Understanding Seamus Heaney's "Follower": A Deep Analysis of Family, Farming, and Change
Seamus Heaney childhood reflection poem analysis reveals deep insights into rural Irish life and the evolving relationship between father and son. Written in 1963, this powerful piece captures Heaney's memories of watching his father plough fields on their family farm in Mossbawn, Northern Ireland.
The poem's meticulous structure mirrors the precise art of ploughing itself. Each stanza contains four lines with a careful ABAB rhyme scheme, reflecting the ordered furrows carved into the soil. This significance of structure in Heaney's ploughing poem demonstrates how form enhances meaning, with the controlled verses echoing his father's masterful farming technique.
Vocabulary: Key farming terms enrich the poem's authenticity:
- Furrow: Long trench created by the plough
- Headrig: Unploughed turning area at field's end
- Hob-nailed: Boots with nails for better grip
- Shafts: Poles connecting horse to plough
The themes of parental relationships in Seamus Heaney's work emerge through carefully crafted imagery. The poet portrays his father as an expert, whose "shoulders globed like a full sail strung," creating a powerful metaphor that runs throughout the piece. This sailing imagery elevates the father's skill, comparing his mastery of the plough to a captain steering his ship through waves.