Seamus Heaney Follower.

His shoulders globed like a full sail strung:

 this is suggesting that he stands tall, his shoulders are broad and well tailored to suit this job that he does. His father is strong, and because of his build he is able to lough the feilds well and with great skill.

The horses strained at his clicking tongue:

this phrase suggests that the horses listen to every instruction his father gives, this makes him powerful and skillful, he knows what he is doing.

With a single pluck/Of reins, the sweating team turned around:

this phrase is suggesting an action that is done dyuring the plowing process, it dosent take two or three plucks of the reins for the 'team' to know what to do, the process runs so smoothly as Heaney's father is so skillful, it only takes one.

Dipping and rising to his plod:

this phrase is suggesting that the young Heaney is on his fathers shoulders, as his father plods along Heaney dips and rises, he is following the path of how his father walked. This also links with the line ' like a full sail strung', this is because waves also dip and rise, waves link with sails, sails are on ships.

I stumbled in his hob-nailed wake:

this phrase suggests that Seamus Heaney followed his dad as a young child, in many things than just ploughing, in a deeper sense the word 'stumbled' may mean that he has tried to follow in his fathers footsteps all his life, however he dosent feel he can take over his fathers jobs, he struggles to do them, he stumbles. 

I was a nuisance, tripping, falling/Yapping always:

this phrase suggests that Heaney was a nuisance of a child, it is clearly stated in the line. Like the line 'i stumbled in his hob-nailed wake', it tells you that he struggled to follow in his fathers footsteps as a child. he didnt feel his talent and skill lay with farming, and being able to plough like his dad. The word 'yapping' could be classed as onomatopoeia.

A young animal, the stage of still being classed as a baby. They are just learning how to survive, they take great care in watching their mother/father so they know how to survive when they grow older, they might not do things perfectly and it may take time to learn these skills.  

Towards the end of the poem, the last few lines show a change of relationship, instead of Heaney following his father, his father is following him. This makes us think that he is older now, his father is now a  memory, never forgotten and forever there.

Seamus Heaney - Follower!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHGVB-cKknI

Seamus Heaney Digging.

At the beginning of the poem, the writer is sat at his window, looking out at his father digging the flowerbeds.

The sight of his father digging reminds him of twenty years ago, when he watched his father dig for potato's.

Heaney also associates the skill of digging with his grandfather.

Seamus remembers the time when he carried milk to his grandfather whilst he was digging, once he had drank the milk he got straight back to work.

By the end of the poem, Heaney decided that although he admired his father and grandfather for the skill they had for digging, he wants to be a writer, this is what he is passionate for.

This poem is about Seamus Heaney watching his father dig, and remembering how when he was younger he watched his grandfather dig, this tradition has followed on. Although Heaney admires his father and grandfather, he dosent he has a good enough talent to carry on this tradition, he feels his talent lies with writing. 

The words or phrase which struck me most were  'The squat pen rests; snug as a gun', this phrase tells us that Heaney is holding his pen, the words snug as a gun suggests that his pen is powerful, it fits comfortably in his hand, the pen is supposed to be there. It then says 'The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft, against the inside knee was levered firmly', this phrase is connected to the first, it is saying that the spade is powerful when his father uses it, it fits comfortably against his leg, like the pen, the spade is supposed to be there.

Heaney is different from his father because he feels that his talent dosen't lie with digging, and being comfortable using a spade, he feels that although he admires his father and grandfather he would much rather follow what he feels he does best, which is write.

Gillian Clarke Biography.

Seamus Heaney Biography.

Seamus Heaney - Digging!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIzJgbNANzk

Intro!

For my English Literature course, i will be studying a wide range of poems. I will be studying poems wrritten by famous poets such as Seamus Heaney, Gillian Clarke and Pre-1914 poetry.