Context and structure

• Seamus Heaney was born in norther Ireland in 1939 at the time of conflict between protestants and catholic which the poem is based on
• Storm is a metaphor for the conflict between catholics and protestants
• no rhythm or rhyme to show the storms lack of control
• 1 stanza to highlight how overwhelming being stuck in a war you are not involved in is
• Written in the present tense which lets us see the drama with clarity