Seamus Heaneys Portrayal Of Pain and Suffering Essay Example For Students

Seamus Heaneys Portrayal Of Pain and Suffering Essay Seamus Heaney was born on April 13th 1939. He lived on a fifty-acre farm called Mossbawn where his father worked. His fathers farm was in County Derry, Northern Ireland. Heaney was the eldest, he had two sisters and six brothers, when he was twelve he was awarded a scholarship at a catholic boarding school, Heaney left his farm and took up his post. The school was forty miles away from his home and subsequently saw very little of his family, despite his families absence Heaney claims that they were required for his poetry. In the poems that I have studied, Heaneys portrayal of his painful infant years and his dreadful recollections are showed in a variety of ways. Heaneys memories and feelings are always used as a background to his poems. As he wrote these when he was an adult, he adds a more mature, destructive attitude, showing the comparison between a childs innocent view and a more developed account. The first poem I studied was The Early Purges which is a reflection of Heaneys disturbing past. Heaney was exposed to, too much way to soon, consequently forcing him to grow up prematurely. The title is very thought provoking by itself, The Early Purges if something is early it has no time to prove itself and is still young and free from blame. Purges (verb) means to get rid of an unclean or impure element. Purge (noun) means a cleansing. So the title The Early Purges is an oxymoron as the meanings of the words contradict each other. The Early Purges could translate to The Young Traitors. The poem starts: I was six when I first saw kittens drown. Which introduces you straight to the poems subject. This first gives the wrong implication to the reader as this tragedy is portrayed as an accident. Heaney only being six years old, was shown things that most adults would cringe at the thought off. In the following line it is explained that it was no accident. Dan Taggart pitched them, the scraggy wee shits That name stuck in Heaneys mind for years, plus the exact phrase, a quotation straight from the mouth of Dan Taggart. Heany being a lover of nature, he could not see why this murder was taking place. He failed to grasp the fact of why these innocent kittens had to be killed. The word pitched is to throw, fling or toss with no care to the animals. Also the word pitch can mean to attack or assault. The shortage of care for an animal is extraordinary. These kittens were shown no dignity and Dan Taggart did not resent any of it. In Dan Taggarts speech he uses the word wee, which implies a different dialogue. Into a bucket Dan Taggart picked up anything that came to hand and used it, which happened to be a bucket; the word bucket is very blunt and gives more impact. A frail metal sound Using the word frail emphasizes the helplessness of the kittens. The contrast of definitions between frail and metal are antithetical, because metal is thought of, as a strong material so it being described as frail doesnt sound correct. The phrase demonstrates the fragility and minuscule size of the feline creatures. The second stanza describes the beginning of the execution. Soft paws scarping like mad The word soft again emphasizes the weakness of the feeble, powerless animals. Scraping like mad It is as if their life depends on it, but of course the fate has already been decided, death. But their tiny din as soon soused The phrase tiny din is another oxymoron; this shows that the kittens are bellowing but the sound is inaudible. The word soused has a double meaning, soused means to drench in water, which would physically make them unable to make a noise, and if you drown out a sound it can no longer be herd. Those two lines flow into each other like water flows (enjaberment). Again there is no respect towards the kittens slung onto the snout the use of alliteration in this verse (repeated Ss) gives the sound effect of the water splashing. The next stanza proves that Dan Taggart has convinced himself he has done nothing wrong. He asks the question to Heaney to try and persuade him to think that it is right, also to reassure himself. Heaney remembered that exact quote and memorized those words of absolute cruelty. Like wet gloves This phrase is very expressive, wet gloves are unwanted objects as you use them to keep warm and if they were wet they would be discarded. Some gloves are fleece, comparing with the fur of the kittens. The five-finger indentations of a glove may resemble the limbs of a kitten. They bobbed and shone till he sluiced A simile is used comparing them to wet gloves, and the words glossy and bobbed create a watery, wet effect. Most striking of all is the oxymoron glossy and dead. As glossy coat is usually seen as a sign of animal health, but as we no they are very far from health. The next stanza carries on from where