Examine two poems, Digging and Follower by Seamus Heaney and then compare
the poems, explaining both their differences and similarities.
The first poem I am going to examine is "digging" by Seamus Heaney. I
will first comment on the title of the poem. "Digging" has both a
metaphorical and literal meaning to it. The literal meaning is that
his father and his grandfather are farmers. The poem talks about the
men "Digging" and working, so this explains the literal meaning of the
poem. The metaphorical meaning is that Seamus Heaney is "Digging" into
his past and back round, which is farming. So, the title is rather
effective. Now I will examine the rest of the poem.
Firstly, I will look at, and comment on, the first stanza. In this
verse, Seamus Heaney is not doing anything. It seems as if he is
waiting for inspiration. In the second line, there is a strange
simile; "The squat pen rests; snug as a gun". This is strange because
"snug" is a comfortable word which suggests he is comfortable with his
writing, but gun is a powerful and dangerous word. This could mean
that his pen could be powerful (and it is; it ends up being his
career). The word "squat" makes it seem as if he is eager to write and
as if the pen is poised; ready to spring. The word "rests" then
reinforces the belief that he is comfortable with his writing.
Secondly, I will study the second stanza. Onomatopoeia is used at the
end of the first line. "A clean rasping sound" is said. This is also
aural imagery. The word "digging" is repeated at the end of this
stanza with the literal meaning.
I will now look at the third stanza. Seamus Heaney is now thinking
back 20 years. I can tell this as it says "comes up twenty years
away". He is thinki...
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...he poem. The poem is about how great his father is, and
then ends bluntly; by saying Heaney is a nuisance. I found it
unexpected. I think that it may mean that his back round wont go away
and he feeds his writing by his past. It could also mean that his
father is now old and feeble. Whichever this may be, it is a very
ironic ending. The pessimistic ending is much unlike that of
"Digging", which ended optimistically.
I found this poem hard to understand at first, but then I looked
between the lines, and, like "Digging", I found it really interesting
and deep/meaningful. I rather digging though, I found it a more
interesting and optimistic poem. Though, I did really like the last
stanza of "Follower"; I found it very effective. But I also did with
"Digging". Overall, I enjoyed both poems thoroughly and would like to
look at more of Seamus Heaney's work.
The Europeans changed the land of the home of the Indians, which they renamed New England. In Changes in the Land, Cronon explains all the different aspects in how the Europeans changed the land. Changing by the culture and organization of the Indians lives, the land itself, including the region’s plants and animals. Cronon states, “The shift from Indian to European dominance in New England entailed important changes well known to historians in the ways these peoples organized their lives, but it also involved fundamental reorganizations less well known to historians in the region’s plant and animal communities,” (Cronon, xv). New England went through human development, environmental and ecological change from the Europeans.
over by a car. The main part of the poem is set in the family home,
Phoenix’s journey is a little long just by walking alone in the middle of the
An artwork will consist of different elements that artists bring together to create different forms of art from paintings, sculptures, movies and more. These elements make up what a viewer sees and to help them understand. In the painting Twilight in the Wilderness created by Frederic Edwin Church in 1860 on page 106, a landscape depicting a sun setting behind rows of mountains is seen. In this painting, Church used specific elements to draw the viewer’s attention directly to the middle of the painting that consisted of the sun. Church primarily uses contrast to attract attention, but it is the different aspects of contrast that he uses that makes the painting come together. In Twilight in the Wilderness, Church uses color, rhythm, and focal
Huck Finn learns from the actions of people around him, what kind of a person he is going to be. He is both part of the society and an outlier of society, and as such he is given the opportunity to make his own decisions about what is right and what is wrong. There are two main groups of characters that help Huck on his journey to moral maturation. The first group consists of Widow Douglas, Miss Watson, and the judge. They portray society and strict adherence to rules laid out by authority. The second group consists of Pap, the King, and the Duke. They represent outliers of society who have chosen to alienate themselves from civilized life and follow no rules. While these characters all extremely important in Huck’s moral development, perhaps the most significant character is Jim, who is both a fatherly figure to Huck as well as his parallel as far as limited power and desire to escape. Even though by the end of the novel, Huck still does not want to be a part of society, he has made a many choices for himself concerning morality. Because Huck is allowed to live a civilized life with the Widow Douglas, he is not alienated like his father, who effectively hates civilization because he cannot be a part of it. He is not treated like a total outsider and does not feel ignorant or left behind. On the other hand, because he does not start out being a true member of the society, he is able to think for himself and dismiss the rules authority figures say are correct. By the end of the novel, Huck is no longer a slave to the rules of authority, nor is he an ignorant outsider who looks out only for himself. This shows Huck’s moral and psychological development, rendering the description of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” as a picaresq...
