2. A01 (12 marks) A02 (12 marks) A03 (6 marks)
Clear and intelligent interpretation of the poems
Clear and precise comparison of the poems
Select a wide range of quotations which justify your points
A (12 marks)
Analyse the poets’ use of language
Analyse the poets’ use of structure
Clearly explain the effects on the reader
Use subject specific terminology
A (6 marks)
Relate the poems to their historical and social contexts

3. What is Heaney’s ‘Storm On The Island’ about?
Knowledge
Heaney is an Irish poet who here describes the impact of a storm on an island community.
Skills:
Close reading of the poem, focussed on meaning and content.
Understanding:
Annotate your anthology to demonstrate your understanding.

4. Storm on the Island
We are prepared: we build our houses squat,
Sink walls in rock and roof them with good slate.
The wizened earth had 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 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.
I’ve blanked out all the words of the poem apart from the opening phrase and the closing phrase.
What do you expect the poem to be about, based on the title, the opening, and the closing?
A01
Clear and intelligent interpretation of the poems
Select a wide range of quotations which justify your points

5. Storm on the Island
We are prepared: we build our houses squat,
Sink walls in rock and roof them with good slate.
The wizened earth had 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 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.
It’s a poem depicting a community readying themselves for a storm. At first they are calm and confident that they will be safe.
The poem turns at ‘But no:’ and the community realises the severity of the storm, and the danger they’re in.
A01
Clear and intelligent interpretation of the poems
Select a wide range of quotations which justify your points

6. How is Heaney’s ‘Storm On The Island’ written?
Knowledge
The single condensed stanza, and the language devices, are all used here to evoke the storm Heaney is describing.
Skills:
Close reading of the poem, focussed on language and structure.
Understanding:
Annotate your anthology to demonstrate your understanding.

7. ‘exploding comfortably’
The start of the poem has plenty of words with connotations of safety and security. Find some.
The power and violence of the storm is portrayed in numerous ways at the end of the poem.
Look for examples of the following:
Military language
Similes
Sibilance
‘exploding comfortably’
How does this piece of juxtaposition contribute to the overall mood and message of the poem?
A02
Analyse the poets’ use of language
Clearly explain the effects on the reader
Use subject specific terminology

8. The poem is written in iambic pentameter, making it mirror normal human speech. Why would Heaney want to make the poem conversational?
The poem is one stanza long, and is compact and sturdy, just like the safe houses being described.
A02
Analyse the poets’ use of structure
Clearly explain the effects on the reader
Use subject specific terminology

9. Why was Heaney’s ‘Storm On The Island’ written?
Knowledge
Heaney could be describing a literal small island attacked by a storm, but he could also be using it as a metaphor to describe how political and religious conflict has affected Ireland.
Skills:
Link contextual factors to textual details.
Understanding:
Annotate your anthology to demonstrate your understanding.

10. Could the ‘storm’ be a metaphor for these conflicts?
Heaney is an Irish poet, and Ireland has faced several violent political disturbances. For example, Irish Republicans have fought for freedom from British rule, and Catholics and Protestants have also fought one another violently.
Could the ‘storm’ be a metaphor for these conflicts?
The common name for the Parliament of Northern Ireland is ‘Stormont’. Look again at the title: ‘Storm on the island’.
Does that make you think the poem may be more political than it first seems?
A03
Relate the poems to their historical and social contexts

11. How does ‘Storm On The Island’ relate to the other poems in the anthology?
Knowledge
Several writers believe the nature is a powerful force.
Skills:
Make connections between two poems.
Understanding:
Write a thirty minute essay response to the comparison question.

12. Compare the power of nature as presented by Heaney and by one other poet of your choice.
Clear and precise comparison of the poems