The emotions presented in at least three of Seamus Heaneys poems including Mid Term Break Essay Example For Students

The emotions presented in at least three of Seamus Heaneys poems including Mid Term Break Essay Seamus Heaney has many different emotions littered throughout many of his poems. Strong emotions can be seen in the poems Death of a Naturalist Blackberry Picking Mid Term Break Follower and Digging. In Follower and Digging Heaney displays emotions of admiration as he describes his father on the farm. Whilst in Mid Term Break he feels sadness as he writes about the death of his brother. In Death of a Naturalist he feels happiness and delight when collecting frogspawn but fear during an encounter with frogs and in Blackberry Picking he feels joy and happiness when he picks blackberries but pain and anguish when they rot. We will write a custom essay on The emotions presented in at least three of Seamus Heaneys poems including Mid Term Break specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now All these emotions are conveyed through the poems, which gives you a vivid encounter of Heaney growing up. Happiness is a strong emotion exhibited during Heaneys poems. This is evident in the poem Blackberry Picking where Heaney shows great delight in picking the berries. Heaney describes the taste of the berries as, its flesh was sweet. This sensuous image is so powerful the reader can almost taste the berry. The word flesh portrays how juicy and pulpy the fruit is. The berries were so nice they left Heaney with a, lust for picking. This shows how Heaney had a desperate urge for picking. The word lust indicates how Heaney had a strong desire to pick and he found great joy out of doing so. This happiness and joy is also included in Death of a Naturalist where Heaney feels at peace with the natural world. At the start of the poem Heaney creates a very enjoyable and comfortable world with all of nature around him, spotted butterflies, bubbles gargled delicately. This tells us how Heaney feels pleasure for all of the country. This is also shown with what Heaney likes the best, warm thick slobber/ Of frogspawn. The warm thick slobber shows how Heaney can remember the exact details of the delightful occasion. Heaney feels great delight in collecting the frogspawn and really enjoys this. With Heaney loving all the country around him and the desire to collect the different things he show us how happy he is in his childhood. Another emotion displayed by Heaney is admiration. He shows this admiration for his father and his strength and skill in the poem Digging, Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds / Bends low comes up twenty years away. The word straining indicates how hard his father worked pushing himself to the limit. The word rump describes the rear of an animal, so shows how Heaneys father was like a bull or donkey and was powerful and strong. The second half of the quote, comes up twenty years away shows how long his father had been working. This portrays how his father has made his business a success by his hardwork and perseverance. Going back twenty years also cleverly changes the present to the past. This quote emphasises how Heaney admires his Dad for his hardwork, strength and power. This admiration is also presented in Follower, All I ever did was follow. This shows how dominant Heaneys father was and how proud Heaney was of him. When Heaney tells us he wants to grow up and plough it shows us he wanted to follow in his fathers footsteps and become an expert ploughman. However this shows the contrast between Heaney and his father. The word plough is what Heaney sees as his father and what represents him. In Heaneys ambitions to become a ploughman and the description of his fathers greatness he shows the emotion of admiration and how proud he is of his Dad. Another emotion displayed in Heaneys poems is sadness. .u3f31da7207fdc6ace42df4901b283be1 , .u3f31da7207fdc6ace42df4901b283be1 .postImageUrl , .u3f31da7207fdc6ace42df4901b283be1 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u3f31da7207fdc6ace42df4901b283be1 , .u3f31da7207fdc6ace42df4901b283be1:hover , .u3f31da7207fdc6ace42df4901b283be1:visited , .u3f31da7207fdc6ace42df4901b283be1:active { border:0!important; } .u3f31da7207fdc6ace42df4901b283be1 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u3f31da7207fdc6ace42df4901b283be1 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u3f31da7207fdc6ace42df4901b283be1:active , .u3f31da7207fdc6ace42df4901b283be1:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u3f31da7207fdc6ace42df4901b283be1 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u3f31da7207fdc6ace42df4901b283be1 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u3f31da7207fdc6ace42df4901b283be1 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u3f31da7207fdc6ace42df4901b283be1 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u3f31da7207fdc6ace42df4901b283be1:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u3f31da7207fdc6ace42df4901b283be1 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u3f31da7207fdc6ace42df4901b283be1 .u3f31da7207fdc6ace42df4901b283be1-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u3f31da7207fdc6ace42df4901b283be1:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Poetics by Aristotle EssayThis is displayed in the poem Blackberry Picking where sadness is felt for the berries rotting after he gets so much joy from picking them. When the berries rot there is a feeling of disappointment and anguish, the sweet flesh would turn sour/ I always felt like crying. The words sweet and sour contrast each other and emphasise the sadness of the rotting berries. When the poet felt like crying he would remember the sadness of the time and how much it effected him. Similarly sadness is felt in Mid Term Break where he tells us about the death of his brother. In the poem Heaney refers to his brother as the corpse. This shows how hurt Heaney was, he couldnt even refer to him as body or brother. The sadness of the event