The Common Thread Which Runs Through Seamus Heaney's Poems

The Common Thread Which Runs Through Seamus Heaney's Poems

Seamus Heaney, a famous author, who has written many famous and

heartfelt poems and sonnets, such as Follower and Mid-term Break, has

shown to have a link, which runs through each of his poems. A theme,

which has seemed to crop up continuously. This expression of theme is

childhood innocence, tradition and family.

He often writes about childhood memories and thoughts of his past. He

incorporates his childhood into his poetry by writing about his own

experiences. Heaney's poetry takes him back to his childhood. It

reminds him of family traditions which he may not take part in now, as

he is older and has a bigger life than what he did on the farm, and he

shows how he enjoys his time there. He writes about life and death,

which shows the reader the feelings and emotions he had through hard

times, and the good times in his life. Through his poetry he

successfully makes us feel his joy and his pain.

The follower is a good example of a childhood poem. Heaney writes

about how his father worked and how he used to help him. The tone of

the poem is nostalgic when he remembers what happened in the past he

realises it was better than what he thought at the time. He admired

his father as he worked on the farm, and he felt like he wanted to

grow up in his fathers shadow. 'All I ever did was follow in his broad

shadow round the farm.' You can tell from reading the poem that his

father has traditional methods of farming as he uses horse ploughs and

other methods of farming. Heaney had an ambition to be like his

father.

As he grew older, he seemed to swap roles with his father, which gives

a sense of irony, as it was him who followed his father around in

admiration 'stumbling in his hobnailed wake,' and wanting to be just

like him. It is at the very end that Heaney actually became his