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Seamus Heaney and John Montague are highly praised Irish poets that have produced great amount of remarkable poems on various themes. Certainly, the poets are rather different both in their style and concepts they elaborate upon, however they have one thing in common in their poems, the general audience is able to see the sense of place, something that makes the poems of the aforementioned writers so different from many others. It is rather hard to explicitly define the sense of place, however it can be said that the term means that within a poem, the author is able to convey a message that makes readers aware of a place, and in a case of those two poets this place is Ireland. Sense of place is not always conveyed by describing various landscapes, it could be anything starting from authors recollections of his youth and the description of his father, which is associated with the place where the poet himself was born. Seamus Heaney is widely believed to be one of the finest Irish poets. To call him the most important Irish poet since Yeats has become something of a clich. (Bemporad, p. 44) One of his poems, Peninsula, published in the collection Door into the Dark, is one example of many which constitute a broad image illustrating a split that Heaney as an Irish poet apparently experienced, a split between the illiterate self that was tied to the little hills and earthed in the stony gray soil, and the literate self. (Eagles, p. 87) That particular poem is imperative to our research, since the sense of place concept that was mentioned earlier can be analyzed using the poem, therefore a considerable part of the research here is devoted to that poem.
A poem, in the very first sentence, introduces a concept of inarticulacy: When you have nothing more to say, just drive. When a poet finds himself in a position of being unable to express himself, when there is a silence inside of him, he has to give in to the silence and set out on a journey round the peninsula. The peninsula, which, by the definition is simply a narrow strip of land projecting into a sea or lake from the mainland, is not any peninsula. It is a land without marks which embodies Irish landscape - the land of the silence, the old ancestral places.
Taking into consideration John Montague's words that the whole of the Irish landscape is a manuscript which we have lost the skill to read (Winner, p. 44), one cannot avoid the conclusion that in a manner of speaking both the place and the man are inarticulate. As the work of art can be claimed to be nonexistent until it is read, the same can be applied to a place, which until it is unaided, is inarticulate. The land without marks is a blank spot on the map full of marks, full of names. (Eagles, p. 91) The fact results in preventing a man from arriving at any specifically named place but instead makes one pass through the land, without hearing the voices of ancestors speaking through nature. This suggests that until every aspect of the place is seen as nearly mystical oneness, it will not constitute a significant entity and will remain inarticulate. The man and the place are inseparably combined with each other, even though the link between them is significantly weakened.
The man, being the one who uses speech, who represents an artistic sensibility, a persona of a poet, appears here in Peninsula in a state of inarticulacy. This state, however, does not only signify a kind of momentary lack of ideas or lack of words. It is a state of mind of the poet who no longer hears the language of his place, the land he comes from, where his roots are. Land without marks is a silent landscape which awaits to be heard, to be learned anew.
The marks signify here not only the names on the map but also the voice of the peninsula, the marks of the language of those who are lacking in speech, as belonging to the Irish culture denotes being part of the silent ancestry. Therefore a role of a poet, of the articulate representative of the silent ancestry is to find the balance between the silence and the speech, between inarticulacy and articulation. His responsibility is to acknowledge the claims of silence and the claims of speech. Placing the poem into the broader context justifies discussing the conflict or meditation of speech and silence while reading into Peninsula. Heaney feels torn between his roots and his reading, between words of the heart and hearth-language and the learned, public, socially acceptable language of school and salon. (Harmon, p. 89) It seems that Heaney as an Irish poet is not only a poet but a medium and that the notion of the language works through the medium of the author rather than the author through language. The poet has to take the responsibility for reconstituting the sense of place, which can be accomplished only through the marriage between the geographical country and the country of the mind. (Harmon, p. 94) Only then can the peninsula fill itself with the marks.
Only then can the glazed foreshore or the leggy birds stilted on their own legs be seen as carrying the significance previously imperceptible for the man. It appears that it is necessary to celebrate the world, the secret source of power, so that, in turn, it would guide and sanction the poets craft. (Hoffman, p. 39) Therefore, the journey into the darkness becomes a nocturnal and somnambulistic encounter of the man and his apprehension of the land left behind. The circular movement, driving round the peninsula leads towards darkness descending upon the land, when the horizons drink down sea and hill, and upon the poets eyes and consciousness. Plunging into the dark as well as looking into the depth of subconscious is the condition of understanding. Entering into the darkness seems to be the only way of looking into the natural processes of country life, into the dark interior of earth, nature, natures forms and the rituals man has created upon them. Being in the dark again is like shedding the screen distorting reality and looking at the place from the depth of within, recalling the land as it really is, seen with the eyes of the various traders, laborers and craftsmen who unlike the poet are lacking in speech.
Heaney's works often remind one that until recently Ireland has been the only country in Northern Europe to retain something approaching a genuinely peasant culture, and the traditions and rituals of that culture. (Bemporad, p. 18) The peninsula itself is also not merely any part of the landscape. Its shape, causing isolation from the mainland also seems significant as it reaches far into the waters, establishing the bridge between the known and unknown. It seems to be the metaphor of the poet finding his voice and overcoming the various blocks. When the act of the unification between the poet and the nature in the dark is accomplished, there is a balance between the poets selves, and a peninsula is no longer a geographical term, but the water and ground in their extremity.