is depicted all the way through out the family, I met my father crying/ He had always taken funerals in his stride. This was said as Heaney returned home to see is father. This emphasises how hard the death hit Heaneys family as his father the tower of strength was crying showing weakness. During both poems Heaney shows a sense of anger and denial. The emotion of sadness represents two cases in Heaneys life where he felt down, and this takes the reader into Heaneys life making the poems very powerful. Seamus Heaney also demonstrates fear during his poems. In Death of a Naturalist Heaney feels fear against the frogs that never usually scared him until now. Heaney describes the frogs stance as Poised like mud-grenades. This simile helps to emphasise the image of belligerent attack. The image of mud-grenades is used to show how powerful and dangerous the frogs are in the mind of the poet as a young child. They could explode at any moment. This fear is also explored with the, loose necks pulsed like sails. This image of horror shows how threatened the young boy was. All this is in the young boys imagination and he feels frightened and runs away from the frogs. In Follower and Digging Heaney displays the emotion of inferiority is shown towards his father. In Follower Heaney tells us how he fills out of place on the farm, I stumbled in his hob-nailed wake/ Fell sometimes on the polished sod; In the first part of the quote Heaney tells us how he stumbled in his fathers massive ego and was intimidated by his father. The words stumbled and hob-nailed contrast each other furthering the effectiveness of the quote. The second half of the quote shows juxtaposition when Heaney fell (clumsy) on the polished sod (perfect). This part of the quote tells us how Heaney felt out of place in the farm where his father worked to make everything perfect. This is also shown in Digging where Heaney feels that he has, no spade to follow men like them. The spade represents the skill that Heaney feels he doesnt have and the man who he cant follow is his father. These quotes prove how Heaney feels that he is the odd link out of his family and he does not have the skill to be like his father and be strong, powerful and an all round hard worker. Loss of innocence is another emotion displayed in the poems. In Death of a Naturalist Heaney loses his childish naiveti and moves into the real world. At the start of the poem Heaney is still in his comfortable world repeating infant phrases such as, daddy frog and mammy frog. But during the second stanza the menacing frogs terrify the author, The slap and plop were obscene threats. This quote uses onomatopoeia to emphasise the intimidating sounds that made the author feel threatened. Seamus Heaney feels, sickened and runs away from the horrors of the real world. .u474949a33427ff8c316a53d9f082d758 , .u474949a33427ff8c316a53d9f082d758 .postImageUrl , .u474949a33427ff8c316a53d9f082d758 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u474949a33427ff8c316a53d9f082d758 , .u474949a33427ff8c316a53d9f082d758:hover , .u474949a33427ff8c316a53d9f082d758:visited , .u474949a33427ff8c316a53d9f082d758:active { border:0!important; } .u474949a33427ff8c316a53d9f082d758 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u474949a33427ff8c316a53d9f082d758 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u474949a33427ff8c316a53d9f082d758:active , .u474949a33427ff8c316a53d9f082d758:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u474949a33427ff8c316a53d9f082d758 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u474949a33427ff8c316a53d9f082d758 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u474949a33427ff8c316a53d9f082d758 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u474949a33427ff8c316a53d9f082d758 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u474949a33427ff8c316a53d9f082d758:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u474949a33427ff8c316a53d9f082d758 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u474949a33427ff8c316a53d9f082d758 .u474949a33427ff8c316a53d9f082d758-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u474949a33427ff8c316a53d9f082d758:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Visiting Hour by Norman MacCaig EssayDuring Blackberry Picking loss of innocence is also shown. However this is shown in the awakening of sexual awareness. During the first stanza Heaney tells us how he has a life of pleasure picking blackberries. When Heaney tells us how he had a lust for picking it shows how Heaney had discovered sexual excitement. Heaney described the juice of the berry as, Like thickened wine: summers blood This is also indicates sexual awareness as a young boy would not know the texture of a wine. Also the summers blood whilst indicating the preciousness and colour of the juice is also referring to sexual awareness. Collectively loss of innocence is shown as Heaney growing up and finding out about the evils of the world. It is another complex emotion displayed in Heaneys poems. One of the last emotions demonstrated in the poems is acceptance. In Digging Heaney accepts how he cannot continue the family trade but has to follow his chosen trade as a writer. Heaney tells us how he feels comfortable as a writer, Between my finger and my thumb the squat pen rests. The quote tells us how affluent he feels with the pen in his hand and this is the trade he has to follow. Heaney tells us how he will, dig with the pen and be as brilliant as his father but with what he chooses to do. Heaney accepts that he cant carry on the family tradition and has to have guts to admit this. When Heaney accepts that he will not be a farmer he realised that although he loved nature he knew it wouldnt be his lifes work. Altogether there are many different strong emotions used in Heaneys poems ranging from happiness to sadness and fear. From admiration to inferiority. All these emotions are described and portrayed in a powerful and meaningful way so as the reader can have an insight to what Heaneys life was like.