Storm On The Island Flashcards
Who wrote storm on the island?
Seamus Heaney
How does structure reflects nature
One continuous stanza, symbolises, overwhelming power of nature
Enjambment reflects the constant barrage of information, which reflects the constant barrage of the storm that the speaker is experiencing
Lack of rhyme, suggests the lack of control, reflecting the uncontrollable storm
Half rhyme twice in the poem, two lines at the start to lines the end to symbolise that the wild storm refuses ordering control and will never end
Quotations to describe the power of nature
Language of conflict to describe nature : “blast” “pummels” “exploding” “bombarded” - suggesting its dangerous and threatening
“Exploding comfortably” oxymoron- speaker is used to the storm violent war imagery again
“We are prepared” at the beginning. They believe they are more powerful the nature and that they were well prepared, but as the poem goes on, they realise they are nothing compared to nature
Quotations
- “Spits like a tame cat turned savage” Heaney has used a simile to show that the sea which was seemingly docile and a friend to the village can suddenly turn dangerous in a storm.”
- “Exploding comfortably”
- “Can raise a tragic chorus in a gale” Heaney uses the metaphor to show the ferocity of the winds noise can be likened to the sound of a chorus.
- “We are bombarded by the empty air”
- “We are prepared”
Context for storm on the Island
He grew up in a farming community. He uses a large number of agricultural and natural images in his work as metaphors for human nature.
What could it be about?
Storm on the island contains an extended metaphor for the political storm that raged across Northern Ireland in the second half of the 20th century. The storm pummelling the island in the poem is a metaphor for the violence in Northern Ireland.
What were the issues in northern Ireland at this time
The IRA was set up to protect Catholics and to drive the British out of Ireland through a bombing and terror campaign. The Good Friday agreement in 1998 was supposed to end the troubles, but the troubles never ended.
Analyse quotation about community
“We are prepared”. This quotation conveys that although nature is powerful, it cannot defeat a well armed community. He starts the poem in the middle of the action, just like the community who face the storm head on. The pronoun “we” could signify that it is not referring to one stone, and it involves the reader into the action to convey that everyone should be made aware of the storm and it adds the sense of community.
