storm on the island

Question 1

‘stormont’

Answer 1

• NI seat of government
• political poem with political message
• island resembles ireland
• metaphorical storm: troubles

Question 2

what can be said about
‘sink walls in rock and roof them with good slate. this wizened earth has never troubled us’

Answer 2

• consonance
• sibilance
• ‘sink walls’
• ‘wizened’

Question 3

‘sink walls in rock and roof them with good slate. this wizened earth has never troubled us’

Answer 3

• consonance creates harsh sounds- harsh experience
• sibilance- creates sinister tone like the conflict between catholics and protestants
• ‘sink walls’- instead of building walls they’re sinking walls. when we build our identity as strong catholics or protestants we build up walls but it sinks and destroys society- what is happening in northern ireland is a mistake
• ‘wizened’- negative image of ireland suffering- ireland isn’t wizened/ dried up suggesting the political state is causing suffering.

Question 4

what can be said about
‘so that you listen to the thing you fear forgetting that it pummels your house too’

Answer 4

• direct address
• fricative sounds
• ‘fear’
• ‘pummels’
• ‘your house too’

Question 5

‘so that you listen to the thing you fear forgetting that it pummels your house too’

Answer 5

• ‘you’- direct address lumps both catholics and protestants together. in reality theres no division and they’re the same
• fricative shows how Heany is angry
• ‘fear’- they both have fear in common. they’re afraid of eachother- if they can get rid of this fear, they can live in peace together
• ‘pummels’- any violence on the opposite ‘house’ is also violence against their own metaphorical ‘house’
• ‘your house too’- violence destroys everyone’s home and way of life even though they think they’re protecting it

Question 6

what can be said about
‘you might think that the sea is company, exploding comfortably down on the cliffs’

Answer 6

• personification of sea
• ‘exploding comfortably’

Question 7

‘you might think that the sea is company, exploding comfortably down on the cliffs’

Answer 7

• ‘sea is company’ personifies the sea- the sea is huge and isolates us- juxtaposing the reality of ireland being isolated in sea with the perception of ireland. they’re isolated from the rest of the world so they must change
• ‘exploding comfortably’- oxymoron is symbolic- they fought by bombing. people are becoming too comfortable to the idea of bombings- it doesnt impact them now, they’re for off ‘down the cliffs’ but if they continue they will.

Question 8

what can be said about
‘strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear’

Answer 8

• ‘strange’
• ‘huge nothing’
• ‘fear’
• half rhyme

Question 9

‘strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear’

Answer 9

• asks readers to reflect on what they ‘fear’
• ‘huge nothing’- ambiguous- conflicts like the troubles are based on ‘nothing’- no concrete reason except mutual suspicion
• references ‘fear’ again to emphasise how easily the problems could be overcome- political solution
• ends in a half rhyme- unease- things aren’t resolved properly but easily could be

Question 10

form

Answer 10

• The single 19-line stanza of the poem is a metaphor for the way the islanders huddle together in preparation for the storm, similarly, they build their “houses squat” to maximise their protection against the elements.
• It is written in blank verse to make the poem sound conversational (this is mirrored by the colloquialisms)- this presents the experience of a storm as casual and regular; the people are so accustomed to the feeling of fear it has become an everyday occurrence.
• The lack of stanzas denies the reader any respite or pause to uphold the same level of tension throughout the whole poem.

Question 11

structure

Answer 11

• The poem generally doesn’t rhyme; however, the first and final couplet has a slant rhyme of “squat/slate” and “air/fear” which is unsettling. It denies the reader the satisfaction of a full rhyme which suspends them within the same aspic (aspic is a jelly which holds items in, here it has been used as a higher level way of saying they are stuck in something) of waiting that the islanders operate in whilst expecting a storm. There is an overarching sense of apprehension.
• Moreover, it gives the poem a cyclical structure to portray the storm as unescapable and repetitive- they are stuck in a perpetual cycle of preparation, waiting and recovery.
• There is a volta in line 14 as the tone shifts from optimistic confidence and preparation to a defeat against the agaressive brutality of the storm.
• The enjambment allows the lines to physically overflow which portrays the constant barrage of the storm as the poem too bombards the reader with information.