Essay Dichotomy in Seamus Heaney’s Poetry - 3663 Words

Dichotomy in Seamus Heaney’s Poetry How much does an artist’s life affect the art they produce? One’s art certainly can be an expression of one’s surroundings and in this manner the surroundings are woven like a thread into their body of work. Seamus Heaney, born and raised in Northern Ireland, has grown up with many strong influences in his life that are visible in his poetry. As Robert Buttel claims in his article on Seamus Heaney â€Å"the imprint of this poet’s origins is indelibly fixed in his work† (180). Living in the â€Å"bogland† as Heaney has described Northern Ireland left an imprint on his poems, as he often depicts the lush green countryside and pastoral scenes of his youth. However, he also acknowledges his modern society.†¦show more content†¦All of these dualities in his poetry, his art, can be linked to his biography. The tense social and political atmosphere he was raised in, the local verses and scholarly education he received, the emotional f luctuations caused by IRA bombings and peace protests all contribute to the â€Å"splitness† in his poetry. This poignant dichotomy is seen explicitly in two poems in Seamus Heaney’s Field Work. One poem, â€Å"The Strand at Lough Beg† is written for â€Å"Heaney’s cousin Colum McCartney (ambushed and shot in a sectarian killing)† and is rich with pastoral scenery, dark tones, and religious imagery (Vendler 60). Another poem, â€Å"A Postcard from North Antrim† is about â€Å"his friend the social worker Sean Armstrong (shot by a ‘pointblank teatime bullet’)† (Vendler 60). These two elegies, both with a strong presence of Heaney’s personal voice, are imbued with a sort of ambiguity as Heaney struggles with the death of two people who were both very close to him. In both poems, Heaney â€Å"tries to converse with and question the dead† in an attempt to rationalize, or at least display his sentiments on the untimely deaths (Parker 159). It is interesting to watch Heaney oscillate in imagery, tone and diction as he prog resses through both poems. This wavering can be seen as a result of Heaney’s background. Seamus Heaney was born in Mossbawn, 13 April 1939, the place of the family farm in County Derry, Northern Ireland, nearly 30 milesShow MoreRelatedEssay about Bone Dreams by Seamus Heaney1953 Words   |  8 PagesBone Dreams by Seamus Heaney – An Analysis Bone Dreams is an obscure and difficult poem to understand. In all my searching on the internet, I found very little to help me in my analysis of this poem and so the ideas are basically my own. I might be wide of the mark, but for anybody struggling to understand this poem, it might at least give you some ideas of your own. I make no apology for asking questions or for sounding vague or even muddled in places. I hope that this essay is of help