Seamus Heaney's poetry: Richness of verbal patterning
Dr Senarath Tennakoon
Seamus Heaney published his first collection of poems' Death of a
Naturalist' in 1966 and became a remarkable poet who could influence the
English reading world, as a very successful modern poet. His other
poetic creations are: Door into the Dark (1969), Wintering Out (1972),
North (1975), Field Work (1979), Selected Poems (1980), The Rattle Bag
(1982), Sweeney Astray (1984), Station Island (1994), The Haw Lantern
(1987), The Cure at Troy (1990), New Selected Poems (1990), Seeing
Things (1991), The Spirit Level (1996), The School Bag, with Ted Hughes
(1997), Opened Ground (1998) and Beowulf (2000). Apart from these he has
published Preoccupations (1980) which is a collection of selected prose
and in 1988.
He published his 1986 T S Eliot Memorial Lecture and Other Critical
Writings as The Government of the Tongue. Several books have been
published on Haney's life and poetry. The Art of Seamus Heaney is a
collection of essays by various critics on his poetry and prose (Tony,
1994) The Poetry of Seamus Heaney is an absorbing study of his poetry (Cocoran,
1998).
Heaney was a son of an Irish farmer born in 1939, attended the
primary school in Anaborish where he won a scholarship and entered St
Columb's College in Londonderry. Later he attended Queen's University,
Belfast and was awarded a first class honors degree in English Language
and Literature.
His first collection of poems,' Death of a Naturalist appeared in
1966 when he was a lecturer at Queen's University, at the young age of
twenty seven in 1969 he published Door into the Dark which was on Irish
history, myths and people creating a mystical vision.
While at Berkley University, California he published 'Winering Out'
in 1972 which was largely in free verse. He decided to become a full
time writer and left Queen's University with his wife to live in
Ashford, County Wicklow in Ireland.
In 1976 he became the Head in English at Crayfordt Teachers' Training
College and in 1982 he became Poet in Residence at Harward University
and later became the Professor of Poetry at Oxford University
(1982-1996). In 1995 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for
his literary genius and for works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth
which exalt everyday miracles and the living past (Daly, 1996).
Often critics look upon Haney's poetry as the gold standard for
modern poetry when quality measures are taken into account. There are
three features in his poetic works. Firstly, he has a natural talent or
a potential for poetry which he has developed over the years of
composing poetry. Secondly, his poetry breathes the local fragrance of
the political turmoil's of his native land, Northern Ireland and his
childhood innocence.
Thirdly, Heaney, has the gift as a public presenter of poetry. His
themes are wide in perspective and there is a deep sense of humaneness
in his poems. His poems are rich in verbal patterning and meaning.
Metaphor, simile and other devices in rhetoric' are often new and vivid.
About how to recognize a good poem he has said.
"You hear something in another writer's sounds that flows in through
your ear and enters the echo-chamber of your head and delights your
whole nervous system in such a way that your reaction will be "Ah, I
wish I had said that, in that particular way". This, other writer, in
fact has spoken something essential to you, something you recognize
instinctively as a true sounding of aspects of yourself and your
experience" (Preoccupation, Seamus Heaney 1980).
In his Death of a naturalist Heaney explores his childhood innocence
and the death of his infant brother in metaphorical terms with exquisite
imagination. The reader would find the emotional conflicts in the poet's
mind in Death of a Naturalist. The Bloody Battle of Vinegegar Hill is
told in ballad form linking it with the requiem for the Croppies in his
Door into the Dark. The croppies were ordinary Irish men who organized
themselves to fight against the English authorities.
They were commanded by the local priests and they were not armed with
modern war equipment. They fought a loosing battle at Vinegar Hill in
County Westford on 21 June 1798. The croppy boy has become a symbol of
national rebel and martyr. In this collection Heaney mentions about the
Bogland as different levels of layers of Irish life.
In Wintering Out he explores the past and present political and
religious grievances of Ireland. He tries to understand the present
through the previous experiences. The Tollund Man is a poem in this
collection where he reminds the terrible events in Northern Ireland.
Again in his The North he presents the issue and challenges
confronting Norther Ireland. In Field Work Heaney remembers his friends
is and relatives who have passed away under tragic conditions like bomb
blasts or by bullet hits.
In Station Island Heaney directs his reflections of the past and
present through a character visiting an ancient place of pilgrimage.
Heaney has attempted to describe his heartfelt deep feelings over the
death of his beloved mother in The Haw Lantern (1987). The work is
flooded with allegorical poems. In The Spirit Level (1996) after which
he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature there is a poem titled
Postscript via;
And some time make the time to drive out west
Into County, Clare along the Flaggy Shore,
In September or October, when the wind
And the light is working off each other
So that the ocean on one side is wild
With foam and glitter, and inland among stones
The surface of a slate-grey lake is lit
By the earthed lightning of a flock of swans,
Their feathers roughed and ruffling, white on white,
Their fully grown headstrong-looking heads
Tucked or cresting or busy under water.
Unless to think you'll park and capture it
More thoroughly you are neither here or there,
Hurry through which known the strange things pass
As big soft buffetings come at the car sideways
And catch the heart off guard and blow it often.
This poem is composed in loose blank verse with five stressed
syllables in each line which thicken in pattern towards the end of the
verse.
The theme 'Postscript' is perhaps a reminder to the reader that the
poet has forgotten to say something important in the collection 'The
Spirit Level'. The poet is inviting a visitor or a friend to visit
County Clare and see the beauty of the swans quite unconcerned with the
turbulent changes in the ocean (agitation) and the dull lake.
He says that the swans look after their own work. But their bright
colour and active head-strong appearance are emphasized by Seaney.
The relaxed and conversational form of commencement in the verse are
highly appreciated by the critics. Seaney has made use of metaphor and
imagery throughout the verse.
County Clare is situated in the west of Ireland where there are open
lakes and a long Atlantic coastline and Seaney has selected Autumn for
the visit. His choice of words to suit the activities of the ocean and
the swans is quite impressive.
The ocean is in all agitation and glitter. The swans are headstrong.
The big soft buffetings of the wind are like the swan wings taking off
in the air in swift flight. On the whole 'Postscript' is an appeal to
the spirit of the reader to observe and appreciate the beauty of a
commonly observed landscape, as the swans, the ocean and lakes are not
queer entities.
Heaney has identified a wide spectrum of themes for his poetry.
Fidelity to his native land, place of birth, close relatives and to his
childhood; seeking pleasure from adverse situations and experiences,
historical happenings and experiences largely related to Ireland,
morality and politics are some main themes chosen by Heaney.
Haney's language is rich in metaphor. He often uses modern
conversational language as well as slang. His verse is seldom free in
form. He draws inspiration from Greek mythology and historical
experiences to intensify the poetic inspiration and imagination. For
instance in 'Bogland' he observes that the horizon of the small island
is always encroaching and the 'Cyclopes eye' does not sound entirely
friendly. Cyclops is the one eyed giant in Greek mythology.
The reader should have a thorough knowledge of Irish history for a
better and stimulating understanding of Seamus Haney's poetry. |
