Storm on the Island Flashcards
Who wrote Storm on the island?
Seamus Heaney
What country did Heaney come from?
Northern Island
What poetry cluster was Storm on the Island from?
Death of a naturalist
When was Storm on the Island published?
1964
What did Death of the Naturalist focus on?
The power of nature on the Aran islands
What are the 2 different interpretations of the poem?
Power and Conflict
“Spits like…”
“Spits like a tame cat turned savage.”
What does the lack of stanza breaks and the lack of breathing breaks within the poem suggest?
The overwhelming situation the speaker finds them self in-it is a nonstop barrage as the speaker experiences the storm.
What does the constant enjambment reflect?
The constant barrage of information reflecting the constant barrage of the storm.
What does the everyday language “you know what I mean” contrast to? What does it suggest?
- The language of conflict and power
- Despite being oxymoron, it seems that these storms are everyday life to the speaker.
What is the main Oxymoron phrase in the poem?
“Exploding comfortably”
What does the oxymoron “exploding comfortably” suggest?
That the speaker has made sense of his conflicting way of life.
How is the lack of control reflected by the rhyme?
There is a lack of rhyme reflecting the lack of control.
What does the half rhyme in the poem suggest?
There is an attempt at control yet as hard as they work they cannot control the overwhelming climate. The wild storm refuses to be controlled.
What is “We are prepared:we build our houses squat, Sink walls in rock and roof them with good slate” an example of?
Half rhyme
As there is half rhyme at the end of the poem and at the start of the poem suggest structurally?
That it is a cyclical structure
What does the cyclical structure of the poem suggest?
That the narrator is trapped by the storm, emphasizing why the storm has become the norm to the narrator.
What does the lack of other voices in the poem suggest?
That nature is indifferent to what it going on-it doesn’t care that it destroys the narrator’s home and fills him with fear.
In the 60s when Heaney wrote the poem what was going on in Northern Ireland?
The terrorist group the IRA.
What do the first 8 letters of the poem spell?
STORMONT
What is Stormont?
The parliament buildings in Ireland.
How could the IRA apply to the poem?
The lack of structural control reflect the trouble in Northern Ireland as a result of the IRA
Why does Heaney use the pronoun “we”?
-It creates the sense of togetherness
What do the warfare language “blast”, “exploding” suggest about the storm as a metaphor?
It suggests that the storm is a metaphor for the violent troubles occurring in Ireland.
