Poem: Ancestral Photograph
Poet: Seamus Heaney
Title & Biography(s)
Plot
Title analysis pre-reading
What does the title mean or evoke without your
knowledge of the rest of the poem’s content? Is it
positive or negative? Is it straightforward and clear
cut or cryptic and confusing? Is there only one way to
interpret the title or more than one (homophones,
etc.)?
Title post-reading
After analyzing the poem thoroughly, re-analyze the
title and add new insights/details you might have.
Poem Biography
At what juncture of the poet’s life was this poem
written? Where & when was the volume published? Is
there a specific history to the poem (For instance,
dedication, influenced by or in memoriam of)? How
was the poem received? Any other relevant
biographical information that allows you to get a new
perspective of the poem?
What is happening, literally, in the
poem? What is the literal story being
told? If you had to describe the poem as
specifically as possible, in general terms,
in 1 – 3 sentences, how would you do it?
e.g. Carol Ann Duffy’s poem “Little Red
Cap” is an allusion to the fairy tale
“Little Red Riding Hood,” and it recreates the tale in modern terms from the
perspective of a young woman who is
romantically involved with a “wolf.”
Title PrR: ‘Docker’ suggests that the
poem is about a person who works at a
shipyard (dock). Keeping in mind the
poems that come before Docker, I believe
that it will describe a time or a scenario in
Heaney’s life through the metaphor of the
‘Docker’.
The poem is almost a sketch
of the dock worker sitting in
a corner of a pub.
Title PoR: ‘Docker’ was published before
‘The Troubles’ began in Northern Ireland.
(‘The Troubles’ was a time of unrest and
violence in Northern Ireland between 1969
and 1988).
It talks about the conflict between the
Catholics and the Protestants in Northern
Ireland at that time.
Being a Catholic, Heaney belonged to the
minority and has written about the conflict
from his perspective.
He is aware of the fact that the Belfast
shipyards favored Protestants in their
recruitment policies and so, the subject of
the poem is a dockworker.
This poem talks about the prejudice that
supported the Protestant dock worker in
twentieth century Belfast.
Poem bios:
Seamus Heaney was born in 1939 in
County Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
Heaney was brought up a Catholic, but he
attended a small rural primary school
where both Catholics and Protestants were
educated together.
This poem was published in his first poetry
collection - Death of a Naturalist - in 1969.
It reflected the growing conflict between
Catholics and Protestants in 1960s
Northern Ireland.
Style and Language
*A listing of all the stylistic choices you see – do not try to make meaning of it yet.
Just notice it and write it down – don’t interpret.
**Color marking may be quite useful here
Imagery: What kind of imagery is used and repeated (motif)? If there are metaphors
and similes, list what is being compared in each one.
Tone: What is the tone? Cite three or more specific words or lines to support your
answer. Is the tone consistent, or does it shift? If it shifts, how and when?
Diction: What kind of vocabulary is used? Is there repetition of it? If so note it.
Sound Devices: What consonance, assonance, rhyme, onomatopoeia, enjambment,
etc. is used? Note patterns.
Structure and Organization: Is there a discernible structure? Rhyme scheme?
Grouping of stanzas? Enjambment may also play a part here, too. If so, note it.
*Now you can interpret all you have noted from above. What
patterns are important? Focus on those ones only.
First, group the patterns. Is there a lot of nature imagery or color
symbolism, etc.? What are they all doing there in the poem?
What conclusions might you draw from their use?
Can you run a needle and thread through the style and language
choices and connect items that may not seem connected at first?
How might imagery connect to tone? Diction to sound devices?
See how many “threads” you have and how many style and
language items you can pierce with the same “thread.”
Imagery: Heaney has used ship-yard imagery throughout the
poem.
Heaney has used a lot ship-yard imagery in the
poem. Using this, he associates the dock
worker’s job to his features and personality.
The visual imagery aids the poet to describe
the dock worker, while auditory and tactile
imagery help him to give emphasis on certain
characteristics of the dock worker.
I the first stanza, Heaney is
describing the appearance of
this person. His description
uses a lot of imagery, but in
the language of ship-building.
In the second stanza, Heaney
is highlighting the prejudice
this man holds against the
Catholics, “Line 5”. Heaney
compares the white froth of
the person’s beer to the
collar of a priest as ‘The only
Roman collar he tolerates’.
