Storm on the Island

Structure

* One stanza made of many long, complex sentences. This shows the overwhelming situation, not time to stop
* Enjambment create a constant barrage of information in the same way as the constant barrage of the storm
* Applies to the politics

‘You know what I mean’

* Informal language
* Contrasts between language of power and the language of everyday life suggests that the conflict is an everyday event.
* Confirmed by ‘exploding comfortably'‘

Rhyme

* Lack of rhyme reflects the lack of control in the storm
* Half rhyme of ‘squat’ and ‘slate’ in the opening two lines ties in with the storm’s refuse to be controlled
* Cyclical structure as rhyming couplets only at the start and end shows hoe the conflict will happen time and time again since it is just a way of life
* Applies to politics

Form

* Could be argued to be a dramatic monologue
* Reflects the imbalance of power between the speaker and nature, how nature truly doesn’t care.

Storm on the Island

Spells out ‘Stormont’ the name of the Irish parliament buildings

‘We’

* Provides solidarity of the Catholics, suggesting opposition.

‘Blast’, ‘pummels’, etc

* War language
* Storm is a metaphor for the violent political struggles.

Iambic pentameter

Contrast of control and the storm suggests the contrast of opposing sides