Storm On The Island

Question 1

Who wrote Storm on the Island?

Answer 1

Seamus Heaney.

Question 2

What is the meaning of SOTI?

Answer 2

A storm is coming to an island. The power of nature.

OR symbolising the conflict in Ireland because Stormont are the parliamentary buildings in Ireland.

Question 3

Key quotes in SOTI?

Answer 3

“Blast”
“Pummels”
“Exploding comfortably”
“Salvo”
“Empty air”
“It is a huge nothing that we fear”.

Question 4

What is the structure of SOTI?

Answer 4

Blank verse - iambic pentameter without rhyme - traditional English poetry infused with Irish imagery.
1 long stanza - no time to stop and pause, similar to a storm - isolation of the Island.
Lack of rhyme - uncontrollable.
Half rhyme at the beginning and end - cyclical - the storm is ongoing.
Enjambment - repetitive cycle of the storm which the people face too often.
Caesura - slows the pace so devastation is prolonged.

Question 5

Imagery quotes for SOTI?

Answer 5

“Exploding comfortably” - comfortable with destruction.

“Spits like a tame cat” - weather changed.

Question 6

What is the semantic field of war (weather) in SOTI?

Answer 6

strafes
salvor
bombarded.

Weather is like a war zone.

Question 7

What poem can SOTI be compared with?

Answer 7

Exposure - power of nature.

Question 8

What is the semantic field of aggression in SOTI?

Answer 8

Blast
Pummels
Bombarded

Question 9

What is the semantic field of the irony of the power of nature SOTI?

Answer 9

Invisibly
Empty
Nothing

Ironic because the power is invisible (you cannot see the wind), but the destruction it causes is not.