Follower
by Seamus Heaney
F/H
Follower
by Seamus Heaney
The title is ambiguous and gives a sense both of Heaney literally
following his father and metaphorically following him as any child
‘follows’ a parent.
The poem concludes with this metaphorical relationship reversed
as you will see
F/H
Heaney remembers being
a boy and his experiences
of following his father
around the farm as he
ploughed the field.
The poet goes on to
describe how he
used to follow his
father and he would
then stumble and it
was necessary for
his father to pick
him up and carry
him on his back.
The poem ends with
Heaney considering
the way roles have
changed now that
he is older and a
poet and it is his
father who follows
him.
My father worked with a horse plough,
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung
Between the shafts and the furrow.
The horses strained at his clicking tongue.
An expert. He would set the wing
And fit the bright-pointed sock.
The sod rolled over without breaking.
At the headrig, with a single pluck
Of reins, the sweating team turned round
And back into the land. His eye
Narrowed and angled at the ground,
Mapping the furrow exactly.
I stumbled in his hobnailed wake,
Fell sometimes on the polished sod;
Sometimes he rode me on his back
Dipping and rising to his plod.
I wanted to grow up and plough,
To close one eye, stiffen my arm.
All I ever did was follow
In his broad shadow around the farm.
I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,
Yapping always. But today
It is my father who keeps
F/H stumbling
Behind me, and will not go away.
The poet’s affection for his
father is obvious. As is his
admiration for the skill he
has when working the
land
During the first three
stanzas of the poem,
the poet recalls his
father working the
fields.
Heaney recalls how,
at this time in his
life, his only
ambition was to
follow in his father’s
footsteps and to be
like him
Past tense as
Heaney reminisces
about his childhood.
‘worked’ implies
both the labour
itself and the control
that his father had
Admiration presented
as a simple statement
of fact
The precision and
skill is suggested
again with words like
these
My father worked with a horse plough,
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung
Between the shafts and the furrow.
The horses strained at his clicking tongue.
An expert. He would set the wing
And fit the bright-pointed sock.
The sod rolled over without breaking.
At the headrig, with a single pluck
Of reins, the sweating team turned round
And back into the land. His eye
Narrowed and angled at the ground,
Mapping the furrow exactly.
I stumbled in his hobnailed wake,
Fell sometimes on the polished sod;
Sometimes he rode me on his back
Dipping and rising to his plod.
I wanted to grow up and plough,
To close one eye, stiffen my arm.
All I ever did was follow
In his broad shadow around the farm.
I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,
Yapping always. But today
It is my father who keeps
F/H stumbling
Behind me, and will not go away.
The father’s skill and
expertise are
emphasised by the
language used to
describe his work
‘globed’ suggests the
power and size of the
man in Heaney’s
eyes
The skill of a sailor
and smooth
progress of a ship is
evoked through
these words and
phrases
Heaney’s use of
technical language
shows his familiarity with
the work of his father and
perhaps suggests how
long ‘followed’ for
Enjambment is used
throughout the poem to
suggest the flowing
continuous nature of his
father’s work
Caesura is also used to
force the reader to dwell
on Heaney’s view of his
father
Repeated use of present
participle (-ing) verbs
lends an immediacy to
the poem
My father worked with a horse plough,
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung
Between the shafts and the furrow.
The horses strained at his clicking tongue.
An expert. He would set the wing
And fit the bright-pointed sock.
The sod rolled over without breaking.
At the headrig, with a single pluck
Of reins, the sweating team turned round
And back into the land. His eye
Narrowed and angled at the ground,
Mapping the furrow exactly.
I stumbled in his hobnailed wake,
Fell sometimes on the polished sod;
Sometimes he rode me on his back
Dipping and rising to his plod.
I wanted to grow up and plough,
To close one eye, stiffen my arm.
All I ever did was follow
In his broad shadow around the farm.
I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,
Yapping always. But today
It is my father who keeps
F/H stumbling
Behind me, and will not go away.
The effort and power
of the horses
contrasts with the
effortless ease of his
father’s control
Heaney uses contrasts
in the poem not just of
past an presnent but
also…
Polished mud?
Unusual image
perhaps stressing the
care his father took
Heaney wanted to
plough but only ever
followed
Literal following; Heaney
is not skilled or big
enough to walk on the
fields without falling.
Does Heaney still feel in
his father’s shadow?
Does he regret that he no
longer ‘follows’ him?
Why does his father
stumble now?
Why is his father now the
‘follower’
My father worked with a horse plough,
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung
Between the shafts and the furrow.
The horses strained at his clicking tongue.
An expert. He would set the wing
And fit the bright-pointed sock.
The sod rolled over without breaking.
At the headrig, with a single pluck
Of reins, the sweating team turned round
And back into the land. His eye
Narrowed and angled at the ground,
Mapping the furrow exactly.
I stumbled in his hobnailed wake,
Fell sometimes on the polished sod;
Sometimes he rode me on his back
Dipping and rising to his plod.
I wanted to grow up and plough,
To close one eye, stiffen my arm.
All I ever did was follow
In his broad shadow around the farm.
I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,
Yapping always. But today
It is my father who keeps
F/H stumbling
Behind me, and will not go away.
Could this also suggest
that stumbled in his desire
to ‘follow’ his father as a
ploughman?
“tripping, falling, yapping”
emphasises the nuisance
he was
Marks a change of tone
and tense
Does Heaney really want
his father to go away?
Why does the memory
appear to have soured?
Comparisons
• Catrin – This poem also deals with the mixed feelings and changing
feelings that can exist in a relationship between parents and children
– the mother’s perspective.
• • On My First Sonne – A poem about an extremely affectionate
relationship between father and son, although once again from the
parent’s perspective.
• • The Song of the Old Mother – Link would be that this poem
considers the cycle of life and the way in which the roles of people
change with age.
• The Affliction of Margaret – Nature of parent / child relationships.
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Themes
• Nature – The importance of nature is seen clearly in the
poem, with the father clearly an expert farmer and the
poet clearly having a strong bond with the natural world.
• Relationships – The relationship that exists between the
father and son is at the core of the poem.
• It is very clear that the son loves his father and admires
him, as can be seen in his desire to follow in his
footsteps.
• The end of the poem serves to suggest the natural cycle
of life – all people one day get old and the son will take
the role of the father.
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Review
• What does the poem show of the relationship of father
and son, and how time has changed this?
• What does the last line of the poem mean? Does
Heaney really want his father to “go away”?
• Is this a poem about farming specifically or is it relevant
to other skills and occupations?
• How does Heaney explore the idea of family tradition
here?
• In what way should the poem be read (tone)?
• Would this change as the poem draws to a close?
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