Study Notes: Seamus Heaney, ‘Follower’ (Songs of Ourselves Volume 1)
Hello everyone! Welcome to your study notes on Seamus Heaney’s powerful poem, ‘Follower’. This poem is a beautiful, personal look at the complex relationship between a son and his father, set against the backdrop of hard, physical farm work. By understanding how Heaney uses language, you will be well-prepared to ace your Paper 1 examination!
1. Quick Overview: What is the poem about?
‘Follower’ is a poem of memory, admiration, and eventual role reversal. The speaker looks back at his childhood, recalling the immense skill and strength of his father working the land. As a child, the speaker desperately wanted to imitate his father but felt only clumsy and inadequate. The poem ends with a surprising shift in time, showing how, in old age, the father has become dependent on the son.
Key Themes to Focus On (AO2)
- Admiration and Idealisation: The father is seen as a heroic figure.
- Generational Change and Legacy: The passing of skills and the changing nature of work.
- Role Reversal and Aging: How dependence shifts as parents grow old.
- The Power of Memory: The speaker’s vivid recall of sensory details.
2. Context and Background (AO2)
Seamus Heaney (1939–2013) was a famous Irish poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
- Heaney grew up on a small farm in Northern Ireland, so his poetry often focuses on rural life, manual labour, and the landscape.
- His descriptions of farming are extremely accurate because they come from his personal experience. This makes the poem feel very authentic.
- Did you know? Farming requires intense skill and precision, especially ploughing. Heaney is celebrating this skill, showing that farm work is just as impressive as any other art form.
Key Takeaway: Understanding Heaney’s rural background helps us appreciate why the father’s ploughing is described with such respect and awe.
3. Structure and Form: The Steady Rhythm (AO3)
The structure of ‘Follower’ is crucial because it mirrors the steady, disciplined work of the ploughman.
The Poem’s Blueprint
- Quatrains: The poem is divided into six four-line stanzas (quatrains). This structure gives the poem a strong, balanced feel, much like the rhythmic pattern of a horse-plough moving across a field.
- Rhyme Scheme: It uses a consistent ABAB rhyme scheme (e.g., sock/rock, back/track). This steady rhythm reinforces the idea of the father’s precision and control over his work.
- Rhythm (Iambic Tetrameter): The lines generally follow a four-beat rhythm. This common pattern makes the poem feel solid and authoritative, reflecting the father’s mastery.
Focus on Sound and Flow
Heaney uses techniques that make you *hear* and *feel* the action:
- Enjambment: Lines run on from one stanza or line to the next (e.g., "An expert. / The bright steel-pointed sock..."). This mimics the continuous, relentless effort of the ploughing, which doesn't stop neatly at the end of a line.
- Plosive Sounds (P and B): Notice the repeated hard ‘p’ and ‘b’ sounds: "pushed," "plough," "polished," "bright." These sounds give the language a powerful, heavy feel, recreating the sound of the metal plough breaking the earth.
Quick Review: The steady structure (quatrains, ABAB rhyme) highlights the father’s steady skill.
4. Detailed Analysis: The Father as Hero (Stanzas 1-3) (AO1, AO3)
The first half of the poem establishes the father as an almost superhuman figure.
Stanza 1: The Expert
The father is immediately presented as an ‘expert’. Heaney uses strong, powerful language:
"His shoulders globed like a full sail strung"
- Simile: Comparing the father’s shoulders to a ‘full sail’ suggests tremendous strength, power, and movement. It also elevates him from a simple farmer to a captain navigating the land.
- Visual Imagery: The word ‘globed’ suggests that his muscles are round and large, emphasising his physical power.
Stanza 2: Precision and Control
This stanza focuses on the mechanical precision of the work.
"The headrig, horse strained, at his clicking tongue. / An expert."
- Control: He controls the powerful horse and heavy machinery merely with a ‘clicking tongue’—showing his effortless mastery.
