Seamus Heaney Flashcards
What is an omphalos?
An omphalos is a religious stone artifact.
In Greek, the word omphalos means “navel”. In Greek lore, Zeus sent two eagles across the world to meet at its center, the “navel” of the world.
What is happening in “Fireside”?
Heaney is describing a child listening to adults telling stories around the Fireside and getting caught up in them.
What is a kenning? In what works by Heaney does it show up?
A kenning is a stylistic device that expresses one thing in terms of another (usually as a compound word). We see this in “Bone Dreams” (bone-house) and, of course, in Beowulf - which makes since because this is an Anglo Saxon poetic device.
Heaney doesn’t just make use of kennings in “Bone House,” he actively discusses them as part of the poem.
Fun fact: Old Norse meaning “sign/token/instruction” derived from “kenna” (to know).
What is bān-hūs?
“Bone House” from “Bone Dreams; a kenning.
What is Bloody Sunday?
British paratroopers fired into a crowd of Catholic civil rights marchers in Derry, killing twelve and wounding thirteen (1972).
Where does Antaeus get his strength?
The Earth (his mother); this is why Heracles must lift him off the ground to defeat him.
