Follower

The title of this poem is ambiguous - it shows how the young Heaney followed his father
literally and metaphorically.

The child sees farming as simply imitating his father's actions (“close one eye, stiffen my
arm”), but later learns how skilled the work is. He recalls his admiration of his father then; but
now his father walks behind (this metaphor runs through the poem). Effectively their
positions are reversed. His father is not literally behind him, but the poet is troubled by his
memory: perhaps he feels guilt at not carrying on the tradition of farming, or feels he cannot
live up to his father's example.

The poem has several developed metaphors, such as the child's following in his father's
footsteps and wanting to be like him. The father is sturdy while the child falls - his feet are
not big enough for him to be steady on the uneven land.

There are many nautical references:

 The father's shoulders are like the billowing sail of a ship.

 The “sod” rolls over “without breaking” (like a wave).

 The child stumbles “in his wake” and dips and rises on his father's back.

 “Mapping the furrow” is like navigating a ship.

In these images the farmer is not shown as simple but highly skilled.

Heaney uses specialized terms (a special lexicon or register) from ploughing - terms such as
“wing”, “sock” and “headrig”. There are many active verbs - “rolled”, “stumbled”, “tripping”,
“falling” and “yapping”. There are lots of monosyllables and colloquial vocabulary, frequently
as the rhyme word at the end of line. Some of these terms sound like their meaning
(onomatopoeia), like “clicking”, “pluck” and “yapping”.

The poet uses contrast - apart from the general contrast of past and present we note how:

 the father's control is effortless (“clicking tongue” or “single pluck/Of reins”) while the
powerful horses (“sweating team”) strain, and how
 the young Seamus “wanted to grow up and plough.” but all he “ever did was follow”.

COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING TASKS IN YOUR EXERCISE BOOKS

 What does the poem show of the relationship of father and son, and how time has
changed this?
 Why do you think Heaney ends the poem with the description of his father in the
present?

 Explain how the narrator’s attitude towards his father changes as the poem goes on.

 Think of an alternative title for the poem. Explain your reason for it.

 Is this a poem about farming specifically or is it relevant to other skills and

occupations?

 Write two paragraphs responding to the following task:

How does Heaney present a father/son relationship in this poem?