Long distance II/Clearances 7

Question 1

intro
3 points

Answer 1

Both Harrison’s “Long Distance II” and Heaney’s “Clearances 7” explore personal grief and the lasting power of memory.

Harrison reflects on his father’s inability to let go of his mother’s death

Heaney recalls a tender moment with his mother after she dies.

Question 2

“He still went to renew her transport pass”

Answer 2

Enjambment

The enjambment reflects the father’s refusal to accept the finality of death.

His grief spills into everyday life, suggesting denial and the impossibility of emotional closure.

Question 3

“In the last minutes he said more to her / Almost than in all their life together.”

Answer 3

Irony and understatement

Heaney points out that his father, who may not have shown much emotion before, suddenly speaks with real tenderness at the end, it shows how people often wait until the very end to say what really matter

Question 4

“I believe life ends with death, and that’s all.”

Answer 4

Irony

Although the speaker claims to reject emotional illusions, he later reveals that he keeps his parents’ phone numbers.

This ironic twist shows how grief can defy even the speaker’s own beliefs, exposing hidden sorrow.

Question 5

“He called her good and girl. Then she was dead,”

Answer 5

Juxtaposition

Heaney uses gentle, affectionate words “good” and “girl” to show his father’s love right before the moment of death. Then, without warning, she dies. Putting these two moments next to each other shows how close love and loss really are. It makes the grief feel very real and raw.

Question 6

“Still call”

Answer 6

Repetition

Harrison echoes the same phrasing used for his father, showing that he has unconsciously adopted the same grieving habits.

This repetition suggests that grief is not only personal but also inherited, passed on like a ritual.

Question 7

“High cries were felled and a pure change happened.”

Answer 7

Symbolism

Heaney uses this image to suggest that after death, the loud grief settled, and something quiet but powerful replaced it. It marks the moment when mourning turns into memory.

Question 8

conclusion

Answer 8

Harrison and Heaney show that grief endures over time.

Harrison explores denial and inherited sorrow

Heaney finds quiet acceptance through memory.