1. Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney was a Northern Irish poet who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995 and died in He often wrote about themes such as childhood, nature and his homeland. This poem was published in 1996.

2. You’ve got to know what the poem’s about
The narrator describes how a community thinks it’s well-prepared for a coming storm.
As the poem goes on, their confidence starts to disappear as the storm develops. The power and the sounds of the storm are described.
The ending of the poem describes the fear as the storm hits the island.

3. As we read the poem, consider what image Heaney is trying to create.
Explain responses, using references to support generic comments. (Level /4)
Thoughtfully develop responses, making apt references for support. (Level )
Judiciously use precise references to support critical analysis. (Level 6- 8/9)
As we read the poem, consider what image Heaney is trying to create.
Vocabulary
Wizened= Dried up/Shrivelled
Stacks/stooks= haystacks / shocks of corn sheaves
Strafes= Bombards, harasses with artillery shells
Salvo= Simultaneous firing of artillery

4. We are prepared: we build our houses squat,
Sink walls in rock and roof them with good slate.
This wizened earth has never troubled us
With hay, so, as you 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 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 with the empty air.
Strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear.
READ THE POEM
Level 6 - Critical, exploratory comparison. Judicious use of precise references to support interpretation(s)
Level 5 - Thoughtful, developed comparison. Apt references integrated into interpretation(s)
Level 4 - Clear comparison. Effective use of references to support explanation
Learning Objective: Read, understand and respond to texts.

5. Why is the title so blunt
Why is the title so blunt? It only references storm, not a particular storm. What does this suggest? How does this link to the closing line and the meaning?

6. WHAT DO YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE POEM?
Discuss the poem with another person from the class.
Consider:
Line length
Language use
Ideas
Rhyme schemes
Poetic techniques
Level 6 - Critical, exploratory comparison. Judicious use of precise references to support explorative interpretation(s) of the writer’s methods on the reader.
Level 5 - Thoughtful, developed comparison. Apt references integrated into interpretation(s). Examines the effects of the writer’s methods on the reader.
Level 4 - Clear comparison. Effective use of references to support explanation. Understands the effects of the writer’s methods on the reader.
Learning Objective: Read, understand and respond to texts and analyse language, form and structure.

7. Go a step further and give a personal response
Have a go at answering these questions to help you come up with your own ideas about the poem:
Q1. Do you think the speaker likes living on the island? Why/ why not?
Q2. What’s the effect of describing the “leaves and branches” as a “tragic
chorus?”
Q3. Why do you think the poem addresses the reader directly? What effect
does it have on you?
Q4. What is the effect of comparing the sea to a “tame cat . Turned savage”?
Power of nature, fear, individual experiences of place ...
If you’re writing about fear or the power of nature, look at ‘Bayonet Charge’ or ‘The
Prelude’. You could consider how feelings for a place are presented in this poem compared
with ‘The Emigree’ or ‘London’.
KEY
THEMES

8. Learn about the form, structure and language
FORM – The poem is written in blank verse, which mirrors the patterns of everyday speech and makes the poem sound like part of a conversation. The first person plural (“We”) is used, showing how this is a collective, communal experience, The poem is all in one stanza – it’s compact and sturdy like the houses.
STRUCTURE - The poem shifts from security to fear. “But no:” seems to be a turning point (volta), with the slow pace of the monosyllabic phrase and the caesura reflecting the last moments of the calm before the storm.
Structure
The poem consists of nineteen lines of blank verse - unrhyming lines each containing five beats or feet.
This verse form (much used by Shakespeare) follows the natural patterns of spoken English, so we feel that Heaney is talking to us. How does this help you to engage with the ideas in this poem?

9. WHAT DO YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE STRUCTURE OF THE POEM?
Enjambment
The poem uses enjambment. This means that some of the lines in the poem run on over more than one line.
Task:
Annotate the use of ‘Enjambment’ in the poem.
What is the poem describing when the enjambment is used?
What effect might this have on the reader?
Level 6 - Critical, exploratory comparison. Judicious use of precise references to support explorative interpretation(s) of the writer’s methods on the reader.
Level 5 - Thoughtful, developed comparison. Apt references integrated into interpretation(s). Examines the effects of the writer’s methods on the reader.
Level 4 - Clear comparison. Effective use of references to support explanation. Understands the effects of the writer’s methods on the reader.
Learning Objective: Read, understand and respond to texts and analyse language, form and structure.

