Follower
By Seamus Heaney
My father worked with a horse-plough,
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung
Between the shafts and the furrow.
The horses strained at his clicking tongue.An expert. He would set the wing
And fit the bright steel-pointed sock.
The sod rolled over without breaking.
At the headrig, with a single pluckOf reins, the sweating team turned round
And back into the land. His eye
Narrowed and angled at the ground,
Mapping the furrow exactly.I stumbled in his hobnailed wake,
Fell sometimes on the polished sod;
Sometimes he rode me on his back
Dipping and rising to his plod.I wanted to grow up and plough,
To close one eye, stiffen my arm.
All I ever did was follow
In his broad shadow round the farm.I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,
Yapping always. But today
It is my father who keeps stumbling
Behind me, and will not go away
Summary of Follower
- Popularity of “Follower”: The poem “Follower” by Seamus Heaney, a British poet, writer and activist, is an interesting poetic piece. The poem has appeared in Opened Ground: Selected Poetry published in 1999 by Farrar LLC. The poem beautifully presents a father-son relationship that a son following his father when young and his father stumbling after him when he is old.
- “Follower” As a Representative of Father-Son Relationship: Seamus Heany opens the poem “Follower” saying in the first person that he used to follow his father when he was engaged in farming. He followed him when ploughing the fields with his horses. His father would show his expertise in fixing a sock and rolling over the furrows. The ploughing in rain shows his father’s ploughing skills. During all these activities, his father never missed his son who stumbled after him. The son, then expressed his desire that he wanted to grow and dream about it. Yet, he only followed his shadow. It means that he proved a nauisance to his father and when he has grown young now that past comes haunting him, making him think about his father who is following him, though, with a stumbling gait.
- Major Themes in “Follower”: The poem shows three major thematic strands; farming, father-son relationship and passing of time. When the poem opens, the father is engaged in farming in which he is very skillful. The son observes his father and notes his skills. However, it also shows how both are attached to each other as the son falls down when following his father in furrows and the father takes care of him. The son dreams about his own youthful period and comes to know through his father’s stumbling that he was a nuisance to his father. This is how passing time changes the equation of relationship. However, what he does not say is that first he used to stumble but his father took care and how his father is stumbling behind him and proving a nuisance to him, though, he cannot take care of him now.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Follower”
literary devices are strategies the poets use to make their poems beautiful and meaningful. The analysis of these devices in the poem “Follower” as given below shows this fact.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /e/ in “An expert. He would set the wing”, /o/ in “Fell sometimes on the polished sod” and the sound of /a/ in “Yapping always. But today.”
- Alliteration: It is a device that means to use words in quick succession having initial consonants such as /t/ sound in “team turned.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /s/ and /t/ in “And fit the bright steel-pointed sock”, /s/ and /n/ in “Of reins, the sweating team turned round” and the sound of /d/ and /r/ in “ Narrowed and angled at the ground.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
To close one eye, stiffen my arm.
All I ever did was follow
In his broad shadow round the farm.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. The poem shows the use of imagery such as “The horses strained at his clicking tongue”, “Of reings, the sweating team turned round” and “I stumbled in his hobnailed wake.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows farming used as a metaphor for growth and following.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of the symbols of the plough, pod, and furrows to point out the specifics of farming.
- Simile: The poem shows the use of similes such as “His shoulders bloged like a full sail strung.”
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Follower”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction and Tone: The poem shows simple yet rural diction, having a serious and nostalgic tone.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem shows ABAB rhyming scheme in each of its stanza.
- Quatrain: A stanza having four verses is called a quatrain. The poem has five quatrains.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. This poem has six stanzas with each having four verses.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “Follower” are relevant to quote when talking about the father-son relationships.
I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,
Yapping always. But today
It is my father who keeps stumbling
Behind me, and will not go away