Ledwidge

Answer 6

Irish person killed while fighting for England, poet against conflict

Question 7

Casualty

Answer 7

About Louis O’Neill, friend of Heaney’s

Question 8

The Toome Road

Answer 8

Grew up watching American soldiers prepare for the Normandy landings in nearby fields