Follower by Seamus Heaney F/H

Follower by Seamus Heaney The title is ambiguous and gives a sense both of Heaney literally following his father and metaphorically following him as any child ‘follows’ a parent. The poem concludes with this metaphorical relationship reversed as you will see F/H

The poem ends with Heaney considering the way roles have Heaney remembers being a boy and his experiences of following his father around the farm as he ploughed the field. The poet’s affection for his father is obvious. As is his admiration for the skill he has when working the land My father worked with a horse plough, His shoulders globed like a full sail strung Between the shafts and the furrow. The horses strained at his clicking tongue. An expert. He would set the wing And fit the bright-pointed sock. The sod rolled over without breaking. At the headrig, with a single pluck Of reins, the sweating team turned round And back into the land. His eye Narrowed and angled at the ground, Mapping the furrow exactly. I stumbled in his hobnailed wake, Fell sometimes on the polished sod; Sometimes he rode me on his back Dipping and rising to his plod. I wanted to grow up and plough, To close one eye, stiffen my arm. All I ever did was follow In his broad shadow around the farm. I was a nuisance, tripping, falling, Yapping always. But today It is my father who keeps stumbling Behind me, and will not go away. During the first three stanzas of the poem, the poet recalls his father working the fields. The poet goes on to describe how he used to follow his father and he would then stumble and it was necessary for his father to pick him up and carry him on his back. Heaney recalls how, at this time in his life, his only ambition was to follow in his father’s footsteps and to be like him The poem ends with Heaney considering the way roles have changed now that he is older and a poet and it is his father who follows him. F/H

Past tense as Heaney reminisces about his child-hood. ‘worked’ implies both the labour itself and the control that his father had The father’s skill and expertise are emphasised by the language used to describe his work My father worked with a horse plough, His shoulders globed like a full sail strung Between the shafts and the furrow. The horses strained at his clicking tongue. An expert. He would set the wing And fit the bright-pointed sock. The sod rolled over without breaking. At the headrig, with a single pluck Of reins, the sweating team turned round And back into the land. His eye Narrowed and angled at the ground, Mapping the furrow exactly. I stumbled in his hobnailed wake, Fell sometimes on the polished sod; Sometimes he rode me on his back Dipping and rising to his plod. I wanted to grow up and plough, To close one eye, stiffen my arm. All I ever did was follow In his broad shadow around the farm. I was a nuisance, tripping, falling, Yapping always. But today It is my father who keeps stumbling Behind me, and will not go away. ‘globed’ suggests the power and size of the man in Heaney’s eyes Admiration presented as a simple statement of fact The skill of a sailor and smooth progress of a ship is evoked through these words and phrases The precision and skill is suggested again with words like these F/H

Polished mud? Unusual image perhaps stressing the care his father took Heaney’s use of technical language shows his familiarity with the work of his father and perhaps suggests how long ‘followed’ for The effort and power of the horses contrasts with the effortless ease of his father’s control My father worked with a horse plough, His shoulders globed like a full sail strung Between the shafts and the furrow. The horses strained at his clicking tongue. An expert. He would set the wing And fit the bright-pointed sock. The sod rolled over without breaking. At the headrig, with a single pluck Of reins, the sweating team turned round And back into the land. His eye Narrowed and angled at the ground, Mapping the furrow exactly. I stumbled in his hobnailed wake, Fell sometimes on the polished sod; Sometimes he rode me on his back Dipping and rising to his plod. I wanted to grow up and plough, To close one eye, stiffen my arm. All I ever did was follow In his broad shadow around the farm. I was a nuisance, tripping, falling, Yapping always. But today It is my father who keeps stumbling Behind me, and will not go away. Heaney uses contrasts in the poem not just of past and present but also… Enjambment is used throughout the poem to suggest the flowing continuous nature of his father’s work Polished mud? Unusual image perhaps stressing the care his father took What is the effect of the words ‘dipping’ and ‘rising’? Heaney wanted to plough but only ever followed Repeated use of present participle (-ing) verbs lends an immediacy to the poem F/H

“tripping, falling, yapping” emphasises the nuisance he was My father worked with a horse plough, His shoulders globed like a full sail strung Between the shafts and the furrow. The horses strained at his clicking tongue. An expert. He would set the wing And fit the bright-pointed sock. The sod rolled over without breaking. At the headrig, with a single pluck Of reins, the sweating team turned round And back into the land. His eye Narrowed and angled at the ground, Mapping the furrow exactly. I stumbled in his hobnailed wake, Fell sometimes on the polished sod; Sometimes he rode me on his back Dipping and rising to his plod. I wanted to grow up and plough, To close one eye, stiffen my arm. All I ever did was follow In his broad shadow around the farm. I was a nuisance, tripping, falling, Yapping always. But today It is my father who keeps stumbling Behind me, and will not go away. Literal following; Heaney is not skilled or big enough to walk on the fields without falling. Could this also suggest that stumbled in his desire to ‘follow’ his father as a ploughman? “tripping, falling, yapping” emphasises the nuisance he was Does Heaney still feel in his father’s shadow? Does he regret that he no longer ‘follows’ him? Marks a change of tone and tense Why does his father stumble now? Why is his father now the ‘follower’ Does Heaney really want his father to go away? Why does the memory appear to have soured? F/H

Themes Nature – The importance of nature is seen clearly in the poem, with the father clearly an expert farmer and the poet clearly having a strong bond with the natural world. Relationships – The relationship that exists between the father and son is at the core of the poem. It is very clear that the son loves his father and admires him, as can be seen in his desire to follow in his footsteps. The end of the poem serves to suggest the natural cycle of life – all people one day get old and the son will take the role of the father. F/H

Review What does the poem show of the relationship of father and son, and how time has changed this? What does the last line of the poem mean? Does Heaney really want his father to “go away”? Is this a poem about farming specifically or is it relevant to other skills and occupations? How does Heaney explore the idea of family tradition here? In what way should the poem be read (tone)? Would this change as the poem draws to a close? F/H

‘Placing’ the poem What year was this poem written? Which other Heaney poems are from the same time period? Which poem(s) is this most like? Which elements of social/historical context are relevant? F/H

Structure Look at the structure of each stanza? Consider the effects of rhyme and metre. What has changed between the first line and the last? Consider the importance of enjambment. F/H

Planning a Commentary What are your THREE KEY IDEAS? How would you summarise the main ideas of the poem in the introduction? Which lines would you quote? Are you looking at a range of language devices? Can you demonstrate a good understanding of what the poem is about? F/H