Storm On The Island

• Where did Seamus Heaney grow up?

  Northern Ireland
• What does the storm in Heaney's poem reflect?

  Political unrest
• What type of imagery does Heaney use in "Storm on the Island"?

  Rural imagery
• How does the structure of "Storm on the Island" reflect its themes?

  Dense block reflects the island’s solidity
• What literary devices create flow and interruption in Heaney's poem?

  Enjambment and caesura
• What does the simile "Spits like a tame cat / Turned savage" illustrate?

  Nature’s unpredictability
• What does the phrase "We are bombarded by the empty air" suggest?

  Fear of nothingness
• What paradox is presented in "It is a huge nothing that we fear"?

  Imagined threats
• What is a key theme in "Storm on the Island"?

  Fear of the unknown