Punishment by Seamus Heaney

1. Punishment by Seamus Heaney Cassie and Samara

2. Punishment • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsoUBO0qRQg

3. The Windeby Girl • In “Punishment,” the speaker compares the discovery of "the Windeby girl" and the circumstances of her death to that of the treatment of Catholic girls who were caught with British soldiers during the "Troubles." She was found in 1952 in Windeby, Germany, held down by a Birch branch and a large block of stone with a band of cloth along the back of her neck and passing over her face like a sling. The ribs were visible. Her hair was originally blonde but turned red from the bog acids and was partially shaved off with a razor on the left side of her head. She was naked with a bandage over her eyes. She was believed to be 14 and had died undernourished. It is believed, via information by Tacitus on the people of the time, that the girl was found to be an adulteress by her tribe members – the punishment for which was the cutting of her hair in the presence of her relatives followed by banishment from her village – and was led out to the bog, blindfolded and drowned, with her body held under with the aforementioned branches and large stone. • This information is explicitly referred to throughout the poem with the first seven stanzas being specifically about how the Windeby girl was found, referencing “the halter at the nape / of her neck, the wind / on her naked front” , “the frail rigging / of her ribs”, and even more specifically, “her drowned / body in the bog” with “the weighing stone / the floating rods and boughs”. This shows how primitive and cruel the actions of the Catholics were towards girls caught with British soldiers.

4. First and Second Stanza It begins slow-paced to convey the seriousness of his tone. He pauses after the word “tug” and by utilising a disjointed sentence structure (starts two lines with “of”), this helps introduce a sense of unease. Contrasting eroticism and vulnerability through the use of the words “nape / of her neck” a very tender image and “blows her nipples / to amber beads” which coincidentally also refers to Irish culture as the Celtic people were very fond of amber beads or worry beads, the poet immediately sets a tense and somewhat uncomfortable mood. It is clear the poet sympathises with the young girl as he describes in first person perspective how he can “feel the tug of the halter,” that is the pain of the noose with which the girl was hanged, yet the way the body is described is very detailed and anatomical that it almost takes away all of the emotional attachment. In the first and second stanzas Heaney usesimageryto depict a young girl’s “frail” body. He creates the picture of a weak and fragile girl who seems to be suffering her pain and agonies. In a sympathetic tone, Heaney describes the girls “naked” body, alluding to her vulnerability. Heaney depicts a sombre scene, including “wind” to show the harshness of the environment and the coldness or cruelty surrounding this innocent girls demise. • I can feel the tug • of the halter at the nape • of her neck, the wind • on her naked front. • It blows her nipplesto amber beads,it shakes the frail riggingof her ribs.

5. Third and Fourth Stanza “Bog” in the poem serves as the centralmetaphorthat is symbolicof the continuation of inhumanity, brutality and killing of innocent people throughout human history. Heaney specifically explores the conflict between Republican and Unionists in Northern Ireland. Heaney describes the girl as representing nature. Her limbs are depicted as “floating rods and boughs” and she is also portrayed as initially being a “a barked sapling”. This reoccurring motif of nature alludes to the girls innocence and purity. Heaney describes her “oak-bones”, which compares her to a tree, as her bones have weathered like that of wood. The girl being “drowned” elicits to the inescapable nature of the conflict . Her body being “dug up” shows how human cruelty is often hidden and the innocent forgotten in times of conflict. • I can see her drownedbody in the bog,the weighing stone,the floating rods and boughs. • Under which at firstshe was a barked saplingthat is dug upoak-bone, brain-firkin:

6. Fifth and Sixth Stanza Heaney attempts to beautify the girl’s body, highlighting the injustice and brutality the girl was subject to. He references her shaved head in the fifth stanza as well as capitalising her as a “Little” adulteress in the sixth, which suggests that she has lost her identity and is no longer an individual. This allows Heaney to draw the parallels between this condemned ancient girl and the modern condemned Catholic girls who often had their heads shaved and were tarred and feathered as a punishment for the "betrayal" of fraternizing with British soldiers. The repetition of the word “her” takes the emphasis away from male influence into the treatment of catholic girls. Heaney uses enjambment to solidify the “memories of love” which also allows him to adopt a critical tone. This reveals that he does not condemn the girl or see her sexual behaviour as inherently sinful. • her shaved head • like a stubble of black corn, • her blindfold a soiled bandage, • her noose a ring • to store • the memories of love. • Little adulteress, • before they punished you

7. Seventh and Eighth Stanza Heaney continues to beautify the girl, describing her once “flaxen” (silky) hair, and this contrasts against the “stubble of black corn”. The use of imagerydescribing the girl’s “tar-black face” represents her prolonged exposure to bog water and is also a historical reference to how the IRA would tar and feather Catholic girls . “Tar-black“ suggests ugliness and this enforces the idea of how far this girl has fallen in the world's eyes, while simultaneously drawing a parallel to how far the Catholic girls have fallen in the eyes of their fellow Catholics. By referring to the girl as his "poor scapegoat," the speaker reveals his belief that this girls murder and the treatment of modern Irish-Catholic girls was unjust and primitive. However, he does admit he would have stood silent then, just as he does now, despite his sympathies. • you were flaxen-haired, • undernourished, and your • tar-black face was beautiful. • My poor scapegoat, • I almost love you • but would have cast, I know, • the stones of silence. • I am the artful voyeur

8. Ninth and Tenth Stanza Heaney goes on to describe himself as the “artful voyeur” to the girl's “brain's exposed / and darkened combs” – “exposed” and “combs” indicate the use ofassonancewhich helps to quicken the pace. This brings the poem back to the archaeological discovery once more, before the definitive ending of the poem. The use of the word "voyeur" suggests a person who watches but does not participate – something the speaker embodies. The speaker describes himself in first person perspective, as someone who has stood by silently while “your betraying sisters, / cauled in tar / wept by the railings”. This is a direct reference to the treatment of "betraying" Catholic girls. By calling them the Windeby girl's sisters, Heaney draws a distinct connection between the two. • of your brain’s exposed • and darkened combs, • your muscles’ webbing • and all your numbered bones: • I who have stood dumb • when your betraying sisters, • cauled in tar, • wept by the railings,

9. Eleventh Stanza The speaker then describes himself as the person “who would connive / in civilized outrage”. The word “connive” has a dual meaning and this creates conflicting connotations as the speaker fails to act against something he should oppose and also reveals he has a secret sympathy for the girl. The oxymoron“civilised outrage” is an echo of the hypocritical way the speaker feels – a point emphasised by the last two lines: “yet understand the exact / and tribal, intimate revenge”. This final line is also broken with a comma and this slows the pace and emphasises the final sombre tone of the poem. The word “tribal” suggests the treatment of this girls as primitive. While the speaker pities the victims of these crimes and regrets standing idly by to watch, he still reveals that he understands the actions of the Windeby girl's tribe, as well as the actions of the Irish-Catholics being a part of the culture and social norms. • who would connive • in civilized outrage • yet understand the exact • and tribal, intimate revenge.

10. Heaney’s perspective • In an interview Heaney revealed “It’s a poem about standing by as the IRA tar and feathered these young women in Ulster. But it’s also about standing by as the British torture people in barracks and interrogation centres in Belfast. It’s about standing between those two forms of affront”.