- Alliteration: Heaney describes the ploughing with strong action verbs: "set the wing / And fit the bright steel-pointed sock." This reinforces the highly skilled, technical nature of the job.
Stanza 3: Artistry of the Land
The result of the ploughing is described as an artistic creation.
"The polished sod / Turned under like a wave."
- Simile: Comparing the turned earth to a ‘wave’ is a beautiful natural image. It suggests the earth is being sculpted and moved dynamically. This shows that the father’s work is both functional and aesthetically pleasing.
5. Detailed Analysis: The Son’s Struggle (Stanzas 4-5) (AO2)
The middle of the poem shifts from praising the father to describing the speaker’s own childhood feelings of inadequacy.
The Awkward Apprentice
The speaker recalls his desire to be close to his father, but his lack of skill is evident:
"I stumbled in his hob-nailed wake, fell sometimes on the polished sod; / Sometimes he rode me on his back / Dipping and rising to his plod."
- Verbs of Clumsiness: Words like ‘stumbled’ and ‘fell’ contrast sharply with the father’s smooth movement.
- Sensory Detail: The child is always in the father’s shadow or ‘wake’ (the path left behind a boat—connecting back to the sailing metaphor).
- Onomatopoeia: The child’s presence is associated with noise: "I was a nuisance, tripping, falling, yapping always." The word ‘yapping’ suggests he was irritating, loud, and ineffective, like a small dog.
- Internal Conflict (AO2): The speaker desired to be like his father ("I wanted to grow up and plough"), but he was physically and emotionally incapable.
Common Mistake to Avoid: Don't assume the father disliked the child following him. The poem shows the father patiently allowing the child near, even giving him a ride, indicating tolerance and perhaps quiet affection.
6. The Final Stanza: Role Reversal (Stanza 6) (AO2, AO4)
The final quatrain introduces a shocking change in time, structure, and tone. The consistent rhythm and flow are broken by the phrase "But today..."
The Shift in Dynamics
The father is no longer the powerful expert; the son is no longer the clumsy child.
"But today / It is my father who keeps stumbling / Behind me, and will not go away."
- Reversal of Roles: The word ‘stumbling’ is now applied to the father—the very verb previously used to describe the clumsy child. This powerfully shows his physical decline.
- The Follower and the Leader: The title ‘Follower’ is revealed to apply not just to the boy but also to the aging father.
- Ambiguous Ending (AO4): The final phrase, "and will not go away," can be interpreted in two ways:
- Affectionately: Heaney accepts the responsibility and connection; the father is a constant, beloved presence.
- Frustration/Burden: The father’s dependence is a nuisance or strain, reminiscent of the child being a "nuisance" in the past. This subtle friction adds depth to the relationship.
Key Takeaway: The poem moves from idealised memory to present-day reality, demonstrating the natural, difficult cycle of life and aging.
7. Revision Checklist: AO Breakdown
To score high marks, ensure you address all Assessment Objectives (AOs) in your essay.
| AO1: Knowledge | Use specific quotes (e.g., 'An expert', 'globed like a full sail') and accurately retell the narrative shift. |
| AO2: Understanding | Explain the themes: admiration, legacy, and the pain of role reversal due to age. |
| AO3: Writer's Methods | Discuss the ABAB rhyme, the use of similes (sail, wave), alliteration, and verbs of action/clumsiness. Explain *why* Heaney chose these techniques (e.g., to elevate the father's skill). |
| AO4: Personal Response | Offer your opinion on the final line's ambiguity. How do you feel about the father's decline? Is the ending comforting or challenging? |
Don't worry if this seems tricky at first! Focus on the contrast: Father's strength versus Son's weakness, and then the complete flip in the final stanza. That contrast is the heart of the poem.
🔥 Memory Aid: Remembering the Contrast
Remember the two main subjects using the letter 'F':
- FATHER: Forceful, Firm, Flowing (smooth movement), Frontrunner.
- FOLLOWERS (The Son, then the Aged Father): Fumbling, Falling, Friction (the "nuisance" factor), Follower.