Storm on the Island Flashcards
Plot Summary
The poem describes a coastal community bracing for a violent storm. The islanders believe they are prepared with sturdy houses and supplies. As the storm hits, its power overwhelms them—wind screams, waves explode like bombs, and the sea turns savage. The poem shifts from confidence to vulnerability, revealing nature’s uncontrollable force. The ending is ambiguous: the storm’s fury leaves the speakers unsettled, questioning their safety.
Context
Written during The Troubles (1960s–1990s), a period of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland.
The title’s hidden reference to “STORMONT” (the government building in Belfast) suggests the poem is an allegory for political instability.
The storm symbolizes violence (IRA bombings, British military presence) and the helplessness of civilians.
Form and Structure
Free Verse: The poem lacks a strict rhyme scheme, reflecting the chaos and unpredictability of the storm. The poem is one 19-line stanza, creating a sense of relentless, unbroken assault—like the storm itself.
The poem shifts from security to fear from the volta “But no”.
Language
Militaristic Language :
“We are bombarded by the empty air” – The storm is likened to artillery fire, making nature seem like a wartime enemy.
“Wind dives and strafes invisibly” – “Strafes” (a term for machine-gun attacks) suggests the wind is deliberately hostile.
Animalistic Simile:
“Spits like a tame cat / Turned savage” – The storm is unpredictable, shifting from harmless to deadly, just like The Troubles (NI conflict).
Sensory Language
“You can listen to the thing you fear” – The storm is audible but invisible, making it more terrifying.
“Pummels your house” – The verb “pummels” makes the storm feel physically brutal.
Oxymorons & Juxtaposition
“Huge nothing that we fear” – The storm is powerful yet invisible, mocking human efforts to prepare.
Contrast between “rock” (solid, safe) and “air” (empty but destructive) highlights nature’s unpredictable power.
Direct Address
“You can listen…” – By involving the reader, Heaney makes the storm feel personal and inescapable, much like political violence in NI.
“We are prepared: we build our houses squat”
Caesura (colon pause) → Creates a false sense of control.
“Squat” → Short, sturdy houses suggest practicality, but irony follows (they’re still powerless).
Thematic link: Human arrogance vs. nature’s power.
We are bombarded by the empty air”
“Bombarded” → militaristic language compares wind to artillery fire, making nature a soldier.
Oxymoron: “empty air” is harmless yet deadly—mirrors The Troubles (invisible but violent).
“Spits like a tame cat / Turned savage”
Simile → Storm shifts from harmless (“tame”) to lethal (“savage”).
Enjambment → Lines spill over, mirroring the storm’s sudden violence.
Thematic link: Nature’s unpredictability = Northern Ireland’s political unrest.
“Strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear”
Juxtaposition: “huge nothing” → The storm is powerful yet invisible, mocking human efforts.
“Fear” → Ends the poem on psychological terror (not physical damage).
Thematic link: Fear of the unknown (storm vs. political conflict).
“You can listen to the thing you fear”
Second-person “you” → Forces the reader to experience the storm, making it universal.
Auditory imagery → Fear comes from sound, not sight (more unsettling).
“Exploding comfortably”
Oxymoron:
“Exploding” suggests violent destruction, while “comfortably” implies ease and safety.
This contradiction mirrors the islanders’ false sense of security—they believe they’re prepared, but the storm’s power is unpredictable.
Comparisons
The Prelude (Wordsworth) – Power of Nature
Similarity: Both depict nature as awe-inspiring and terrifying. Heaney’s storm “explod[es] comfortably”, while Wordsworth’s mountain “loomed” suddenly, humbling humans.
Difference: Wordsworth reflects on personal growth; Heaney focuses on collective vulnerability (islanders vs. individual poet).
. Exposure (Owen) – Nature as an Enemy
Similarity: Both personify weather as violent (“bombarded by the empty air” / “merciless iced winds”).
Difference: Owen’s cold is literal (WW1 trenches); Heaney’s storm is metaphorical (The Troubles).
Compare the ways poets present ideas about the power of nature in ‘Storm on the
Island’ and in one other poem from ‘Power and Conflict’.
Both Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on the Island’ and William Wordsworth’s ‘The Prelude: Stealing the Boat’ explore nature’s overwhelming dominance over human beings, though they present this idea in very different ways. While Heaney depicts nature as an immediate, violent force that humbles human efforts to resist, Wordsworth portrays it as a sublime and awe-inspiring presence that awakens fear and reverence. Both poems ultimately suggest that nature holds power far beyond human control, but they do so through contrasting perspectives—Heaney through collective human vulnerability in the face of a storm, and Wordsworth through an individual’s psychological confrontation with nature’s vastness.
