Poetry Analysis- TPCASTT Title: Storm on the Island Author: Seamus Heaney Rhyme Scheme/Meter: Free Verse T Title

The title of this particular Heaney poem leads me to believe, prior to reading it, that its about the dangers of the weather. Being raised in a rural part of Ireland as a farmers son likely instilled in the Heaney the importance and the dangers of the weather. N/A Throughout the entire poem Heaney uses words, descriptions, imagery, etc. that have negative connotations. This can be seen at the beginning of the poem through the following examples: our houses squat line 1, sink walls in rock line 2, etc. Then this continues through the middle of the poem as seen in the following examples: listen to the thing you fear line 9, forgetting that it pummels your house line 10, exploding comfortably down on the cliffs line 13, etc. Finally, this continues all the way to the end of the poem as shown in the following examples: turned savage line 16, strafes invisibly, space is a salvo line 17, bombarded by the empty air line 18, etc. Heaney does this in order to convey properly the danger of living on a cottage on a cliff on the Irish coast during a bad storm. Throughout the poem Heaney has a mood/attitude of suspense, danger, and fear which reflects the connotations that he uses throughout the poem in order to convey to the reader the poems theme. The poem only really has one shift within it and that is the shift near the beginning of the poem between Heaney describing what its like before the storm and then during the storm. Heaney uses this in order to contrast the two periods for the reader. While this poem is about the dangers of storms and the feeling which that danger inspires, this particular poem is not a reference to Heaneys own personal experiences but rather a generic allusion to living in a cottage on one of the main cliffs along the Irish coast during a bad storm. Thus provoking, or Heaney at least hoping to provoke, larger emotional understanding as it pertains to the storm. The theme of this poem is the fearful emotions that emerge within one who lives on the cliffs of the Irish coast during a bad storm. The storm causes one to perceive its destructive power and the terrible ruckus which it creates, yet it ends up doing nothing to the people who live in the cottages on these cliffs. Thus bringing up the famous adage (as seen in the final line of the poem) that there is nothing to fear but fear itself.

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