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Seamus Heaney

"In cold sweat" (Line 13) describes how nervous and scared he was, at this point in the poem it does not look as if he will face the rat at all. "Knobbed skull" (Line 23) describes the texture of the rats skull (bony), again this is not a flattering word. "Tapered tail" (Line 25) is Heaney's final use of texture to describe how the tail was not flat. Heaney uses a lot of texture in "An Advancement of Learning" (much more than in "Churning Day" or "Mid-Term Break") to describe the rat in great detail. "Mid-Term Break" is much too emotional a poem for sensual use. And "Churning Day has quite a bit of texture in it because Heaney wants the reader to realise how the experience felt (which is not easy to do).
             Heaney uses a bit of the sense of smell in "Churning Day" but not in the other poems because there is no need for it. "The house would stink acrid as a sulphur mine" (Line 27) describes the aftermath of "Churning Day", how it would stink. Heaney's other use of the sense of smell is "sour-breathed milk" (Line 33) as one of his main memories of "Churning Day" when the day had finished.
             Heaney uses the sense of sight in all three poems quite a lot to create an image in our minds of how these things looked. In "Churning Day", "Their white insides" (Line 11), "gold flecks" (Line 18) and "a yellow curd" (Line 23) are where Heaney uses colour to describe how these things looked. These phrases really do bring the poem to life. My favourite is "gold flecks" as it seems to emanate the satisfaction of all their hard work bringing a wholesome result. "Gold" seems to suggest that it is a very elaborate finish to all their hard work throughout the day. Heaney uses the colours to describe how things looked in "Churning Day". In "An Advancement of Learning", Heaney talks about the river being "oil-skinned, wearing a transfer of gables" (Line 4) to describe how polluted it is, yet there is still a grimy reflection in the river.


Essays Related to Seamus Heaney

1. Seamus Heaney

Seamus Heaney Seamus Heaney was born on April 13, 1939, on a farm in Mossbawn, Ireland, about 30 miles from Belfast. ... Foster's book, Seamus Heaney, Foster talks about how many of Heaney's works focus on his early life in Ireland. ... Rita Zoutenbier also thoroughly covers the relationship between Seamus Heaney and Ireland in her piece titled, "The Matter of Ireland and the Poetry of Seamus Heaney." ... In Helen Vendler's book, Seamus Heaney, it is once again discussed how Heaney's Irish heritage and upbringing greatly influence his poetry. ... Robert Fitzgerald dis...

  • Word Count: 1569
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Self reflection in Seamus Heaney poems

To Heaney, Ireland is the focal point in which his inspirations uncoiled. ... Seamus Heaney was born amongst the midst of Irish rebellions, only about two decades after the proclamation of the Irish Republic, to a family of traditional farmers. ... Here we see Seamus Heaney reflecting on himself as a patriot, fully seeing and understanding the sacrifices made by his earlier generations for the freedom of the Irish people. ... Again in Tollund Man, the author relates himself with this sacrificed victim as the isolated from the community; the Tollund man, for being the victim of a religious sacr...

  • Word Count: 1879
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Seamus Heaney's

The message of the poem "Limbo," by Seamus Heaney, is to directly criticize the Roman Catholic Church in its belief of saving human souls through baptism, and in its almost oppressive control over Northern Ireland. ... Heaney reveals the setting and situation of the poem in the first stanza. ... In line twelve, the last line of the third stanza, Heaney says the infant was "Tearing her open." ... Through this mother, Heaney clearly illustrates the suffering the pressures of Catholicism are causing. ... Seamus Heaney has written many poems on subjects that relate to his early li...

  • Word Count: 1097
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

4. Blackberry Picking- seamus Heaney

The salient and peculiar imagery found in Seamus Heaney's "Blackberry Picking" adds a full understanding to the reader of how nature can be so important to someone's life. ... Heaney's desire for nature is fulfilled with blackberries from the start of his poem. Heaney's dreams for a full week in August have arrived and states nature with imagery. ... From Heaney's use of imagery, it showed a well understanding to readers the love for nature. ... Finally Heaney feels that nature should be kept the way it is, but the rotting of blackberries has positioned regret in Heane...

  • Word Count: 451
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Digging by Seamus Heaney

In "Digging" by Seamus Heaney, Heaney compares his work as a writer to the work of his father and grandfather, both farmers who work the land. ... This is seen through Heaney's admiring tone when talking about his father and grandfather. When Heaney writes "By God, the old man could handle a spade.... That being said, Heaney seems to struggle with his identity in relationship to his family. ... Just like Heaney and his family, my "work" also differs from that of my parents. ...

  • Word Count: 715
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

6. A Masterpiece From a Masterpiece

The epic poem Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney tells the story of a hero named Beowulf, who rids the Danes of many monsters. ... Seamus Heaney uses both Biblical and Paganistic views throughout the story to describe certain things. ... Seamus Heaney has caught the balance of these things brilliantly; he has put together a masterpiece from a masterpiece. ... Seamus Heaney writes in his introduction, "I came to the task of translating Beowulf with a prejudice in favour of forthright delivery. ... Seamus Heaney does such a great job translating it that anybody could read and understand the con...

  • Word Count: 1162
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

7. A comparision of Digging and Follewer

An analysis of "Digging and "Follower" by Seamus Heaney The Irish have always been great harvesters and hard workers. ... In the poems "Digging" and "Follower" by Seamus Heaney, we, the audience, are treated to a look into Irish culture and "place". ... Another poem that details Heaney's youth and his father's digging is "Follower". ... Now that Heaney's established himself as a poet, it is his father who is the "follower". ... "Digging" and "Follower" by Seamus Heaney, dissect the notion of "digging". ...

  • Word Count: 764
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Seamus Heaney Digging

Seamus Heaney is a famous Ireland writer who has written many award winning poems. ... In the first stanza of Digging Seamus introduces to us his pen. ... Seamus is witnessing his "father, digging" through flowerbeds. ... The rest of the poem is based on two of Seamus's memories from the past, when both were of his father and his grandfather was digging. ... Even then Seamus states that he "Loved the cool hardness in our hands." ...

  • Word Count: 1111
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Dangerous Temptation in Seamus Heaney

What at first seems to be a simple reminiscing of a childhood memory, the Seamus Heaney's "Blackberries" conveys the speaker's concern about man's inability to control his desire through its literary elements. ...

  • Word Count: 383
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

10. Digging

The poem "Digging" (533) by Seamus Heaney is about a person looking out of a window at their Father digging. ... Since Seamus Heaney is Irish there is an obvious link to his country. ... Heaney writes, "But I've no spade to follow men like them." (28). ... I think that its more likely that Seamus Heaney feels comfortable around guns. ... On a surface level "Digging by Seamus Heaney was not all that interesting. ...

  • Word Count: 1143
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

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