Abstract
This paper reviews Seamus Heaney's poem, "Funeral Rites". The paper illustrates how this poem reflects Heaney's attempt to show the process required for the violence to end, while also challenging people to rethink their views on the violence. The central theme presented in this paper, is how the chaos of death and violence is understood and processed through the use of rituals. The paper also discusses the extensive use of imagery and symbolism in the poem.

From the Paper
"The symbols in the poem are also important to the meaning. The most significant symbol is the funeral procession itself. This procession has two meanings. Firstly, it represents the ritual that allows the real meaning of the violent events to be overlooked. Secondly, it represents the process of coming to understand and deal with the reality of the events. In the poem, the funeral procession leads to the river of knowledge and then to the grave site where the mythical figure Gunnar is invoked. Gunnar is a Viking hero who sacrificed himself to end a long fight. The reference to the violence in Ireland is clear, with Gunnar a symbol of sacrifice. The funeral procession as a whole, represents the path that needs to be followed for Ireland to return to peace. Just as a funeral procession leads to the acceptance of an individual's death, the funeral procession represents a process of coming to an understanding of the situation in Ireland and the way to overcome the violence and find the path to acceptance and forgiveness."

Tags:death, rituals, procession, symbolism, imagery, tragedy, gunnar, viking, sacrifice

Abstract
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."

Tags:Europe

Abstract
This paper discusses the Irish poet ,Seamus Heaney, who is the most prolific poet of our times and one of the best Irish literary figures to emerge after Yeats. The author points out that "Digging" refers to "a passion" that give a meaning and purpose to life. The paper examines his unassuming, non-aggressive approach that makes his work standout among heaps of conventional political poems. The references are annotated.

From the Paper
"Born in 1939, Seamus rose to the heights of international fame when his first collection of poems appeared in 1966 titled, "Death of the Naturalist". It was in this collection that his most widely read poem appeared which gives a reason to believe that Seamus' past is important to him and his rural background has always been a source of pride. This is one reason why we notice references to his past deeply embedded in many of his poems most noticeably in Digging, a poem that talks about Seamus' life on a farm in Mossbawn, a place "30 miles northwest of Belfast"."

Tags:irish, yeats, passion, meaning, purpose, life, style, unassuming, non-aggressive, political

Abstract
In this article, the writer explores culture and personality using a comparative analysis of Hasidic Jews and Italian Americans in the area of funeral rites and burial practices. The writer compares these characteristics in each culture before analyzing how each influences these practices due to its respective culture.

From the Paper
"A study of particular characteristics of different ethnic groups often leads to greater insight and understanding of how culture influences other aspects of existence. The close-knit nature of both Italian American and Hasidic Jewish communities is clearly evident from a study of the respective funeral rites and burial practices of each culture. The funeral rites and burial practices of both ethnic groups encompass a variety of beliefs, values and behaviors. For instance, Hasidic Jews ..."

Tags:beliefs, values, Catholics, Judaism, vigils, wakes, food, dress, kinship, community, religion, undertakers, Mass, Shiva

Abstract
This paper explains the importance of the myth of Osiris, and his wife, Isis, to developments in Egypt that distinguished the Nile civilization from other north African peoples, established ideas of the afterlife and funeral rituals towards it, while ushering in the day of Horus. The paper primarily makes reference to two of AWF Budge's works in Egyptology.

From the Paper
"The Myth of Osiris, Isis, and the Importance of Egyptian Funeral Rites. Introduction to Osiris The myth of Osiris is really a myth of Isis, too. Osiris seems to have been the most popular of Egyptian deities, associated with joy and sorrow and the vagaries of nature, and especially, of corn, for reasons soon explained. His immense appeal led to numerous attributions and powers, as borrowed from other Egyptian gods, so that debate continues as to what really belongs to the myth of Osiris, and what has been adapted from elsewhere."

Tags:osiris/isis, funeralrites, budge

From the Paper
"Funeral rites provide a community with a ritual observance of the passing of individuals, a communal expression of religious and social beliefs, and a sense of the continuity of social structures through time. An examination of the funeral rites in Chinese culture will point to some of the ways in which the social structure is maintained and transmitted in the rites themselves and in the accompanying observances of the community. The family stands as the central motif in Chinese funerary rites, standing as a form of family worship and providing the individual in the present with a direct link to his or her past.


The family, and family structure, is a central issue in the religion of China and in popular culture. As Thompson (1989) notes, ancestor worship, filial piety, both in the present and in terms of the past, hold an important position in Chinese society. In..."

Abstract
The paper aims to understand what is meant by the 'death' of the 'naturalist' in Seamus Heaney's work "Death of a Naturalist". The paper makes it clear that Heaney is a naturalist throughout the course of his professional life and was not describing the death of the naturalist within him. The paper then offers insight into this work by discussing a violent accident that took his younger brother's life, and explains how this tragedy provides Heaney with an experience that alters his understanding of nature and manifests a greater sense of foreboding of what it means to be a man at the mercy of nature's irresistible force. The paper provides evidence from his poem that his invocation of the 'death' of a naturalist was an emotional response to the trauma of his brother's untimely demise and all which this experience revealed about nature to him.

