Storm On The Island - Seamus Heaney Flashcards
what was Heaney’s lifespan?
1939-2013
What nationality was Heaney?
Northern Irish
What was Heaney’s religion?
Catholicism
Storm on the Island was published in Heaney’s first collection, what was the name of this collection?
Death Of a Naturalist
Where does it take place
Aran Islands
What are the two main interpretations?
Power of Nature
Ireland + Northern Ireland Political conflict
What is the significance of the poem being a long stanza, with little to no breaks?
- Reflects the overwhelmingness and severity of the storm
Why might Heaney use a mixture of Common Irish sayings and Ambiguous language?
-To emulate that storms like these are normal to the inhabitants of the Aran islands.
- Can link to contrasting nature of British + Irish
What is the language technique used in the quote “exploding comfortably” and what is its meaning?
-Oxymoron
- Reflects the conflict-filled world that would be going on at the time in Ireland.
What does the lack of rhyme tell you?
It emulates the lack of control man has on nature or perhaps the lack of control the Irish has when the Britons stole alrge parts of their land
What is half rhyme?
Rhyme where the start and ending on two words or phrasea are synonymous but the vowel sounds in the middle of the word are different.
What does the poem’s use of half rhyme at the start and end only (“squat, slate” and then “air” and “fear”) tell you?
- Half rhyme emphasises the storm’s pure strength as only a half rhyme was able amidst the chaos going on.
- Start and end are significant as it connotes a cyclical structure, which either links to how the inhabitants on the island cannot escape the storm or how the conflict in politics is inescapable.
When did britain invade Ireland for the first time?
Late 12th century
What happened in the 16th century?
Big parts of land were settled on by British plantation owners, which led to injecting british religion and values into some irish.
When does southern ireland become separate from the UK?
1922
Why is southern ireland’s separation from Britain important?
Healey was born in 1939, so time-wise it was relatively close. Healey lived in northern ireland and perhaps wants freedom for his republic too.
What did protestants want to do about ireland’s independance?
They wanted ireland to stay in the UK
What did catholics want to do about ireland’s independace?
They wanted ireland to be a separate country
When was Storm on the Island written?
1966
What was unfair about business owners, protestantism and voting in northern ireland at the time?
Business owners would be allowed 2 votes instead of one, and most business owners were protestant.
When and what was the Good friday agreement?
1998 - supposedly meant to ceasefire across ireland with political ideologies
What does Storm on the island’s title have to do with politics?
The first 8 letters (Stormont) mean irish government buildings
What does the “We” pronoun represent?
- Catholics (Against protestants)
- We may never really know, which gives the poem mystery and a wider cultural experience
What could the storm be metaphorical of?
The current political state in ireland.
What is blank verse?
Iambic pentameter with no rhyme
What is Iambic Pentameter
LInes of 10 syllables exactly
Why does Heaney use Iambic Pentameter
I.P is a traditionally british poetry technique, but Heaney mixes it with irish common sayings, perhaps creating a hopeful world where irish and british can live simultaneously and happily
“You can _____ to the thing you ___, forgetting that it ________ your house too”
“You can listen to the thing you fear, forgetting that it pummels your house too”
- “pummels” is war imagery - links to political conflict
- Talking about how trees make soothing sounds in winds, and how you can forget the wind hammering on your hosue, and be tranquilised by the soothing sound
“________ _________ down on the cliffs”
“Exploding comfortably down on the cliffs”
- “Exploding” is war imagery
- Oxymoron with “Exploding comfortably”
- Portrays the sea’s duality and how iyt should be tranquil to hear but it is not
“We are _________, we build our ______ _____”
“We are prepared, we build our hourses squat.”
- “We” could symbolize catholics
- Imagery of preparation for a war
- Tone is strong and tough, they have been through stroms like this before
Key things to remember?
- MIxture of Irish common sayings, English structure and ambiguous language
- War imagery
- Cyclical structure of half rhyme
- Use of trees + sea
