follower

• what poems can you compare it with

  before you were mine,mother any distance and climbing my grandfather
• what are the themes

  familial,admiartion and strong bonds
• summary

  son remembers fathers job and admires his father
• concept

  admiration between older and younger generations
• *his shoulder globed like a full sail strung*


  similie=shows the strength and speed for his father
• *an expert*


  shows the admiration for his father and sugests he wants to be like his father
• *all i ever did was follow in his broad shadow*


  suggets he is not able to be like his father always in his shadow
• *it is my father who keeps stumbling behind me and will not go away*


  shows a role reversal shows a decrease in admiration
• How does Heaney use imagery in "Follower"?

  To explore identity, legacy, and connection
• What does the phrase "stumbling behind" signify in the poem?

  Role reversal and the father's decline
• What are the key themes in "Follower"?

  • Admiration & Identity
  • Change & Role Reversal
  • Memory & Guilt
• What simile is used to describe the father in "Follower"?

  “His shoulders globed like a full sail strung”
• What does the simile “His shoulders globed like a full sail strung” convey?

  Strength and direction of the father
• How does the phrase “An expert.” reflect the speaker's feelings?

  It shows admiration and recognition of mastery
• What does the verb “stumbled” imply about the speaker?

  Clumsiness and inadequacy
• What does the tricolon in “I was a nuisance, tripping, falling, yapping always” emphasize?

  The speaker’s perceived incompetence and frustration
• What does the enjambment in the final stanza signify?

  Emotional shift and tension in the relationship
• How does the structure of "Follower" reflect its themes?

  • Tightly controlled quatrains mirror precision
  • Regular rhyme scheme symbolizes stability
  • Final stanza disrupts stability, indicating change
• What does the metaphor of farming represent in "Follower"?

  Shaping of identities and legacy
• What emotional tone does the final line convey?

  Bitterness and burden of memory
• How does the phrase “and will not go away” reflect the speaker's feelings?

  It suggests guilt and unresolved emotional ties
• What is the significance of the role reversal in "Follower"?

  • Reflects the passage of time
  • Highlights the evolution of relationships
  • Suggests emotional complexity and burden
• his shoulders globed like a full sail strung

  1. This simile is a powerful image that glorifies the father’s physicality and skill. The phrase “shoulders globed” suggests roundness and strength

  2. the word “globed” also evokes ideas of completeness and perfection — the father is not just strong, but monumental.

  
  

  3. Comparing his shoulders to a “full sail strung” elevates him further. A full sail is taut, purposeful, and harnessing the power of the wind — symbolising direction, control, and energy. This metaphor casts the father as a commanding figure,