Follower - Seamus Heaney

CONTEXT

The poem recalls Heaney’s childhood memories on the farm he grew up on, working in the fields trying to help his father and admiring his strength. Heaney is reflecting on his heritage and identity, as he has decided to take a different path than that of his father and therefore hasn’t actually taken the role of ‘follower’ in the title.

author

  • Born in 1939 at Mossbawn farm, Northern Ireland

  • Generational farming family

  • Father was a cattle dealer and good farmer

  • Early poetry focused on childhood experience, identity and rural life.

KEY THEMES

  • relationships changing over time (parent-child)

  • admiration

  • unable to fill parents image/standard

STRUCTURE

rhyme

Every stanza has 4 lines and has an alternate rhyme scheme, this organised rhyme scheme reflects the skill of the father. When the focus turns to the son the rhyme changes from full to half rhyme to present how the son is unable to be skilled like his father, he can’t match up to him.

enjambment

From Stanza 2-3 ‘with a single pluck Of reins’. The enjambment here could reflect the motion of the ploughing as the father turns the horses with speed.

punctuation

In stanza 2 ‘An Expert.’ The full stop here finalises his point, this makes the reader unable to question it, it’s a clear statement.

stanza focus

The last 3 stanzas all start with ‘I’ maybe to reflect the change in focus from his father to him as time goes by the son has a greater sense of identity

title

At the start of the poem Heaney is the follower, as he follows his father round the farm admiring his skill. He wants to follow in his footsteps which is quite literal in his ‘ hob-nailed wake’. However at the end of the poem Heaney makes it clear that now his old father is following him around and ‘will not go away’. The change in role of the follower reflects the changing of their relationship.

IMAGERY

sailing

the extended metaphor of sailing eg ‘his shoulders globed like a full sail strung’. The use of sailing imagery creates the smooth motions at sea that the father creates with his skilful ploughing, mimicking the actions of steering a mighty boat.