storm on the island Flashcards
who wrote storm on the island
seamus Heaney
what is the context
-island community preparing for a storm
-land is barren of crops & trees
-in storm nature turns against them
-people are powerless and scared
what is the poem an allegory of
the political storm in Ireland
what is the power/conflict
-conflict between community & isolation
-power of nature- romanticised view of nature but a realistic image of danger
what is the quote “we are bombarded with the empty air” about + methods
-personification, warfare imagery-Ireland is a warzone
-unusual strange imagery
-islanders aren’t just facing a storm but an intangible force that attacks them symbolising power of nature & its destructive force
-islanders are vulnerable and powerless
what is the quote “it is a huge nothing we fear” about + methods
-oxymoron
-(contrast to my last duchess)
-highlights irony of islanders fear as the fear is unknown
-cyclical structure
-makes islanders seem foolish
what is the quote “spits like a tame cat turned savage” about + methods
-simile, oxymoronic
-mistaken belief that they had tamed nature, cat turned against owner- replicated how islanders never owned the island
-nature was always more powerful