Heaney presents nature’s raw, destructive power through vivid, sensory descriptions of a storm battering an island community. The military metaphors—“exploding comfortably”, “bombarded by empty air”—ironically emphasise human helplessness, as the islanders’ preparations prove useless against the storm’s fury. The blank verse structure, with its enjambment and lack of rhyme, mirrors the chaotic, uncontrollable energy of the storm, reinforcing nature’s indifference to human struggle. By contrast, Wordsworth’s extract from The Prelude shows nature’s power as psychological rather than purely physical. The young speaker’s stolen boat journey begins calmly, but the sudden appearance of a “huge peak, black and huge” triggers a profound, almost spiritual terror. The sublime imagery—“upreared its head”, “measured motion like a living thing”—transforms the mountain into a monstrous, sentient force, overwhelming the boy with its sheer scale. Unlike Heaney’s external battle with the storm, Wordsworth’s conflict is internal, as nature becomes a moral teacher, imprinting lasting fear and humility.
The two poems also differ in how they portray human responses to nature’s power. Heaney’s islanders face nature collectively, yet their shared experience does not lessen their vulnerability—the colloquial tone (“you know what I mean”) creates a sense of communal resignation. The storm’s violence is inescapable, leaving no room for triumph, only endurance. Wordsworth’s speaker, however, undergoes a transformative, solitary experience. The shift in tone—from the playful “act of stealth” to the trembling fear of “a trouble to my dreams”—reveals how nature’s power lingers in the mind long after the physical encounter. While Heaney’s poem suggests nature’s indifference to humanity, Wordsworth’s implies a more personal, almost punitive relationship, where nature disciplines human arrogance. Structurally, Heaney’s free-flowing verse mirrors the storm’s unpredictability, whereas Wordsworth’s iambic pentameter and controlled rhythm mimic the mountain’s ominous, deliberate presence.
Ultimately, both poems assert nature’s supremacy, but their approaches reflect different philosophical and cultural perspectives. Heaney, writing during The Troubles, may use the storm as a metaphor for uncontrollable political forces, while Wordsworth, as a Romantic poet, explores nature’s role in moral and imaginative development. Where Heaney’s nature is an immediate, destructive adversary, Wordsworth’s is a sublime, psychological force that shapes human understanding. Both, however, agree on one truth: against nature’s power, human control is an illusion.
Theme of fear
Heaney presents fear as an inescapable response to nature’s overwhelming power, portraying the islanders’ visceral dread through violent imagery and unsettling contrasts. The military metaphors – “bombarded by empty air”, “exploding comfortably” – ironically highlight their vulnerability, as the storm’s unseen force (“spits of angry rain”) renders human preparations futile. The colloquial tone (“you know what I mean”) feigns nonchalance, yet the enjambment and absence of rhyme mirror their uncontrolled panic. The final admission – “it is a huge nothing that we fear” – captures their primal terror: fear not of a tangible enemy, but of nature’s vast, indifferent power to obliterate.
Theme of Nature
Heaney presents nature as an unstoppable, violent force that humbles human efforts to control it. The poem’s military metaphors (“bombarded”, “exploding”) ironically highlight human vulnerability, as the islanders’ preparations prove useless against the storm’s fury. Vivid sensory imagery (“spits of angry rain”, “the flung spray hits”) creates a visceral sense of nature’s raw power, while the blank verse structure, with its enjambment and lack of rhyme, mirrors the storm’s chaotic, uncontrollable energy. The paradoxical conclusion - “it is a huge nothing that we fear” - underscores nature’s terrifying intangibility; though invisible, its power is absolute. Written during The Troubles, the storm may symbolize uncontrollable political forces, reinforcing nature’s dominance over human affairs. Ultimately, the poem suggests that against nature’s might, human resistance is futile - we can only endure.
Context link
Heaney wrote the poem in 1966, during the early years of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, a period of violent sectarian conflict. The storm’s relentless violence (“exploding comfortably”) mirrors the political turmoil, suggesting that nature—like history—is indifferent to human suffering. The islanders’ futile preparations (“squat walls”, “good slate”) reflect how communities fortified themselves against violence, yet remained vulnerable. The paradoxical “huge nothing” they fear could symbolize the abstract, yet overwhelming dread of conflict—an invisible but ever-present threat.
