Context - Out of the Bag

• The poem 'Out of the Bag' was written by Seamus Heaney
• The poem 'Out of the Bag' appeared in Seamus Heaney’s 10th collection of poems called 'Electric Light' which was published in 2001
• Seamus Heaney was already well established as one of the foremost English-language poets of his generation: he had won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995 - Today, Heaney remains the most celebrated Irish poet of the 20th century after William Butler Yeats
• Seamus Heaney was born in Northern Ireland in 1939 - He grew up in a country wracked by what became known as "The Troubles" or the Northern Ireland conflict
• The Troubles (1968-1998) were a dispute between Protestant unionists, who wanted Ireland to remain a part of the United Kingdom, and Roman Catholic nationalists, who wanted Northern Ireland to join the Republic of Ireland
• The Troubles was often violent, and more than 3,600 people were killed and 30,000 wounded in these decades
• Decades of sectarian violence ended only with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 - This landmark peace accord marked a new era in which Northern Irish residents could individually elect to identify as Irish, British, or both - It also sketched out a pathway for the reunification of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in the south
• By the time Heaney published 'Out of the Bag' in 2001, conditions in Northern Ireland were relatively peaceful - While some of Heaney's earlier collections, like his 1975 book 'North, dealt directly with the legacy of violence in his homeland, 'Electric Light' explored a wider range of topics, including travel and translation
• Seamus Heaney was the eldest of nine children - His family’s farm, Mossbawn, is a central place in his literary imagination, and the setting he returns to most frequently in his poems (as he does in "Out of the Bag")
• This poem also finds Heaney visiting two historically and culturally significant places - In Part II, he visits the Greek historical site called Epidaurus, home of the Ascelpieion or Sanctuary of Asclepius mentioned in line 39 - This site was a well-known healing centre in antiquity; sick people would make pilgrimages there to be visited and cured by the healing god Asclepius
• Seamus Heaney also mentions his 1956 visit to Lourdes, France, site of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes - Since the mid-19th century, when a girl named Bernadette Soubirous claimed to see visions of the Virgin Mary there, Lourdes has been a major hub of religious tourism (for Catholics in particular)
• Part I - 'Out of the Bag':

  • The narrator reflects on the presence of Doctor Kerlin, whose bag contains medical instruments - The doctor’s routine, arriving with the bag, washing his hands, and performing his duties - creates an eerie atmosphere - The bag symbolizes both mystery and authority, and the narrator describes feeling uneasy yet captivated by the doctor's actions
• Part II - 'Out of the Bag':

  • The poem shifts to an exploration of ancient healing practices, referencing Asclepius and healing rituals - The narrator recalls their own experience in Lourdes, where they nearly fainted while reflecting on the doctor’s actions - A vision of the doctor's medical practices, particularly his manipulation of body parts, blurs the line between healing and mysticism
• Part III - 'Out of the Bag':

  • The narrator reflects on the experience of witnessing medical procedures, sending fragments of glass to people dealing with illness - The reference to the healing site of Asclepius highlights a desire for peace and healing. The narrator wishes to rest under the grass and be visited by Hygeia, the goddess of health, symbolizing the need for spiritual clarity and peace
• Part IV - 'Out of the Bag':

  • The final section focuses on the narrator’s personal experience, perhaps with a loved one or a patient - The narrator stands at the bedside, contemplating the passage of time and the cyclical nature of life and death - The poem ends with a tender reflection on a new life, symbolized by a baby, introduced by the doctor