The Summer of Lost Rachel - Heaney
- Created by: Harleym7000
- Created on: 27-03-18 12:10
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- The Summer of Lost Rachel
- an elegy mourning the death in a road accident of a
young girl, a niece of the poet
- the reaction in Heaney’s poem is
unitary. This is conveyed by the use of the all-inclusive pronoun “everyone”:
“…everyone is loath
To trust the soft-soaping rain…”
- This later modulates to “we”, which refers primarily to the grieving members of the
family, but the situation of loss and the reaction of grief are universal and the use of
“we” and “our” remains inclusive.
- The poem begins with a description of the botanical growth during the summer when Rachel was lost, and “…all confidence in summer’s Unstinting largesse Broke down…”
- This later modulates to “we”, which refers primarily to the grieving members of the
family, but the situation of loss and the reaction of grief are universal and the use of
“we” and “our” remains inclusive.
- the reaction in Heaney’s poem is
unitary. This is conveyed by the use of the all-inclusive pronoun “everyone”:
“…everyone is loath
To trust the soft-soaping rain…”
- The unobtrusive personification of summer as a largesse-distributing deity losing the
confidence of worshippers magnifies the demoralization of the family in their reaction
to the death.
- The moment is identified (for the moment) as a terminal one – even
confidence in the rhythms of nature breaks down.
- reaction seems very different from the stoicism or indifference of the farm people at the end of “Out, Out –” who decide to carry on with their affairs.
- The moment is identified (for the moment) as a terminal one – even
confidence in the rhythms of nature breaks down.
- reference to the preparation and laying-out of the body, and this is followed
by the image of the “merciless” setting sun, a metaphor for both the little girl’s death
and, in the choice of the adjective, its finality.
- Imagining that things could have
turned out differently – a natural reaction to loss - is allowed in the poem, but only in
the “merciless” light of that setting sun.
- image from cinematography is used in an attempt to create an alternative story in which Rachel is “safe and sound” and all the dreadful and distressing details are edited out: “And every merciful Register inside us yearned To run the film back,”
- Imagining that things could have
turned out differently – a natural reaction to loss - is allowed in the poem, but only in
the “merciless” light of that setting sun.
- Theme of Death and Loss
- But “every merciful register” is positioned immediately after the reference to the
“merciless” sun and the attempt inevitably ends in the only possible reaction –
the acceptance of death and loss
- conveyed decisively through the brief
abbreviated sentence “But no.” The poem finalizes itself in a more composed reaction.
The acceptance of reality is explicitly confirmed:
“So let the downpours flood
Our memory’s riverbed...”.
- The might-have-beens remain, but blurred and robbed of their pain. No longer the dreadful, sharply-focused details of “twisted spokes” and “awful skid-marks”, but, in a much gentler register (“wavers”, “dreamily”, “soft-plumed waterweed”) the river image shows memory at her work of composing and preserving.
- conveyed decisively through the brief
abbreviated sentence “But no.” The poem finalizes itself in a more composed reaction.
The acceptance of reality is explicitly confirmed:
“So let the downpours flood
Our memory’s riverbed...”.
- But “every merciful register” is positioned immediately after the reference to the
“merciless” sun and the attempt inevitably ends in the only possible reaction –
the acceptance of death and loss
- The speaker in The Summer of Lost Rachel can be identified with the poet with much more confidence than is the case with “Out, Out –”, where a detached observer, who
is however unable to maintain his detachment, is the speaker.
- Although contextually both poets had a connection to the events described, Heaney’s was much more intimate than Frost’s, and the theme of reactions to death and loss is treated in a gentler and more comforting way which is appropriate to both the subject matter and the context.
- an elegy mourning the death in a road accident of a
young girl, a niece of the poet
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