Follower by Seamus Heaney

Stanza 1

'worked' - past tense -> labour and control
'like a full sail strung' - simile, sibilance, his father's shirt, gives image of muscle and strength, suggests that the man is powerful and large
Images of the sea -> skill of a sailor and smooth progress of a ship
First and third line are half-rhymes
Second and fourth lines are full-rhymes
Syllable count - 8.9.8.8
Rhyme scheme - ABAB

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'An expert.' - caesura, admiration for his skill, presented as a fact -> no argument
'headrig' - technical language suggests how long Heaney followed his father for
First and third lines are full rhymes
Second and fourth lines are half rhymes
Syllable count - 8.8.9.9
Rhyme scheme - CDCD

2 of 7

'sweating' - present participle -> urgency, emjambement at end of line suggests a flowing movement of the work
'exactly' - precision and skill
First and third lines are full rhymes
Second and fourth lines are half rhymes
Syllable count - 8.8.8.8
Rhyme scheme - EFEF

3 of 7

'stumbled' - not skilled or old enough
'hob-nailed wake' - sturdy boots, wake ->parting at the back of a boat/ship
'polished sod' - almost a burden to his father's work, emphasises the precision and care of his father
First and third lines are half rhymes
Second and fourth lines are full rhymes
Syllable count - 8.8.8.8
Rhyme scheme - GHGH

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'I wanted to grow up and plough' - father is his role model, insiprational, wanted to follow in his footsteps, past tense suggests that he no longer wants to be like his father
First and third lines are half rhymes
Second and fourth lines are full rhymes
Syllable count - 8.8.8.8
Rhyme scheme - IJIJ

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'.' - caesura forces reader to dwell on Heaneys view of his father as well as himself when he was young
'But today' - change of tone as well as a change of tense to the present tense
'who keeps stumbling' - perhaps both physically and metaphorically stumbling now that he is old
'will not go away' - implies that he wants his father to go away and stop being dependent on him, roles are now reversed, memory has soured
Rhyme stumbles to emphasise this
First and third lines are half rhymes
Second and fourth lines are full rhymes
Syllable count - 9.7.10.9
Rhyme scheme - KLKL

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