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is the most comprehensive and far-reaching analogy in his book, The Republic. This blanket analogy covers many of the other images Plato uses as tools through out The Republic to show why justice is good. The Allegory of the Cave, however, is not the easiest image that Plato uses. First, one must understand this analogy and all of it’s hidden intricacies, then one will be able to apply it to the other images Plato uses such as the Divided Line, or Plato’s Forms.
In Seamus Heaney’s poetry, there is a recurring theme of his talking of the past, and more predominantly about significant moments in time, where he came to realisations that brought him to adulthood. In “Death of a Naturalist” Heaney describes a moment in his childhood where he learnt that nature was not as beautiful as seem to be when he was just a naive child. Heaney does this on a deeper level in “Midterm Break” describes his experience of his younger brothers funeral and the mixed, confusing feelings he encountered, consequently learning that he no longer was a child, and had no choice but to be exposed to reality. Robert Frost in one sense also describes particular moments in time, where his narrator comes to realisations. However, Frost writes more indirectly than Heaney, and all together more metaphorically. In “A Leaf Treader” he symbolically talks about life and death through the autumn season. He does the same, in “The Road Not Taken” where the two roads are described to be a metaphor for the decisions one makes in life, and the inevitable regrets we face due to those decisions. In “Stopping by a Woods on a Snowy Evening” Frost directly talks directly of a moment in time, however the significant meaning being that in life one needs a moment of solace to appreciate peace and beauty.
Plato claims that self-existent and unchanging forms and not the reality obtained through sensory experience are perfect concepts for objects that can be seen in our physical reality. In his Allegory of the Cave, Plato explains how a slave could be set free from chains to the shadows of this world by becoming aware of the higher reality of forms (the objects’ true forms once they leave the cave). His allegory claims that all humans are held prisoner in darkness as we believe actual reality to be the things that we can see around us. However, there is a true reality that exists beyond the physical world. For Plato, he believed we experience this absolute reality when our soul detaches from the body. He believed that the body and soul are two
The Underground Man is spiteful. He tells us this and we really ought to believe him. The Underground Man is not only bothered by the class system of Russia but he is also plagued by everyone that he happens to glance at. Namely, I think that he is tormented by the fact that he is not free. He will never be free. He is a prisoner of himself.
Once the reader can passes up the surface meaning of the poem Blackberry-Picking, by Seamus Heaney, past the emotional switch from sheer joy to utter disappointment, past the childhood memories, the underlying meaning can be quite disturbing. Hidden deep within the happy-go-lucky rifts of childhood is a disturbing tale of greed and murder. Seamus Heaney, through clever diction, ghastly imagery, misguided metaphors and abruptly changing forms, ingeniously tells the tale that is understood and rarely spoken aloud.
Beowulf is a poem translated by Seamus Heaney that tells the story of the protagonist named Beowulf. Beowulf was warrior who had the strength of many men. He had grown up and molded himself to fulfill the role of a hero, throughout many occasions. Everytime he had finished a remarkable feat, it was subjected as evidence which was always there showcasing his accomplishments, godsend strength, and loyalty as a leader. Even in the most difficult situations, Beowulf had the courageousness to be side by side with God, letting him be victorious than anyone had ever
Plato's allegory of the cave is a metaphysical illustration of the philosopher’s view of the humanity. We are represented by the prisoners, who are mired and held captive by an extremely limited view of the world, and prevented by their chains from viewing the actual Truth of existence. We are each locked up in our own worldview, living our lives unknowingly in the shadow of actual truth. Having nothing else to rely upon but our meager eyesight and hearing, capable of only believing in shadows and whispering disembodied voices, once exposed to truth, it is blinding to us. We are dazzled and disoriented, afraid of the glaring sight that has been so rudely forced upon us.
One of the biggest questions that humans have is “what is reality”. Plato suggests that, “ we are born in illusions,” (Plato) and that the truth is initially blinding. “The Myth of the Cave,” is a narrative story about the idea of reality, it is explored though an allegory about a man finding out the truth about reality coming from a life in the dark. They can only learn about true mainly through reason and truth. The story is told as a metaphor for what happens in the natural world and how people can be stuck in the dark about reality. Plato tells the story through the voice of Socrates, his mentor.
death is of the way the poet feels about the frogs. In the first verse
In book seven of ‘The Republic’, Plato presents possibly one of the most prominent metaphors in Western philosophy to date titled ‘Allegory of the Cave’.