Seamus Heaney & Tony Curtis Essay -- English Literature

Seamus Heaney & Tony CurtisOn initial reading both the Follower and Strongman atomic number 18 simply about asons descent with their father. Whilst this relationship is acentral theme of both poems, the poems alike explore a range of issuesincluding cultural identity, guilt and social class. This essay will feat to analyse both poems individually and to also identify areasof conflict and simile between the poems.The first two words of Follower by Seamus Heaney are My father whichimmediately establishes the poets emotionally involved relationshipwith the subject of the poem. In contrast the poet of Strongman writesin the third person for the majority of the poem and it is whole reallyin the last two lines that the poet establishes that he is addressingthe poem to the son. twain poems create a vivid picture of physically strong fathers who put on on their physical strength by undertaking skilled manual of arms jobs tosupport their families My father worked with a horse-plough and Acarpenter who could punch nails into woodland with a clench fist. SeamusHeaney employs the use of a number of ocean images in helping the readerto visualise the immense strength and staying power of his fathers bodyHis shoulders globed wish a full sail strung and sometimes he rodeme . Dipping and rising to his plod. Similarly Tony Curtis employspowerful visual vision to illustrate the father in his poem as thepivot of a roundabout with his five sons as seats/chairs swinging fromhis arms as he would stretch his arms and hang his five sons fromthem, turning like a roundabout. This is a very successful simile asit encapsulates the swinging motion of the father playing with hischildren and on a deeper smell the fathe... ...man focuses on the reversed roles of thefather and son. The original role of the father as the provider andcentral axis in the family has forthwith disappeared to the extent that itis now the son who not only cares for the father physically but alsoemotionally as he reassures the father with No trouble - he said, notrouble, Dad. The final likes of the poem encapsulate the indignitiesof sickness and antiquated age. The use of minimalist, stark language,without the use of unnecessary adjectives heightens the poignancy ofthe last lines.In conclusion both Follower and Strongman are brief but tellingpoems that successfully portray father - son relationships. Thereaders are allowed an intimate duck soup/glimpse into theserelationships. Both poems describe the permanent bonds between fathersand sons whilst also efficaciously addressing how these bonds evolve.