Seamus Heaney

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses and compares the poems "Bye-Child", "The Outlaw", "Bogland", "Limbo" and "The Harvest Bow", by Seamus Heaney. The paper illustrates how each poem evokes a powerful sense of the Irish perception of Ireland, a love-hate relationship in which kinship to the land is deeply felt, along with profound spiritual loneliness. The paper explains that although the overall tone of these poems creates a feeling of tragic alienation, isolation and sterility, there remains a hint of hope.

From the Paper:

" "Bye-Child" tells the story of a feral child found shut up in a henhouse, the ultimate symbol of ignorance, isolation and alienation. The squalor of his condition is expressed in "the dust,/ The cobwebs, old droppings/ Under the roosts"; 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". Thus, in spite of 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; thus the Irish, in spite of their hardships and lack of comfort, still love their motherland."

More papers on Seamus Heaney:

• Analytical Essay # 16716 : "Funeral Rites" by Seamus Heaney"
• Analytical Essay # 16189 : "Seamus Heaney and 'Digging'"
• Analytical Essay # 148835 : "Heaney's "Death of a Naturalist"

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