Storm on the island focuses on a community of islanders preparing for a storm. It is a battle of nature vs man.
It presents a not romanticised view of nature, unlike many poets. It is realistic in its image of danger and violence.
Heaney is a Catholic Northern Irish poet. He moved to the Republic and was an Irish Nationalist.
Storm on the Island is part of a 3 part poem series called "Death of a Naturalist", which focused on the Aran Islands and how nature shows its power there.
The Aran Islands are used traditionally in Irish poetry as a symbol of Irish culture. They are home to some of Ireland's oldest remains and archaeology.
'We are prepared'
Arrogance in the declarative 'we are prepared'. They are overly confident, shown by that they think they are ready to beat nature.
"The wizened earth has never troubled us"
Connotes wisdom and respect
"Spits like a tame cat turned savage"
Simile
Irony
They thought they were prepared, but now nature has turned on the islanders. It was always more powerful, they never owned nature.
"Strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear"
Oxymoron
Highlights that nature is not human, it is almost transcendent, and it exists above us. We cannot fight it, only defend our selves.
"blows full blast: you know what I mean"
Colloquialism used to connect to the reality of the islanders lives to the readers
Plosives give sense of violence and aggression, it suggests that nature is attacking the island. The plosives also resemble bullets- weather is as deadly as weapon.
plosive
a plosive speech sound. The basic plosives in English are t, k, and p (voiceless) and d, g, and b (voiced).
It is written as a dramatic monologue, so it reads like a one-way conversation. This reflects the position of islanders who have no one to help them during the storm because they are isolated.
Iambic Pentameter
Ten syllables in each line, with pairs of sounds going da-DA with the emphasis on the second syllable.
No consistent rhyme scheme could reflect the omnipotence and uncontrollability of nature