10. What is the effect of enjambment in the poem?
Why is caesura so important in this poem?

11. Why do you think the poem is structured in one verse, despite having two distinct sections?
How does it affect our reading that this is in blank verse (unrhyming lines each containing five beats)?

12. Learn about the form, structure and language
CONTRASTING DESCRIPTIONS OF SAFETY AND FEAR – The narrator uses a lot of words to do with safety and security at the beginning of the poem. The tone changes though, and the sense of danger increases as familiar things become frightening during the storm.
DIRECT ADDRESS - The narrator involves the reader in his fear by speaking directly to “you”.
VIOLENT IMAGERY – The storm is described in violent, often warlike terms, with similes, metaphors and personification combining to emphasise the danger and effects of the storm.
USE OF SOUNDS - Forceful sounds (e.g. “Blast”) are used to demonstrate the strength of nature, and the poem also uses assonant and sibilant sounds to reflect the noise of the wind and waves.

13. Explain responses, using references to support generic comments
Explain responses, using references to support generic comments. (Level /4)
Thoughtfully develop responses, making apt references for support. (Level )
Judiciously use precise references to support critical analysis. (Level 6- 8/9)
During the poem, the narrator shows that they go from feeling safe to feeling insecure. This changes at the Volta (the word ‘But).
Select relevant quotes and explain what it is that makes the narrator feel safe in the first part of the poem and insecure in the second.
SAFE
INSECURE

14. Who are the main characters of the poem: the wind and waves or the ‘we’? Why do you say this?
Why does Heaney use ‘we’?

15. What is the impact of personification in the poem
What is the impact of personification in the poem? Especially in reference to the land and nature.

16. How does Heaney use contradictions and comparisons to create effects?

17. How is alliteration and sound used for effect in the poem?

18. Remember the feelings and attitudes in the poem
SAFETY – The first part of the poem shows that the community feels safe, and prepare 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. Nature is presented as a powerful, relentless force.
Steve saw the storm as the perfect opportunity to try out his new kite.

19. Houses are built ‘squat’ (short and fat) so as to protect them against storms. Because of this, Heaney begins confidently. How does his tone change throughout and why is the tone conversational?

20. Explain responses, using references to support generic comments
Explain responses, using references to support generic comments. (Level /4)
Thoughtfully develop responses, making apt references for support. (Level )
Judiciously use precise references to support critical analysis. (Level 6- 8/9)
Quotation
What it suggests about the feelings of the speaker
We are prepared: we build our houses squat
But there are no trees, no natural shelter
We just sit tight while wind dives
And strafes invisibly
Strange…
Complete the table to explain what is suggested by the changes in tone in the poem.

21. Challenge: Consider how different methods might support your ideas.
Explain responses, using references to support generic comments. (Level /4)
Thoughtfully develop responses, making apt references for support. (Level )
Judiciously use precise references to support critical analysis. (Level 6- 8/9)
The first eight letters of the title make the word ‘STORMONT’ and this is the name of the residence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Considering the unrest in Northern Island, what might Heaney be trying to say by using this title?
Answer the question using well-judged (judicious) quotations and explanations.
Challenge: Consider how different methods might support your ideas.

22. Exam Style Question: How is the power of nature presented in this poem and one other poem from the anthology?
Quotation
Commentary
We are prepared: we build our houses squat...
But there are no trees, no natural shelter.
We just sit tight while wind dives And strafes invisibly
Strange...
Level 6 - Critical, exploratory comparison. Judicious use of precise references to support explorative interpretation(s) of the writer’s methods on the reader.
Level 5 - Thoughtful, developed comparison. Apt references integrated into interpretation(s). Examines the effects of the writer’s methods on the reader.
Level 4 - Clear comparison. Effective use of references to support explanation. Understands the effects of the writer’s methods on the reader.
Learning Objective: Read, understand and respond to texts and analyse language, form and structure.

