Seamus HAYney

I really enjoyed Seamus Heaney. I thought he used a lot of great imagery. One poem in particular that stuck out to me was "The Otter." It reminded me of Hughes' "Thought-Fox" and wasn't really like any of Heaney's other poems that dealt with punishment or Ireland. At the beginning of the poem we get this image of a playful otter in the water. "Your fine swimmer's back and shoulders/ Surfacing and surfacing again/ This year and every year since." Then there is an image of the speaker of the poem sort of embracing the otter: "When I hold you now/ We are closed and deep." The end of the poem brings us to the conclusion that the otter is simply a cherished memory "In the pool of the moment." Then, as swift as it had come, "suddenly you're out,/ back again, intent as ever,/ Heavy and frisky in your freshened pelt,/ Printing the stones."

The way I interpret this, the otter is a memory or thought in the speaker's mind. It swims about, to and fro, in and out of the water. The very end where the speaker talks about the otter's "freshened pelt" could be the fact that the speaker is now able to look at this thought, or memory, in a new or different way before it goes away, "printing the stones." Like in Hughes' "Thought-Fox," I feel like the otter is a sort of muse for the speaker, allowing him to take a thought, swish it around, and consider it from all angles. I would also like to add that since I love Romantic poetry, this poem's naturalness triggers something of an echo from the Romantic period and I just really liked it.

Heaney and His Bogs

I love Seamus Heaney's poetry from The Bog People, especially the element of truth being uncovered from beneath a dark and miry surface. This theme seems present in more than a few of his poems, but especially in his "bog" poems--my favorite of which is "Punishment."

In it, Heaney describes a bit of the story of a girl whose body, naturally preserved by the bog, was discovered beneath the "peat." Apparently she was entombed there as punishment for adultery in the 1st Century a.d.--of which it cannot be determined whether or not she was guilty, but it can be safely doubted with the knowledge of the extreme gender prejudice of that time. Heaney illustrates her body, grotesquely and yet delicately: "...the wind / at her naked front. / It blows her nipples / to amber beads, it shakes the frail rigging / of her ribs. / I can see her drowned / body in the bog..." (3-10).

Through the excavation of this once "flaxen-haired, / undernourished" (25-26) girl, Heaney discovers, or rediscovers, the same barbaric (and likely undeserved) punishment done unto women who have "kept company" with British soldiers. Just as the acknowledgment of the preserved, "Little adulteress" (23) is ignored and hidden beneath the bog, the acknowledgment of these punished prisoners, "[weeping] by the railings" (40), are ignored and hidden beneath the miry bog of Ireland's war-state. Heaney finds himself unable to reconcile his sense of "civilized outrage" (42) with his desire for "tribal, intimate revenge" (44).

Seamus Heaney

I enjoyed most of Seamus Heaney, but I was a little confused. In some cases, the footnotes were not enough, and I had to do a little extra research. “A Hazel Stick for Catherine Ann” had me very confused! Catherine Ann is his daughter, and it seems like she is becoming her mother in this poem. In the poem, it sounds like her mother died, but I could not find any information stating if this is why he wrote it.

Another poem that I found interesting is “Punishment.” Heaney uses vivid, disturbing imagery in this poem. “Brain’s exposed.” “I can see her drowned body in the bog.” “Shakes the frail rigging of her ribs.” These are all terrible images! You can just imagine this awful scene. The girl did not do anything but love. This punishment is unjust. It doesn’t seem like Heaney agrees with this punishment, but he didn’t do anything to try to stop it. “I who stood dumb” makes me think that he regrets doing nothing. The title could refer to both the girls who are being punished and the people who are watching them being punished.

I liked the way Heaney wrote “Station Island” with the ghosts from his past visiting him and giving advice. It read more like a story rather than a poem. Heaney seems to doubt himself in this poem. He is given advice, but will he follow through?

Seamus Heaney

Though it was not part of our readings, I really enjoyed Heaney's "The Underground." His simplistic style of writing is what makes his work so different than the other poets we've read this semester. Though I don't always seem to be interested in the subject matter he wrote about, I definitely respect his ability to write about things we may easily pass by as being "boring."

