Follower

My father worked with a horse plough,His shoulders globed like a full sail strungBetween the shafts and the furrow.The horses strained at his clicking tongue.

An expert. He would set the wingAnd fit the bright-pointed sock.The sod rolled over without breaking.At the headrig, with a single pluck

Of reins, the sweating team turned roundAnd back into the land. His eyeNarrowed 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 backDipping and rising to his plod.

I wanted to grow up and plough,To close one eye, stiffen my arm. All I ever did was followIn 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. Seamus Heaney

In Seamus Heaney "Follower," he presents a dramatic stanza change, imagery, diction, similie, and I believe the perfect title for this poem. Time progresses in ezch stanza, as it is the son at first following his father, but later on, the speaker shows that his father is th dependent one, since the son has grwon up to be the independent one: "I was a nuisance, tripping, falling, Yapping always. But today It is my father who keeps stumbling Behind me, and will not go away." This comes from the last stanza, empahsizing on the change in style Heaney writes this one as well, as nowthe ideas are short, and simple ideas. The diction is key in the last stanza too, as it should be noted that the speaker uses past tense, as " I was a nuisance...." showing time has passed, and the speaker is no longer following the father. Its also in the last stanza when the speaker mentions when he was the follower, but now notice that the father has become the follower I believe. as the roles are reversed because the father depends on the speaker since he's old. whew, I really liked this commentary.

I want to talk about the similie that describes how strong the speaker describes the father: "His shoulders globed like a full sail strung." Kind of a interesting image for me, as I picture that the speakers dad is more then capable being a farmer, showing that he is a good role model for his father. Its because that the speaker likes how strong he is, comparing it to his future job, I may be that thats where he got the inspiration from. End rhyme also plays a significant role in the poem as well, it connects the stanza, so that the reader is able to tie the ideas together with what the speaker is tring to say: plod and sod, always and away, etc. I thought that was interesting that seamus heaney included that in the poem

I really liked this commentary as I saw so much to described about the poem, found that endless amount of papers could be written about this poem, idk, or maybe I got more experiance in this time around. The structure, short ideas towards the end, similie, the title itself, all stood out to me like a flashing light. lol. well this is what should benoted in Seamus Heaneys "follower."