In the third stanza, Heaney
describes the person’s
inflexible religious views such
as his firm belief in God as a
controlling figure. The factory
horn signifies the end of his
work shift to start his next
shift of leisure as ordered by
God.
In the fourth stanza, Heaney
comes back to the
description of the docker
sitting in the corner. Heaney
has also signaled that even
the docker’s family is
intimidated by him.
Date of Publication: 1966
Effect of Style and Language Choices
First Stanza:
The cap juts like a gantry’s crossbeam (V); Cowling plated
forehead (V); Sledge head jaw (V); Speech is clamped (A/T);
Second stanza:
Violent imagery
Fist would drop a hammer (K/V); Sleek pint of porter (V/G)
Third Stanza:
Bang home like Rivets (A/V/K); Factory horn will blare (A)
Fourth Stanza:
Blunt as a Celtic Cross (V); Slammed Door and smoker’s
cough in the hall (A)
Tone:
The poet has used a straightforward and descriptive tone in
the first and the last stanzas.
In the second and the third stanzas, the poet has used more
of a complaining tone.
Diction:
Throughout the poem, the vocabulary used is of a ship-yard
language. Words such as gantry/crossbeam/cowling
plated/sledgehead/rivets all relate to a shipyard.
Vocabulary of intolerance and violence
In the first stanza, the imagery is used to
describe the physical features (appearance) of
the dock worker. Identity of the person is
highlighted in this stanza.
‘The cap… crossbeam’, ‘cowling… forehead’,
‘sledge head jaw’ create in our mind an image
of a face with sharp features and a rugged
look.
Line 1 tells us that the dock worker is not a
very social person. He is non-communicative
and stays alone. The way Heaney has
described this, also signifies that the
Protestants considered themselves very
exclusive and did not communicate much with
others, especially the Catholics. This has left
the Protestants unaware of the problems of
the Catholics. They do not want to listen to any
other point-of-views than their own.
Line 4 tells us that the person does not speak
much. This is indicative of the fact that that he
will speak only when HE has something to say.
He will neither change his beliefs, nor will he
tolerate anyone else challenging them.
The straightforward and descriptive
tone used in the first stanza tells us that
Heaney is simply describing the worker. There
is no element of any complaint up till now.
Lines 1, 2 and 3 contain a lot of alliteration and
plosive words. These sound devices help the
poet create a rugged, explosive and chiseled
personality of the worker. It helps emphasize
the rigid character of the worker.
Volume: Death Of A Naturalist
Shift/s
Overall Message/ Reflection
Do you notice any major (or minor) shifts
throughout the poem (subject matter, tone,
structure, etc.)? Where are they? What is their
effect? Cite line numbers.
Given your analysis in the last two
boxes, what does the poet seem to be
suggesting overall with this poem?
Cite a few words or lines to support
that suggestion.
Now go back to the title and reanalyze
it. How does it fit into the bigger
picture now, post-analysis?
Reflection- What impact does the
poem have on you post-analysis? How
do you view the central issue(s)
highlighted? How does your
understanding of the poem allow you
to re-assess a similar issue of global
reality? Is there a shift of opinion pre
and post analysis?
In the poem, there is a shift
between every stanza.
There is a shift from the
description of physical appearance
of the docker in the first stanza to
his hatred of Catholics in the
second stanza.
There is a shift to talking about his
religious views in the third stanza.
There is a shift from the third
stanza to talking about his family
life in the fourth stanza. In the
fourth stanza, we are also brought
back to the person sitting in a
corner of a pub.
The main issue being
addressed in the Poem is of
‘Conflicting Identities’.
The poem exposes the
prejudice behind the
uncompromising attitude
of the Protestant workers
in the 1960s (Twentieth
Century). He is aware of
the employment policies of
The Belfast Shipyards that
discriminated against the
minority of Catholics.
DEB, IB SC 5 2017, MODIFICATION OF TP_SESO
Sound Devices:
1, 2, 3 – Alliteration and Plosive
4 – Restricted range of sound
Collar/tolerates; imperative/rivets; life in shifts;
tonight/quiet – Assonance
Plated/speech/clamped; pint of porter; sits/strong;
Celtic/cross/clearly – Alliteration
Figures of Speech:
2, 4, 9, 13 – Simile
3, 5, 7, 10, 12 – Metaphor
4 - Synecdoche
Structure and organization:
Four Quatrains
First Stanza: Talks about the docker’s physical appearance
Second Stanza: Tells us about his hatred of Catholics
Third Stanza: Tells us about his strict religious views
Fourth Stanza: Talks about his family life.