Things founded clean on their own shapes are the final result of the marriage between the geographical country and the country of the mind. (Bemporad, p. 56) The Peninsula, therefore, is a very accurate image of visual perception. The poems Digging and Follower by Seamus Heaney both are powerful expressions of the poet's admiration and respect for his father, and the sense of place here is associated with the authors father. Heaney strongly stresses his relationship with his father by creating a forceful comparison between himself and his dad and by doing so raises another important issue that is present throughout both works, the significance of the nature of change. However even though the depiction of the father in both poems seems quite similar at first glance it later is evident that there are nevertheless certain differences between the two images created.
Follower and Digging both give a clear account of Heaney's affectionate feelings towards his father with particular emphasis on the poet's response to the physical labor of his father. Both works effectively capture the contrast between past and present, Heaney's life and that of his father and once again highlight the re-occurring theme of the nature of change. This notion of transformation is effectively conveyed in the poems by the display of the father's and also Heaney's journey through life. Both poems paint a clear picture of their lives that spans over several years, even generations and that so effectively condenses the happenings in that time. Evidence of this is given in both poems, for example in Follower it states that: "But today it is my father who keeps stumbling." (Hall, p. 61) The use of the word today gives a clear account of that alteration in time from the past to the present and creates a link between the two. It however also produces an obvious contrast between the two times, once again leaving the reader with a more firm understanding of the changes that must have occurred in the father's person during that time.
A similar allusion is also present in Digging when Heaney writes: "Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds bends low, comes up twenty years a way. " (Hall, p. 64) In contrast to Follower the notion of change is not so evidently present in this particular poem as it rather then suggesting a change in the father' habits or work proposes a rather monotonous continuation of the same labor as the years pass by. There is however another important difference between the images of father's that are conveyed in both works. In Digging the poet really goes one step further back in time and not only displays an opinion about the work of his father but also of that of his grandfather where as in Follower the focus lies mainly on Heaney's dad. A display of this is met when the poet remarks: "By God, the old man could handle a spade. Just like his old man. " (Hall, p. 66) Altogether the image of the fathers which is exhibited in both poems is that of the loving hardworking perfectionist. However this almost faultless picture seems to be predominantly based on the father's devotion and ambition when completing his work around the farm with surprisingly little reference to his actual interpersonal qualities.
This idea of perfection in the accomplishment of this labor is repeatedly highlighted in both works for example when Heaney states: "The sod rolled over without breaking. At the hearing, with a single pluck." (Hall, p. 67) This scene clearly evokes a picture of flawlessness and supremacy in the reader's mind persuading them to an increased appreciation of the father's in reality quite simple work. Evidence of this also given in the Digging when it is established that: "The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft against the inside knee was levered firmly. " (Hall, p. 70) Once-over the impression of the father as the connoisseur or "expert" as Heaney describes him in Follower, is clearly emphasized and one gets the impression that this man really knows his toil. Nevertheless, most importantly of all Heaney's respect and admiration for his father is shown in his wish to resemble him. In Follower Heaney declares that: "I wanted to grow up and plough, to close one eye, stiffen my arm. " (Hall, p. 70) Undoubtedly this passage paints an obvious picture of the poet's admiration for his father and notably stresses his importance as a role model. A similar indication of this can also be found in Digging where Heaney writes: "But I've no spade to follow men like them.
Between my finger and my thumb the squat pen rests. I'll dig with it. " (Hall, p. 72) In these lines the poet evidently realizes his incapability to follow in the exact footsteps on his father whom he admires so much but comes to the understanding that his work in a way is the mental reincarnation of the father's physical work. Heaney realizes that he can continue on his father's work without necessarily proceeding in the same manner, hence the pen that is being compared with the spade. The personage of the father has really remained relatively similar throughout the course of the two poems and it is really only Heaney's view of him that eventually changes, suggesting an alteration in the poet's perception rather then in that of the father. In Digging the expression of Heaney's admiration for his father is altogether quite constant. Contrasting to this in Follower there is a dramatic change in the poet's apprehension of his father towards the end which overall has an eliminating effect on the praise and adoration that was present in the previous verses.
This change in attitude is greatly highlighted by the last verse of the poem: "I was a nuisance, tripping, falling, yapping always. But today it is my father who keeps stumbling behind me, and will not go away. " (Hall, p. 76) This verse, however true it may be, conveys such an unexpected and sudden change in the image of the father which the reader had previously had in their mind that it strikes as a rather harsh and disrespectful notion on which to finish the overall poem. In contrast to this Digging concludes in a rather different manner without so abruptly destroying the harmonious picture of the father but rather by continuing this theme of adoration and respectfulness that was present throughout the poem. Overall both poems basically share the same outlook on the relationship between the fathers and the son and convey a significant sense of respect and affection.