the last one left, and is largely about death and the childs reaction to it. Suddenly frightened, for days I sadly hung Suddenly indicates that the consequences of the actions hit young Heaney all at once, then after it stayed in his mind for days after becoming his burden. The poet dreams EssayHeany writes this poem ehich reaches the readers heart. Fishermen at Ballyshannon Netted an infant last night Once again like in many of Heaneys poems the first stanza introduce the subject (Netted an Infant) and setting (Ballyshannon). The fisherman must have been distraught once they saw the baby in their nets. Along with the salmon This explains what the fisherman where fishing for, but it is an unpleasant way of finding a body among a load of fish. An illegitimate spawning This shows that the baby was not supposed to be their and one of the most extraordinary things you catch when you go fishing. A small one thrown back to the waters A small one obviously describes the baby, thrown back to the waters can mean two things, either it means like a small fish you throw it back because it is too small or because when it was in its mothers womb it was in her waters. But I am sure as she stood in the shallows Ducking him tenderly These lines show enjamberment and an oxymoron most of Heaneys poems show these elements repeatedly. The enjamberment is the three lines flowing into each other, and the oxymoron is Ducking him tenderly, how can you drown somebody tenderly? Could the she be his mother? If so what has happened to the mother who makes such an unspeakably horrible choice to drown her newborn son? And what religion can be so stern as to teach that illegitimacy is so unacceptable that a mother would choose to destroy her own child? Till the frozen knobs of her wrists Were dead as gravel frozen knobs I interoperated as the mothers hands, dead as gravel as in the sense that those hands killed somebody so they were dead, or because gravel is life less and doesnt move. What becomes of the mother who with freezing hands quietly drowns him? He was a minnow with hooks Tearing her open. This confirms that he was a burden to the young mother, a minnow again this shows that he was very small, delicate and innocent. She waded in under The sign of her cross. This translates to she walked deeper because of her religion, but what religion can force somebody to do such a thing? She would be made an outcast if she kept it, so she resorted to this. He was hauled in with the fish. I think that hauled is not the most appropriate word to use, as it give the impression that the baby was thrown, when I think it slowly floated away from the mothers arms. Now limbo will be Limbo being the edge of hell and far from heaven. The following stanza tells the reader that such a devastating action was carried out, that not even Jesus Christ , could not bring that young boys soul to heaven, as that action was done because of the mothers religion. Even Christs palms, unhealed, Smart and cannot fish there, Even Christ Himself feels his wounds and cannot draw near the drowning sight as though he never intended such an act to be performed under the sign of His cross. All the way through the poem references were made to fishing, as fishermen found the baby. E. g. Netted, small one thrown back, He was a minnow. After reading this poem it would be easy to be against the Catholic Church for its stern and dispassionate rejection of unbaptized infants from a permanent place in Heaven, but I think society in general must share the blame for its lack of support. It is too easy to pass judgment upon women particularly who find themselves in untenable positions, giving birth to children outside of a stable and supportive marriage. These are the very souls who most need the help of society. In societys defense, I would like to think we are becoming more accepting of children born out of wedlock, but nonetheless even today most single mothers have a hard life ahead of them. The last poem I studied on pain and suffering was Bye-Child. Bye-Child tells the story of a feral child found shut up in a henhouse, the ultimate symbol of ignorance, isolation and alienation. He is fed on scraps thrown through a trapdoor morning and evening. This image is an extreme dramatization of Irish poverty and deprivation. The child lives for the arrival of the scraps, his only link with the unnamed she (his mother? ) and for the sight of the lamplight in the window, the symbol of comfort and companionship from which he is inexplicably excluded. His uncomprehending patience is compared to that of a dog; he is kennelled and faithful. Despite the misery and neglect of his parents (their implies his mother has companionship), there is no resentment in his acceptance of his situation. He loves the light. The poem is written like a newspaper report because I believe that Heaney found the basis for this poem in a newspaper.