From the Paper
"It is therefore that we are inclined to add the scrutiny applied to the startling poem, "Death of a Naturalist" also to the life of Seamus Heaney as a means to interpreting the motive for the eulogy of his internal naturalist. Truthfully, there is little mystery as to the autobiographical force which directed his pen at this point in his life, demonstrated more explicitly by such works as "Mid-term Break," where he tells in no uncertain detail of the death of his four year old brother by automobile accident. As perhaps a recurrent theme relating to the naturalist proclivity toward description through the senses more than through the psyche, he describes his auditory experience upon learning of his brother's death. He opens the poem speaking of the tense duration before he was to be joined with his already grieving family, telling that "I sat all morning in the college sick bay. Counting bells knelling classes to a close." (Heaney) This lonely imagery is offered in the stead of actually telling us that this was the place where he learned of the tragedy.
"And in a manner that follows the rationality of the naturalist, the remainder of the poem is also starkly put, with any emotional demonstration exhibited by the subjects; his mother, his father and the men of his town. The poet would not offer here any greater indication of his own emotional disposition beyond the toned description of the world surrounding him. This is a distinctly naturalist disposition, to separate one's self from the egoistic experience of understanding something as personal as tragedy, instead using this to key into something about the human experience, inherently afflicted as it is by suffering and unspeakable sorrow. To dispense with the trite elaboration on his own endurance of this condition, Heaney instead explores this experience with an eye to the sensory perception of grief."

Tags:vulnerability, accident, life

Abstract
In this article, the writer explores the Roman funeral rite and the ability of the Romans to successfully inculturate elements of this ritual into the other cultures that they touched. The writer supports the thesis that the successful inculturation of funeral rites into mainstream society is a result of the willingness to adapt the ritual to include elements of the culture that they wished to acquire, rather than getting them to submit by sheer brute force. The new funeral rite then represents a perfect blend of two cultures.

Outline:
Understanding Inculturation
Roman Funeral Rites Past and Present
Inculturation of Roman Funerary Rites
The Jewish Funerary Liturgy
Developing a Plan for Inculturation
On Liturgy and Faith
Inculturation Methodology

From the Paper
"As the pagan practices of the Roman Empire became entangled, and later replaced by Christianity, many of the pagan practices became obsolete. In some cases, they were no longer allowed, particularly those that honored pagan gods. However, as the Roman religion transformed into the Roman Catholic Church, many elements of the old funeral rites survived. The survival of these elements demonstrates a high degree of inculturation of the old Roman practices. The modern Catholic funerary service still maintains the basic structure of the old Roman ceremony.
"The modern Roman Catholic Church requires that burial rites contain three distinct lithurgical sections. A funeral must contain all three sections."

Tags:customs, Roman, Empire, practice, body

Abstract
This paper offers a mission statement for the Stroud-Lawrence Funeral Home, a family-owned business established in 1870. It explains that the company is dedicated to providing the highest quality in pre-need services, traditional funerals, cremations, burials and embalming and to doing so in a sensitive and caring manner. The paper mentions that the company serves the local area around Chagrin Falls, which is approximately 20 miles east of Cleveland, Ohio. This is the area's oldest funeral home and expresses its pride in carrying on the founder's commitment to serve families with compassionate, quality service in a sensitive human caring profession.

From the Paper
"The Stroud-Lawrence Funeral Home was established in 1870 and remains a family-owned business. The company is dedicated to providing the highest quality in pre-need services, traditional funerals, cremations, burials, and embalming and to doing so in a sensitive and caring manner. The company serves the local area around Chagrin Falls, which is approximately 20 miles east of Cleveland, Ohio. This is the area's oldest funeral home and expresses its pride in carrying on the founder's commitment to serve families with compassionate, quality service in a sensitive human caring profession. The mission of the company is to provide this service to people in a time of need and to help alleviate the grief of the families. The company provides a wide variety of services aside from funerals, including insurance portfolios, caskets, rentals, monuments, removal services, notary services, trusts, vaults, limousine services, out of state services ..."

Tags:global, funeral, home

Abstract
This paper evaluates Alderwoods' reexamination of their ethical standards, for too many of these ethical standards are being violated for the sake of profit maximization. This reexamination is significant, for as the second-largest operator of funeral homes and cemeteries in North America, actions Alderwoods takes influence the entire funeral home industry.

From the Paper
"Each and every day of the year more than six-thousand Americans die. Some of them pass away at home or at work, some die in hospitals or nursing homes, and others are killed in accidents or die by violence. Despite differences in how, when, or where they die, nearly every one of them ultimately leaves this world through a funeral home. Subsequently, it is important for funeral homes to administer effective staffing practices and selection tools which reflect trends in ethics and diversity. In response to trends in diversity and ethics, Alderwoods is reexamining their ethical standards, for too many of these ethical standards are being violated for the sake of profit maximization."

Tags:funeral, home, industry