Storm On The Island

Question 1

Conext: How did the poet use a poem to refer to a real life event
SOTI

Answer 1

The troubles (euphemism)for assassinations and bombings begun by the IRA) began in 1968

Poem is prescient and anticipates the oncoming violence

Question 2

How is tone expressed in storm on the island
Stanza 1

Answer 2

Strength of unity in repetition of we and us however they are united in things in which they don’t have shown by how they all collectively have nothing

‘Sink walls in rock’ metaphor for how Ireland and the people are stuck in the political war (trapped)

The speaker expresses the Ireland as something which isn’t negative however we infer this from the text as it is shown to be restrictive

Question 3

How is tone expressed in storm on the island

Stanza 2

Answer 3

Lots of you in combination with violent imagery such as ‘you listen to the thing you fear forgetting it plummels your house too’. This expresses how the speaker thinks this is normal however the reader rejects this idea of oppression and violence.

Question 4

How is tone expressed in storm on the island

Stanza 3

Answer 4

Repetiton of ‘no ‘and ‘but’ shows that the speaker is unable to see snother way of living and challenges us to see the world in his pov which we reject as it is unatural

Question 5

How is tone expressed in storm on the island

Stanza 4

Answer 5

‘We’ used in the last stanza focuses back to unity.

‘We just sit tight’. The word ‘just’ could symbolises how the Irish people who were involved in conflict can do something however they don’t retaliate

Strange, nothing that we fear (oxymoron). Refering to The troubles- consequences great although the conflict was for no reason as it was both parties involved fought for the same God.

Question 6

Sematic field of warfare during storm on the island

Stanza 1

Answer 6

Blow full Blast : language of warfare to descrive the wind

Pummels your house too: violent masculine description of the storm

Question 7

Sematic field of warfare during storm on the island

Stanza 2

Answer 7

Exploding comfortably down on the cliffs: language of warafare but also links into context, the IRA main method of warafre were bombings

Question 8

Sematic field of warfare during storm on the island

Stanza 3

Answer 8

Spits like a tamed cat. Turned savage.: people on the island become savage due to violence in what they will accept

Wind dives And strafes invisibly : imagery of warfare desceibing wind as a fighter plane

Spaces is a salvo (rapid gunfire)

Bombardment (again refers back to the IRA’s main use of warafre)

The poet is clealry expressing his anger towards the war and how the British is allowing this war to continue

Question 9

How is nature expressed in storm on the island

Stanza 1

Answer 9

Island first seems full or resources as they begin to ‘sink walls in rock and roof them with good slate’.

However describes earth as wizened ( wizened earth). The personification of how the wizened earth hasn’t troubled the speaker reflects a sad view of nature as the speaker would rather have the earth to be wizened as it won’t do any harm. His countrymen have destroyed nature by using their own evil nature

Question 10

How is nature expressed in storm on the island
Stanza 2

Answer 10

Nature ‘which might move prove company’ once coexisted however. ‘It blows full Blast’ which shows how nature has turned against man

Tree ‘raise a tragic chorus in a gale’ nature protetsing against nature of man- symbolises a warning towards the Irish people of what to come (bombings and assassinations)

Question 11

How is nature expressed in storm on the island

Stanza 3

Answer 11

‘Sea is company’ however it ‘explod[es] and ‘spits like a tame cat’ which shows not only the destructive force of nature and its retaliation against man

Question 12

How is nature expressed in storm on the island
Stanza 4

Answer 12

Nature is punishing man shown by how nature is shown to be violent and hostile ‘wind dives And strafes invisibly’,, bombarded with the empty air’

Question 13

Form and structure SOTI
Stanza 1

Answer 13

Unity: we and us
Singular : you
Rejects idea of fellow people

Stacks and stooks , rock and roof half rhymes (unsettling)

Ten syllables imabic pentameter however deviates from it (We are prepared [stressed we]) symbolises stress of the speaker.

Question 14

Form and structure SOTI
Stanza 2

Answer 14

Repetition of b sounds :blow,blast,branches symbolises violence of the island

‘Fear forgetting’ frickative baring of teeth when saying it which shows the hostility

Question 15

Form and structure SOTI
Stanza 3

Answer 15

Harsh alliterative sound of company,comfortably and cliffs emphasising the violence of men and storm

Internal rhyme hits and spits shows how there is something wrong in the society. In addition to this the oxymoron of the sea ‘Exploding comfortably’ also shows how violence is becoming more accepted which is seen to be wrong as the reader Furthermore, the spit[ting] of the tamed cat’ shows the increasing hostility of society as even tamed creatures become feral like.

Question 16

Form and structure SOTI
Stanza 4

Answer 16

Repetition of we (realises unity is not a strength in this warfare)

Assonance of i sound (sounds hostile but also the sounds I is a vision of selfishness of society and how the unitive group are only made up of individusls who only care for themselves

I outweighs we. Final we is an attack on society and how we all live in fear and isntead of fighting we should accept each other.

Question 17

Name of the poems and its relevance with Ireland

SOTI

Answer 17

Stormont castle in Belfast. NE Ireland parliament. This is to show that the Island is expressed as Ireland

Question 18

Missing line in last stanza what does it reflect? SOTI

Answer 18

Reflects what is missing in society: peace with nature or with man demonstrated by the explanation of ‘nothing’.