Storm on the Island

Question 1

1. “We are prepared.”

Answer 1

1. Complacent almost arrogance in the declarative.
2. Shows they are confident in their ability to conquer nature.
3. This also is ironic as it betrays their fear, they have completely rearranged their life to resist nature.

Question 2

2. “Spits like a tame cat Turned savage.”

Answer 2

1. They are fooled into thinking they have tamed nature.
2. Shows how the islanders never owned nature in any capacity, it was always more powerful than them.
3. Simile

Question 3

3. “Strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear.”

Answer 3

1. Comments on how humans fear air, emphasising fragility of man.
2. Uses the paradox to point to the central message of the poem.
3. Humans are powerless against the sheer power of nature.
4. Finishes on the image of humans being battered by nature, shows that ultimately humanity is at nature’s whim

Question 4

Structure:

Answer 4

1. Iambic pentameter, conversational tone
2. No consistent rhyme scheme, which reflects how order cannot be enforced upon nature.
3. Enjambement which the lines overflow which implies constant barrage of information, overwhelming power of storms.

Question 5

Context:

Answer 5

1. Heaney grew up in rural Ireland and grew up as a part of a farming community.
2. Came from a collection called ‘Death of a Naturalist’ which was focused on the Aran Islands and how nature shows its power there.
3. Was to show the violence of nature rather than a romanticised view of its beauty.

Question 6

Comparison:

Answer 6

1. Prelude
2. Differences is Storm on the Island is more physical, Prelude is more psychological