Storm On The Island - Seamus Heaney

Question 1

what was Heaney’s lifespan?

Answer 1

1939-2013

Question 2

What nationality was Heaney?

Answer 2

Northern Irish

Question 3

What was Heaney’s religion?

Answer 3

Catholicism

Question 4

Storm on the Island was published in Heaney’s first collection, what was the name of this collection?

Answer 4

Death Of a Naturalist

Question 5

Where does it take place

Answer 5

Aran Islands

Question 6

What are the two main interpretations?

Answer 6

Power of Nature
Ireland + Northern Ireland Political conflict

Question 7

What is the significance of the poem being a long stanza, with little to no breaks?

Answer 7

• Reflects the overwhelmingness and severity of the storm

Question 8

Why might Heaney use a mixture of Common Irish sayings and Ambiguous language?

Answer 8

-To emulate that storms like these are normal to the inhabitants of the Aran islands.
- Can link to contrasting nature of British + Irish

Question 9

What is the language technique used in the quote “exploding comfortably” and what is its meaning?

Answer 9

-Oxymoron
- Reflects the conflict-filled world that would be going on at the time in Ireland.

Question 10

What does the lack of rhyme tell you?

Answer 10

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

Question 11

What is half rhyme?

Answer 11

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.

Question 12

What does the poem’s use of half rhyme at the start and end only (“squat, slate” and then “air” and “fear”) tell you?

Answer 12

• 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.

Question 13

When did britain invade Ireland for the first time?

Answer 13

Late 12th century

Question 14

What happened in the 16th century?

Answer 14

Big parts of land were settled on by British plantation owners, which led to injecting british religion and values into some irish.

Question 15

When does southern ireland become separate from the UK?

Answer 15

1922

Question 16

Why is southern ireland’s separation from Britain important?

Answer 16

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.

Question 17

What did protestants want to do about ireland’s independance?

Answer 17

They wanted ireland to stay in the UK

Question 18

What did catholics want to do about ireland’s independace?

Answer 18

They wanted ireland to be a separate country

Question 19

When was Storm on the Island written?

Answer 19

1966

Question 20

What was unfair about business owners, protestantism and voting in northern ireland at the time?

Answer 20

Business owners would be allowed 2 votes instead of one, and most business owners were protestant.

Question 21

When and what was the Good friday agreement?

Answer 21

1998 - supposedly meant to ceasefire across ireland with political ideologies

Question 22

What does Storm on the island’s title have to do with politics?

Answer 22

The first 8 letters (Stormont) mean irish government buildings

Question 23

What does the “We” pronoun represent?

Answer 23

• Catholics (Against protestants)
• We may never really know, which gives the poem mystery and a wider cultural experience

Question 24

What could the storm be metaphorical of?

Answer 24

The current political state in ireland.

Question 25

What is blank verse?

Answer 25

Iambic pentameter with no rhyme

Question 26

What is Iambic Pentameter

Answer 26

LInes of 10 syllables exactly

Question 27

Why does Heaney use Iambic Pentameter

Answer 27

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

Question 28

“You can _____ to the thing you ___, forgetting that it ________ your house too”

Answer 28

“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

Question 29

“________ _________ down on the cliffs”

Answer 29

“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

Question 30

“We are _________, we build our ______ _____”

Answer 30

“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

Question 31

Key things to remember?

Answer 31

• MIxture of Irish common sayings, English structure and ambiguous language
• War imagery
• Cyclical structure of half rhyme
• Use of trees + sea