Heaney's Poem Follower

"Heaney's Poem 'Follower'" is a poem about the poet's love and admiration for his father. It is also about the changes that occur between fathers and children as children move out from their parents' shadow. In the first half of the poem, the poet draws a vivid portrait of his father as he plows a field. As a young boy, the poet follows his father as he goes about his work and, like most boys, idolizes his father and admires his great skill, "an expert. He would set the wing and fit the bright steel-pointed sock." In the poem, Heaney admires his father both physically and metaphorically. This is evident through the poet's deliberate choice of words. For instance, in the lines, "His eye narrowed and angled at the ground, mapping the furrows exactly," Heaney portrays his father's skill and precision. Additionally, the description of young Heaney stumbling in his hob-nailed wake evokes an image of the ploughman's heavy boots, the carefully ploughed furrow, and the child's clumsy enthusiasm. The poet uses onomatopoeic words to capture the details of his father's work as he ploughs. At the end of the first stanza, he describes his father leading the team of plough-horses, instructing them with his "clicking tongue." In the second stanza, his father guides the horses with "a single pluck of reins." It is interesting that the onomatopoeia here emphasizes the great skill with which the poet's father controls and guides his horses. It shows again his expertise and ease with the animals as he ploughs the field into furrowed lines. In the second half of the poem, the focus shifts from the father to the boy. It is noteworthy that stanza three starts with the pronoun “I”. Here, there is a shift into the first person, the “I” voice: “I stumbled…”; “I wanted…”; “I was a nuisance…”. It seems as though, at this moment, the boy has become self-aware. He desires to be like his father but perceives himself as clumsy and a “nuisance”. His father's strength and power are effectively brought out in the simple but effective simile, 'His shoulders were globed like a full sail strung between the shafts and the furrow.' The comparison suggests a man who spends much of his time outdoors, a man who is part of nature. The word 'globed' also suggests great strength and gives the impression that the father was the whole world to the young boy. It is important to note that his father is not simply strong; his tender love and care for his son are emphasized by the fact that he 'rode me on his back dipping and rising to his pod.' The sound and rhythm of these lines convey the pleasure young Heaney had in the ride. The words 'yapping' make us think of the boy as a young and excited puppy, enjoying playing at ploughing but of no practical help. In fact, he was a hindrance to a busy farmer, but his father tolerated him. The poem has several developed metaphors, such as the child following in his father's footsteps and wanting to be like him. The father is sturdy, while the child falls - his feet are not big enough for him to be steady on the uneven land. In the closing lines of the poem, the voice shifts again. This time, the "I" voice of the poet is that of an adult. He had wanted to grow up to plow fields like his father, but as he grew up, he discovered his own passion and vocation. Now that he is a man, the relationship he has with his father has changed. However, as the poet reflects, "today it is my father who keeps stumbling behind me, and will not go away." The use of a new sentence beginning with the capital ‘B’ emphasises the importance of this statement. Just as the boy once tripped and fell in his father’s wake, now that he has grown up, it is his father who "stumbles" behind him. The roles have been reversed between the two men, and now it is the father who follows his son.