2. Sink walls in rock and roof them with good slate.
A strong, safe opening statement. Compare to the last line of the poem.
We are prepared: we build our houses squat,
Sink walls in rock and roof them with good slate.
The wizened earth has never troubled us
With hay, so, as you can see, there are no stacks
Or stooks that can be lost. Nor are there trees
Which might prove company when it blows full
Blast: you know what I mean – leaves and branches
Can raise a tragic chorus in a gale
So that you can listen to the thing you fear
Forgetting that it pummels your house too.
But there are no trees, no natural shelter.
You might think that the sea is company,
Exploding comfortably down on the cliffs
But no: when it begins, the flung spray hits
The very windows, spits like a tame cat
Turned savage. We just sit tight while wind dives
And strafes invisibly. Space is a salvo.
We are bombarded by the empty air.
Strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear.
There’s a lot of words about safety and security in the first two lines
Dried up – nothing grows there.
This is the first hint of fear in the poem – why are there no crops on the island?
The word “company” is used here and on line 12, to emphasise the loneliness.
This is a metaphor – trees sound like they’re wailing or singing.
The poem seems more scary because the poet is talking directly to you.
This is a very violent way to describe the wind.
This is an unusual combination of words, mixing the ideas of fear and safety.
This simile shows how unfamiliar things become frightening during the storm.
All they can do is wait helplessly for the storm to end.
This is language normally used to describe war.
The storm is invisible, there’s nothing solid there. This contrasts with the solid rock mentioned in the first two lines of the poem.

3. What Happens in the Poem?
Lines 1-5 The community thinks it is prepared for the storm
Lines 6-13 This is where the poem starts to change from security to fear.
It describes the power and the sounds of the storm itself.
Lines This part describes the fear as the storm attacks the island.
The three types of language
Contrasting descriptions of safety and fear – The poem uses a lot of words to do with safety and security at the beginning of the poem. The tome changes though, and the sense of loneliness increases as familiar things become frightening during the storm.
Direct Tone – The poet involves you in his fear of the storm by speaking directly to “you”, the reader.
Imagery – The poet creates vivid pictures of the storm using descriptive language, e.g. he uses the type of language normally used to describe war, to emphasise the violence of the storm.

4. Feelings and Attitudes in the Poem
SAFETY The first part of the poem shows the community’s feelings of safety, and preparation for the storm.
FEAR This sense of security soon changes to fear, as familiar things change and become frightening.
HELPLESSNESS The people can’t do anything about their fear except wait for the storm to finish. This is a strong contrast to the start of the poem.
The first eight letters of the title spell STORMONT.
Stormont castle is an important location for Northern Irish politics.
You could link themes of fear and safety in this poem with the
Northern Ireland conflict.