The only meaningful difference between the two fathers that are portrayed is really only the fact that Digging concludes in a rather positive fashion whereas in Follower the picture of the father is in the end distorted to a slightly negative aspect. Sense of place can be illustrated with the aid of those two poems by means of associating the authors father with his homeland, everything he talks about in the two poems at issue help general audience to realize that it means a lot to the author. John Montague is also one of Ireland's premier poets. Those coming to his work for the first time in 'Smashing the Piano' will find his world-wide reputation is not undeserved.
Its opening poem, 'Paths', has him standing in the gardens of his childhood with his Aunt Winifred on paths "rip rapped with pebbles. " The closing piece, 'Landing', has the present day poet returning home to his partner, his "late, but final anchoring. " In between, the poet is all ages, in no particular order. He is the father of a sick child, "his unaccustomed stockinged stealth tuned anxiously to a child's breath. " He is a stammering schoolboy, a "lord of language" who "topples into the bottomless well of a vowel, trips over dental's, spits fricatives. " He is an old man remembering "a friend, gone to the shades" as he wears the jacket, whose "bulk warms me still, as I trudge fields of West Cork, " given him by that friend. (Brumberg, p. 19) This volume also contains several pieces that would make worthy entries into 'The collected Love Poems of John Montague' if he were ever to put together such a selection. The poet has dedicated a sub-section, titled 'Dark Rooms', to this theme. In 'Stand In', with its theme of infidelity within fidelity, the poet remembers a lover whose "wild cries were for him, her shadow lover, for whom you were but a simulacrum, a stand in. " Outside this section is the gentler, yet equally haunting, 'Looking Glass' where the poet's aunt recalls to that "motherless boy"her Old World courtship. " 'The Current', which is not a love poem, is a powerful piece that deals sensitively but graphically with his introduction to sexuality by an older boy, "Surely not the worst way to approach love's central act, through friendship. " (Brumberg, p. 26) Montague shows us that a poet's strength lies in his ability to be true to the moment. The same man who, finding an injured bird, will "place its delicate body inside my shirt" and take it home to nurse, may feel "the natural world has no begging bowl" as he drops another injured creature to his waiting terrier. Montague's power lies in his ability to recreate these moments from his life and bring us inside them as well as to create a unique atmosphere using the sense of place in his poems.
Born in New York in 1929, John Montague moved to Ireland aged four and grew up on the family farm in County Tyrone. He was educated at St Patricks College, Armagh, the junior diocesan seminary, where he was taught by Sean OBoyle, one of the leading experts on Ulster folksong and Irish poetry. Moving to University College, Dublin, he had his first poems published in The Dublin Magazine, before leaving for Yale on a Full bright Fellowship. Returning to Ireland some years later, after spending time in France, he settled in Dublin where he gathered together his first book of poems, Poisoned Land, published in 1961. His second book was Chieftain, after which the musical group The Chieftains was named. In 1988 Professor Montague resigned from University College, Cork, where he had taught for 18 years, to become a full-time writer.
His writing is primarily poetry but includes some fiction. He has collected numerous awards for his work over the past 25 years and serves as Distinguished Writer-in-Residence for the New York State Writers Institute each year, teaching workshops in fiction and poetry. He was described at the time of his appointment to the Ireland Chair of Poetry as having a substantial body of work, acclaimed at home and abroad. The two poems analyzed within the course of that research are Blessing and Uprooting.
Both poems are rather short, however even in those short works the author is able to illustrate his ability to deploy the sense of place in his works. Let us take Blessing as the first example: A feel of warmth in this place. In winter air, a scent of harvest. No form of prayer is needed, When by sudden grace attended.
Naturally, we fall from grace. Mere humans, we forget what light Led us, lonely, to this place. The poem, although rather short, enables the general audience to see the picture produced by the author clearly, and that is because of the sense of place. The place at issue in the poem is not something that the author names explicitly, however that comes out to be one of the most intriguing features of the poem.
Everyone is free to imagine and to interpret the authors words and the picture he wanted his readers to see, and that is what attracts general audience the most. Montague is able to create a picture in everyones mind, a picture that is not easy to understand but which makes people think. The next poem, Uprooting, is also very peculiar. My love, while we talked They removed the roof. Then They started on the walls, Panes of glass uprooting From timber, like teeth.
But you spoke calmly on, Your example of courtesy Compelling me to reply. When we reached the last Syllable, nearly accepting Our positions, I saw that The floorboards were gone: It was clay we stood upon. The sense of place in this poem is emphasized through the process of continuous change in that very place. The author is the narrator himself, and while he talks to his loved one, the building where he stands seem to be dismantled. It is a rather interesting approach, however the general audience is certainly able to imagine a vivid picture of a poet standing with his loved one while the building changes its shape and totally disappears at the end of the poem. It is evident that both poets have deployed a lot of various literary devices in their works, however one concept that is imperative to their poetry is evident, and that concept is the sense of place.
It is present in the poems of both authors, and by reading those poems the general audience is able to grasp the authors intention in the particular poem. Although it is hard to say which one of the poets is more appealing, we can conclude that while Heaney is more stylistically diversity, Montague is able to make his readers imagine almost anything by the power of his words, which is also very important. Both authors have produced a significant amount of works, and they will stay forever as some of the most influential Irish poets.
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