A Comparison of Storm on the Island by Seamus Heaney and Patrolling Barnegat by Walt Whitman

A Comparison of Storm on the Island by Seamus Heaney and Patrolling Barnegat by Walt Whitman

‘Storm on the Island’ by Seamus Heaney and ‘Patrolling Barnegat’ by

Walt Whitman are similar in a number of ways however, there are also

strong contrasts. Possibly the most apparent comparison is the subject

matter. Both poems are written from a personal viewpoint about a

storm. Heaney describes the storm from inside a building for which he

is prepared for, “We build our houses squat” The impression is given

that the storm according to Heaney is not a rare occurrence and that

he is writing about many similar storms. The title uses no article and

writes in the present tense. Whitman however, speaks as if he is in

fact within the storm, almost participating. The reader becomes aware

of this as Whitman poses questions “is that a wreck?” readers can then

understand that the poet is experiencing the incident he is

describing.

Heaney and Whitman both associate the storm with military terms. The

title ‘Patrolling Barnegat’ is self-explanatory; leading the reader to

believe the poem is about a military exercise. This could be

considered as a strange choice of title for a poem about such a wild,

frantic experience – quite unlike a military operation. ‘Storm on the

Island’ unconsciously links the storm to a war by using words

indirectly related like “bombarded.”

‘Patrolling Barnegat’ is a sonnet – a poem of 14 lines, usually

associated with love. It is therefore strange that Whitman uses this

form of poem when depicting an experience so intense and wild, perhaps

this is his perception of love. The lack of rhyming couplets and use

of half rhymes at the end of each line “running/muttering/pealing”

encourages the reader to feel blown along – much like a storm itself.

Dissimilarly, ‘Storm on the Island’ is free verse and has no rhyme or

rhythm. It uses enjambment “spits like a tame cat/Turned savage” and

reads continuously somewhat like a story or a conversation. The idea

that Seamus Heaney is actually speaking to his audience is reinforced