For me, "The Underground" reminded me of a specific time I was trying to catch the L train in NY. My friend and I were late for our lunch reservation, so we were running through the subway. The poem was so vivid that it brought me back to that place two summers ago. I recall sitting on the train looking at a woman across from me with her child and her husband, who was holding his daughter's pink bicycle.

It was really interesting how the most simplistic poem could be the one poem that makes you remember a little happening in your life. I never had that type of a connection with a poem before. Thank you, Heaney.

Bogland

I liked the concept behind “Bogland” and “Bog Queen.” I’ve never seen bogs and I was kind of intrigued. I checked out google images and I have to say the images ranged anywhere from beautiful (of the Irish countryside) to disturbing (think “Bog Queen”). I can see how the concept of bogs and the poet’s ties to the Irish landscape would go hand in hand.

“Bogland” opens with the comparison between Irish landscape and American landscape. He talks about how “the eye concedes to/Encroaching horizon” (3-4) as opposed to a vast, unending horizon that we image out west. It is the first time that I have ever gotten a visual picture by contrast and I liked it. He continues that image with a description of the horizon being “wooed into the cyclops’ eye/Of a tarn”(5-6). Again, we see how the landscape (and possibly the history) of Ireland is drawn inward.

The next stanza we get the image of an Irish Elk being drawn, somewhat preserved, from the peat. He begins to remember a time when they found butter that had been recovered, “salty and white” (15). This can be seen as reflective of the history of Ireland, the preservation of natural history and also of humankind.

Finally, in the last two stanzas, Heaney describes the pioneers stripping through the layers of the bog, never able to reach a bottom. He describes the bogholes as “Atlantic seepage” (26), which is “bottomless” (27).

Hughes

At first, I wasn’t sure if I liked or disliked Ted Hughes- I’m beginning to think I am leaning more towards like. There were some poems that I completely disliked. Then there were the few that I enjoyed. The crow poems were interesting and challenged me to think deeper into the text. Although other poetry made me do that, I kind of liked the subject matter more when it came to discussion about the crow and his relationship with God. We discussed some interesting theories in class and, although I am still clueless as to why he wrote the poems and what he meant by them, I still think our interpretations where pretty great. I think each of the poems involving the crow gives a different message, but I’m sure if we pieced it all together and really studied it, some sense would come out of it all.

The Birthday letters made me extremely sad. Some of the lines were kind of heartbreaking. From what we know about Sylvia Plath and looking at some of the lines in Hughes poetry I got the impression that even if Hughes stayed with her, the same end would come to Plath. She was unsteady all of her life. Even though I think Hughes could have felt more emotion toward the situation-I think it’s good enough that he at least felt something. I mean he had to be upset if he wrote so many poems on the subject. I think over Christmas break I’ll read all of Hughes poetry along with Plaths and see what I think (don’t worry, I won’t get depressed. I’ll make sure I read in a bright room and have Christmas music on).

Haunting "Punishment"

I was most interested in Seamus Heaney's Bog Poems. Mummies have always fascinated me, and when reading his poem "Punishment" I became engaged by the imagery, the subject, the elements of humanity--I find it all so interesting. I felt a lot of emotion when reading this poem, I think Heaney writes in an empathetic way that made me sympathize with the young girl. The description of her body, recognizing that her head was shaved, noting her undernourishment, yet all the while commenting on her beautiful face and young age is heart wrenching. I also love this poem because of its honesty:

"I almost love you
but would have cast, I know,
the stones of silence.
I am the artful voyeur

of your brain’s exposed. . . "

He is describing all of these awful and grotesque things that appear so violent and immoral, yet he recognizes that his judgement is not completely correct. If he would have lived during her time, he would not have saved her. He may not have been casting the"stones" that killed her physically, but he would have tossed the stones of silence (the stones of indifference) and therefore he is implying he would have been just as guilty as those who killed her. I find this to be a harsh reality. I think it challenges us presently, in what ways do we remain silent and indifferent in our present day and age? I think the brilliance of this poem is the connection between the past and present. We still struggle to speak out against social ills, and we fear doing so. What would have happened to the person who would have tried to save this girl? Perhaps their fate would have been the same as hers. Furthermore, the girl's execution for adultery does not seem a fair punishment. Where is the male with whom she was engaging? Was he involved in her victimizing? The poem exposes the brutalities of society, and they haunt every age of civilization.