Storm on the Island

Question 1

Themes (3)

Answer 1

• Power of humans - Bayonet charge: humans under attack
• Power of nature: - Exposure, Prelude
• Fear

Question 2

About

Answer 2

The speaker recounts preparing for a violent storm on an isolated, barren island. Nature is frightening but also strangely comforting. In the end the speaker realises that their fear of the wind is a fear of nothing.

Question 3

Big ideas (3)

Answer 3

1. Power of nature through the weather
2. Humanity vs nature
3. Fear and isolation

Question 4

“we are prepared”

Answer 4

Power of humans
Ready to take on the storm, they knew it was coming, ominous at this point
“We”: suggests a community united against the threat of storm
Optimistic, suggests defiance and positivity
Factual, sure, simple sentence no doubt in preparations for success

Question 5

“you might think that the sea is company, exploding confortably”

Answer 5

Power of nature
Fear
“company” = kind, welcoming
Not as it seems
“you” = conversational, story-telling like, direct to the reader, involves, engages and intrigues them
“Exploding comfortably”: war imagery, violence, attack, battle
“Exploding”: Bombs, powerful, destructive, aggressive, sudden
“Comfortably”: No fear, oxymoron, with ease, no effort for the sea to disrupt and cause further damage, power of the sea and nature

Question 6

“spits like a tame cat turned savage”

Answer 6

Power of nature
Fear
“Tame cat”: trained, controlled, obedient, familiar
The sea has now become the enemy and turned against the island
A cat = pet, can be loving, kind, taken in and cared for
Savage = turns violent, attacks
Simile

Question 7

Semantic field of conflict “strafes” “dives” “bombarded” “pummels”

Answer 7

Power of nature
Fear
They feel under attack from the wind, rain and storm
“Strafes”: firing of artillery, bombarded by artillery and bullets, military/war imagery
Literal: house is being attacked by nature, moral: we think we are powerful but nature will always be stronger
Context: constant battle between unionists and republicans which led to terrorism and attacks, linked to the war imagery
Storm is used as a metaphor for military attacks
“Strafes”: harassment with gunfire

Question 8

“strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear”

Answer 8

Power of nature
Fear
Content: no reason for the conflict between unionists and republicans, should be settled responsibly and safely
“Huge nothing” = physical fear, they cannot see what is attacking them but are still enduring lots of damage, Oxymoron
Fear of what may not exist or can’t hurt them

Question 9

Structure (4)

Answer 9

• One stanza of 19 lines = constant attack from storm, no break, unrelenting rain and wind
• Blank verse: follows natural pattern of spoken English as if the speaker is talking to us, enables disorder and chaos
• First person and ‘we’: collective, communal experience of the whole island
• Turning point at line 14 changes from a sense of security using factual language to fear through a shift to vivid violent imagery

Question 10

Context (4)

Answer 10

• Heaney suggests the natural world is more powerful than humans – the people are very isolated and have no way to protect themselves from the violent storm
• Fear and the power of nature come from the uncertainty and unpredictability of the wind and weather as no-one knows what the storm will do
• First eight letters of the poem spell out ‘Stormont’ which is the name of Northern Island’s parliament buildings so ‘storm’ could refer to political violence Ireland was facing at the time
• For example between Catholics and Protestants or Irish republicans wanting freedom from Britain