Storm On The Island

1. Storm On The Island By Seamus Heaney

2. Theme The theme of this poem is Nature’s Power and Destructive side.

3. Structure • 19 Lines • 3 parts but no separate stanza’s • 1st Part: Preparation for the storm • 2nd Part: Attack of the storm • 3rd Part: The affect of the storm

4. Storm On The Island We are prepared: we build our houses squat,Sink walls in rock and roof them with good slate.The wizened earth had never troubled usWith hay, so as you can see, there are no stacksOr stooks that can be lost. Nor are there treesWhich might prove company when it blows fullBlast: you know what i mean - leaves and branchesCan raise a chorus in a galeSo that you can listen to the thing you fearForgetting that it pummels your house too.But there are no trees, no natural shelter.You might think that the sea is company,Exploding comfortably down on the cliffsBut no: when it begins, the flung spray hitsThe very windows, spits like a tame catTurned savage. We just sit tight while wind divesAnd strafes invisibly. Space is a salvo.We are bombarded by the empty air.Strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear.

5. This is the section of the poem where it tells you that they are preparing for the storm. They are prepared for a storm. Low and sturdy We are prepared: we build our houses squat,Sink walls in rock and roof them with good slate.The wizened earth had never troubled usWith hay, so as you can see, there are no stacksOr stooks that can be lost. Nor are there treesWhich might prove company when it blows fullBlast: you know what I mean - leaves and branches 1st Person Nothing to be lost. Tells us the Island is barren Colloquial (conversational) language

6. This section of the poem is where the storm hits the Island. Wind creates a sad song Can raise a tragic chorus in a galeSo that you can listen to the thing you fearForgetting that it pummels your house too.But there are no trees, no natural shelter.You might think that the sea is company,Exploding comfortably down on the cliffsBut no: when it begins, the flung spray hitsThe very windows, spits like a tame cat This tells us that there aren’t many people on the Island. Oxymoron: Two opposites. Military Metaphor Similie

7. This part of the poem describes the attack of the storm on the Island. Turned savage. We just sit tight while wind divesAnd strafes invisibly. Space is a salvo.We are bombarded by the empty air.Strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear. Attack Attack Paradox Military Metaphor How is it possible to fear nothing? Paradox?