Storm on the Island Poem Content - Seamus Heaney

What ethnicity is Seamus Heaney? e.g. British, Irish, Welsh...

Irish (Northern Irish specifically)

What group of islands is Storm on the Island about?

Aran Islands

Heaney had visited the Aran Islands before.. What impact does this have on the poem?

He had visited there, and spoke to the people who lived there - so he understood the fears that people had about the storms, and he could have perhaps seen the damage both physically and emotionally that the storm had on not just people, but their homes.

How could this poem be summarised in one line?

Nature is more powerful than humans.

What is so scary about a storm?

It is unpredictable - no one will ever know how intense/scary they can be

The residents of the island may try and prepare for the storm... but would it actually make a difference?

Perhaps - depends on how strong the storm is - but that's the thing, they won't know how bad it will be, so they can never truly prepare.

What technique is "we"?

A pronoun - and it is repeated throughout the poem - so it is a repeated pronoun

When the writer puts "we are prepared"... who is the we?

The people on the island

Why is the "we" important?

It gives the poem a sense of community and togetherness - but on the negative side, it shows that the storm impacts such a vast amount of people - they have a shared experience of fear

These people live on an island.. what's the negative side of this? If something bad is coming to the island.. what can't they do?

They can't escape - they are surrounded by water, they can not avoid what is coming.

This makes their experience with the storm even more frightening - they are isolated and trapped there

In "we are prepared" - Do the islanders sound frightened here?

No they sound confident, they feel ready for the storm

What is a declarative?

A statement

What sentence type is in "We are prepared": An imperative, interrogative or a declarative?

Declarative

What does "squat" mean in "We build our houses squat"?

Low to the ground

Why would the islanders build their houses low to the ground?

They are less likely to be affected/hit by the storm - seems designed to surivive bad weather

Do you think these people have had experience with storms before..? What key quote shows that they have

"we build our houses squat" - They have designed their homes a certain way, because they know that if they build their houses tall, they will be hit worse by the storm.

How does the tone of confidence shift in the poem?

At the start, the islanders feel confident and ready for the storm, but by the end, they are terrified; this is because the impact of the storm was so much worse than they could have predicted

What technique is "spits like a tame cat turn savage"?

Simile

What's a simile?

A comparison of one thing to another USING the words like or as.

If something is tame... is it frightening?

No, it is calm and under control

What does savage mean?

Wild, violent, dangerous, unpredictable, out of control

If the storm is like a "tame cat turn savage".. what does it suggest about the storm?

It's unpredictable and aggressive, it can quickly change in how intense or powerful it is

Can the storm physically be seen?

Not really, it is invisible

How can something be invisible but powerful at the same time?

The storm is physically invisible, but the impact and the power of it is felt heavily.

What is so scary about being hit by something you can never see?

You never know where it's coming from

Finish this quote.. "We are bombarded by the ____ ___"

Empty air

What word is in "bombarded" - and what does it make you think of?

Bomb

The storm makes them feel like they are in battle, they are being attacked by nature

What is a paradox?

Two words that contradict each other - they don't make sense together

What is the paradox in "A huge nothing that we fear"

Huge nothing

What do you notice about the way the the poem starts and ends... "we are prepared" vs "we fear"

It clearly shows the impact nature has had - the islanders start of confident, but by the end, they are horrified

The poem has no clear structure - it is one big stanza, with a lack of rhyme scheme - why is this important?

It reflects how uncontrolled and unpredictable the storm is - it isn't neat, it can not be controlled and rigid

Who is more powerful? Nature or humans?

Nature

What is enjambment?

When sentences flow from one line to the other

Why is the enjambment in the poem important?

It reflects the continuous movement of the wind - the storm just goes on and on, and no one knows when it is going to stop.