In the fourth stanza, we are brought back to the image of a
man sitting in a corner of a pub. Cyclical.
There is no uniform rhyme scheme in the poem. Although,
almost all the sentences have around 10 syllables in them
while the 4th sentence ‘Speech is clamped in the lip’s vice’
has only 7 syllables.
Similes used in Lines 2 and 4 again, help create
a definite image of the worker.
Lines 1-3, each have 10 syllables in them, while
Line 4 is the only line in the poem that has 7
syllables. This ‘restriction’ describes the quiet,
repressed anger of the worker,
Second Stanza
Lines 5-8 describe the dock worker’s hatred
towards the Catholics. Conflict is highlighted in
this stanza. K/V imagery emphasizes the fact
that the Protestants could get violent with the
Catholics. It shows that the Protestants are
intolerable towards the others (Catholics).
Heaney also identifies an irony that the pint of
porter’s froth on top, despite resembling a
Roman priest’s collar is tolerated by the
worker.
Metaphors used in Lines 5 and 7 reinforce the
bigotry of the dock worker.
Collar/tolerates – assonance – used to create
melancholy. The melancholy present here
shows that the thinking of the dock worker is
not unique to him, rather, it is the same as all
protestants and the fact that violence could
take place is considered normal.
Pint of porter – alliteration – The poet has
talked about an irony he identified, and the
use of alliteration helps emphasize that irony.
Lines 5-7 have a dominance of rolling sounds
(easy to speak) and then in line 8, the
alliteration attracts focus to the irony.
Heaney has used a complaining tone in this
stanza. He talks about the prejudice
protestants hold against Catholics like him.
‘Oh yes… start again’ – This line deliberately
portrays the violence as something puny. The
readers are made to realize that violence
between the Protestants and Catholics was
considered normal and obvious.
This stanza might also be considered as a
warning from the poet.
Third Stanza
Lines 9-12 tell us about the worker’s religious
beliefs. Heaney describes the person’s
inflexible religious views such as his firm belief
in God as a controlling figure. The factory horn
signifies the end of his work shift to start his
next shift of leisure as ordered by God.
God is compared to a foreman. God is
portrayed like a boss at the ship yard.
DEB, IB SC 5 2017, MODIFICATION OF TP_SESO
‘Mosaic…. Rivets’ – This simile tells us about
the uncompromised beliefs. It means that his
beliefs are permanently set like rivets.
Lines 10 and 12 use metaphors. God is
compared to a boss at the ship yard who
directs everything. The factory horn signals the
end of work shift and the start of the leisure
shift – It is pre-set – Staunch beliefs.
Imperative/rivets; Life in shifts – Assonance.
‘Bang’ – Plosive word in the middle.
The imagery of ‘bang home like rivets’ and
‘factory horn will blare’ are used to relate the
beliefs of the docker to the ship-yard. The
auditory imagery present here indulges the
reader into the portrayed scenario.
The complaining tone of this stanza is used to
show the flaws of the Protestants. Heaney is
trying to bring out the hypocrisy.
Fourth Stanza
This stanza talks about the worker’s life and
family.
We are brought back to the image of a dock
worker sitting in a corner of a pub. Cyclical
Structure.
This stanza shows that the workers
uncompromisable spiritual views (‘strong and
blunt as a Celtic Cross’) affect his family life as
well.
The stanza talks about the stereotypical
masculinity that was common in Northern
Ireland in the 1960s.
‘Wife children… slammed door… cough’ – This
line shows that he intimidates his own family
at home. This intimidation also applies to
other religions.
The worker is portrayed as a bully and an
alcoholic. This alcoholism fuels his intimidating
presence.
‘The silence and an armchair’ are shown as his
unchallenged rights.
‘Slammed door… hall… wife and
children….quiet’ – Being alerted by the sound
of a slammed door and a cough in the hall, the
wife and children have learnt to be quiet –
they don’t have an option (whether they like it
or not).
DEB, IB SC 5 2017, MODIFICATION OF TP_SESO