23. Exam Style Question: How is the power of nature presented in this poem and one other poem from the anthology?
Quotation
Commentary
We are prepared: we build our houses squat...
The opening words of the poem suggests a community readying itself to endure wartime bombing or bombardment - an idea which Heaney returns to at the end of the poem.
But there are no trees, no natural shelter.
Heaney seems affectionate towards the island at first, wryly admitting it has never troubled them, yet here the But is significant: it is as if the island has let them down. They are at the mercy of the storm with no natural shelter.
We just sit tight while wind dives And strafes invisibly
Heaney recognises that he is powerless in the storm. There is nothing that man can do but sit tight while the wind attacks. It's like being under enemy fire.
Strange...
Heaney finds their fears strange because the object of fear is not tangible - it's 'a huge nothing'. So are the fears imaginary or real? Is he afraid of the wind, or doesn't he know what to be afraid of?
Level 6 - Critical, exploratory comparison. Judicious use of precise references to support explorative interpretation(s) of the writer’s methods on the reader.
Level 5 - Thoughtful, developed comparison. Apt references integrated into interpretation(s). Examines the effects of the writer’s methods on the reader.
Level 4 - Clear comparison. Effective use of references to support explanation. Understands the effects of the writer’s methods on the reader.
Learning Objective: Read, understand and respond to texts and analyse language, form and structure.

24. Exam Style Question: How is the power of nature presented in this poem and one other poem from the anthology?
Quotation
Commentary
leaves and branches
Can raise a tragic chorus in a gale
You might think that the sea is company…
But no…
the flung spray hits
The very windows, spits like a tame cat
Turned savage
it is a huge nothing that we fear.
Level 6 - Critical, exploratory comparison. Judicious use of precise references to support explorative interpretation(s) of the writer’s methods on the reader.
Level 5 - Thoughtful, developed comparison. Apt references integrated into interpretation(s). Examines the effects of the writer’s methods on the reader.
Level 4 - Clear comparison. Effective use of references to support explanation. Understands the effects of the writer’s methods on the reader.
Learning Objective: Read, understand and respond to texts and analyse language, form and structure.

25. Exam Style Question: How is the power of nature presented in this poem and one other poem from the anthology?
Quotation
Commentary
leaves and branches
Can raise a tragic chorus in a gale
The phrase ‘tragic chorus’ alludes to the serious nature of the damage that ‘leaves and branches’ can cause.
You might think that the sea is company…
But no…
Here, Heaney alludes to the fact that nature is not always our friend. The line refers to the untold damage and power that the sea, and the effects of the sea, can have.
the flung spray hits
The very windows, spits like a tame cat
Turned savage
A simile is used to compare the spray of the sea to a ‘savage’ animal. Here, Heaney implies that the ‘tame’ sea that people trust and enjoy spending time in can become very dangerous.
it is a huge nothing that we fear.
The damage of the wind is alluded here in that we cannot ‘see’ the wind, but that the damage it can cause should be feared.
Level 6 - Critical, exploratory comparison. Judicious use of precise references to support explorative interpretation(s) of the writer’s methods on the reader.
Level 5 - Thoughtful, developed comparison. Apt references integrated into interpretation(s). Examines the effects of the writer’s methods on the reader.
Level 4 - Clear comparison. Effective use of references to support explanation. Understands the effects of the writer’s methods on the reader.
Learning Objective: Read, understand and respond to texts and analyse language, form and structure.

26. Exam Style Question: How is the power of nature presented in this poem and one other poem from the anthology?
YOUR TURN
POINT - The power of nature is presented in this poem through the way that the writer discusses…
EVIDENCE - for example, when the writer chose to use the line/ word “…”
EXPLORE - they are suggesting that…
DEVELOP - Further, they could be trying to reinforce the fact that… or trying to show the reader that…
LINK - This would present nature as being ______________ because… Perhaps the writer wanted to show the audience that…
Level 6 - Critical, exploratory comparison. Judicious use of precise references to support explorative interpretation(s) of the writer’s methods on the reader.
Level 5 - Thoughtful, developed comparison. Apt references integrated into interpretation(s). Examines the effects of the writer’s methods on the reader.
Level 4 - Clear comparison. Effective use of references to support explanation. Understands the effects of the writer’s methods on the reader.
Learning Objective: Read, understand and respond to texts and analyse language, form and structure.

27. How does this poem compare to ideas from other poems which we have read?