A Constable Calls by Seamus Heaney (Important Quotes)

Oppressive/Ominous Imagery - These quotes show the constable’s bicycle being given gun-like traits, and being compared to the hood of a prisoner.

“fat black handlegrips” “gleaming and cocked back” “cowl” “A shadow”

Imagery - The constable’s cap sitting upside down on the floor shows that he was not welcome, as someone would have taken his hat and hung it up.

“upside down On the floor”

Oppressive Imagery - The constable is associated with pressure and weight, which reflects the weight of oppression and fear that the Protestants posed.

“The line of its pressure ran like a bevel In his slightly sweating hair”

Dangerous Imagery - The vivid, detailed description of the constable’s gun further associates him with fear and violence. This also reflects the fear that a child like Heaney would have experienced in the presence of the menacing constable, focusing on his gun out of pure fear.

“the polished holster With its buttoned flap, the braid cord Looped into the revolver butt”

Dangerous Imagery - The book being called a “domesday book” associates it with punishment and order. Sounds like “doomsday”.

“domesday book”

Personification - The pedals of the constable’s bicycle being described as “relieved” of the constable’s weight truly emphasises the pressure that the constable seemed to exert on everything around him. Heaney’s family were next.

“The pedal treads hanging relieved of the boot of the law”

Colloquialisms - These words are reflective of the fact that the poem takes place in rural Northern Ireland, where the Troubles took place.

“the spud Of the dynamo” “On the floor, next his chair”

Juxtaposition - Here, arithmetic, a common everyday concept is placed alongside fear, which shows that during the Troubles, oppression from the Protestants meant that fear oozed into aspects of Catholic people’s daily lives, turning everyday activities into dangerous ones.

“Arithmetic and fear”

Dialogue - Shows the disdain and animosity between Heaney’s father and the constable through Heaney’s father’s curt reply.

“‘Any other root crops? Marigolds? Marrowstems? Anything like that?’ ‘No.’”

Repetition - Reminiscent of the ticking of a bomb, or timer. The final lines of the poem, symbolising the countdown to violence due to rising tensions. It was only a matter of time.

“Ticked, ticked, ticked”

Tone

Fearful. “A shadow bobbed in the window”

Mood

Suspenseful and fearful

Theme - Conflict and violence during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Conveyed through the violent, oppressive imagery of the constable.

Theme - Childhood and memory

This poem is from the perspective of a child. This is evident in the fascinated description of the constable’s gun, and the childlike guilt when his father fails to mention their “turnips” “Imagining the black hole in the barracks”. Mentioning how the constable “looked at me” reinforces this feeling of guilt.