Storm on the Island

Question 1

Who wrote Storm on the Island

Answer 1

Seamus Heaney

Question 2

What struggles is the poem symbolic of

Answer 2

The struggles Ireland faced (particularly in Stormont - the parliament) due to politics and religion. Some wanted independence from England and others didn’t, protestants and Catholics were against each other too.

Question 3

What is the poem an extended metaphor for

Answer 3

The political unrest in Northern Ireland

Question 4

The poem is written in _____ verse. How does this make it sound?

Answer 4

Blank verse
Conversational

Question 5

What structure is the poem

Answer 5

Cyclical Structure (The ​half rhyme​between the first and last ​couplet houses squat / good slate” ​and ​“the empty air / huge nothing that we fear”)

Question 6

What are the 3 key themes

Answer 6

Power of nature, power of humans, conflict (political)

Question 7

What is the poem literally about

Answer 7

How a rural island community prepared for a coming
storm, and how they were confident in their preparations. But when the Storm hits they are shocked by its power

Question 8

‘__________ that it pummels ____ _____ too’

Answer 8

‘Forgetting that it pummels your house too’
- Nature= metaphor for power governments have over people
- Plosive verb ‘pummels’ = shows strength of the weathers force
- Relentless power of nature - it doesn’t wait for you

Question 9

‘spits ____ a _____ ___ turned ______’

Answer 9

‘spits like a tamed cat turned savage’
- Zoomorphism
- Simile to show how quickly the sea conditions can change
- Nature = force to be reckoned with and deceptive as it may look pretty
- Vivid imagery of an animal once seen to be comforting and now vicious
- alliterative ‘t’ sound = mimics sound of water against homes (poet playing with readers senses)

Question 10

‘___ is company ________ _________…. ___ no’

Answer 10

’ sea is company exploding comfortably….But no’
- Oxymoron - nature can be kind but also threatening
- Verb ‘exploding’ = references to war
- Explosions look natural to the personified sea but the deceptiveness makes the storm more alarming to the people

Question 11

’ it is a _____ _______ that __ ____’

Answer 11

‘It is a huge nothing that we fear’
- Oxymoron (two words with opposite meanings)
- They fear the lack of the storm and not the storm itself
- References to the Northern Ireland conflict = sympathy for those experiencing it
- Ambiguous ending = conflict is incomprehensible