Poem Follower Seamus Heaney Analysis

For example, in the poem Follower,

Heaney says, “I stumbled in his hob-nailed wake, Fell sometimes on the polished sod;”

This line gives the audience the picture of Heaney literally stumbling around when

trying to be like his father. He continues to emphasize this by adding how he constantly

falls on the ground when following his father as well. This example of imagery gives the

audience the idea that Heaney constantly tries to be like his father, even though he is

struggling. This not only shows his hardships of attempting to be like his father, but

shows the motivation of doing so. He admires his father so much that he would

In the poem Harvest Bow, Heaney uses imagery when saying, “And if I spy into

its golden loops, I see us walk between the railroad slopes.”

Heaney uses this imagery in order to emphasize how much he adores his

father. He admires the times he had with his father, and seeing both of them walk in an

area like old times shows that he admires his father so much, that memories like this

have a great value for him. When memories are mentioned, especially a memory so

Although imagery is a huge factor in Heaney’s poetry, he also uses symbolism.

Symbolism is a symbolic meaning attributed to natural objects or facts. Between the

poems Follower and Harvest Bow, Heaney uses symbolism in order to show his

admiration for his father. For example, in Harvest Bow, Heaney uses the actual harvest

bow in order to symbolize what he and his father have been through. The harvest bow

not only represents their activity together, but also his father in general. Referring back

to the previous quote, “And if I spy into its golden loops, I see us walk between the

railroad slopes,” shows that the harvest bow actually has meaning. Looking into the

loops, he sees the activities that he did with his father. This continues to show the fact

that the harvest bow is important to him and is a symbol of Heaney’s memory of