Seamus Heaney - Poetic Techniques

The Forge - poetic structure used to convey blacksmiths passion

Petrarchan Sonnet - a 14 line poem used to explore themes of love, beauty or time

The Forge - colloquial language makes the poem accesible and easy to understand

"the anvil must be somewhere in the center"

The Forge - evocative language evokes an emotional response in the reader

"the dark, smoky atmosphere"

Bogland - constrast of Irish vs. American landscape

"We have no prairies, to slice a big sun at evening"

Bogland - rich irish bogs juxtaposed with fast expansive American land

"the bogs are a world of their own" vs. "the peat is deep and the work is slow"

Bogland - simple description shows Heaney's direct honest approach

"the peat is deep"

A Constable Calls - powerful closing line, precise imagery conveys fear/power, also onomatopoeic like a ticking time bomb

"and the bicycle ticked, ticked, ticked"

A Constable Calls - metaphor that suggests authority and power, also an example of simple language

"the great coat"

The Tollund Man - personal narrative voice used to create emotion, also simple colloquial language

"someday I will go to Aarhus", "I could rish blasphemy"

The Tollund Man - juxtaposition used to explore themes of violence and sacrifice, makes the reader reflect on religous killing

"old man killing parishes"