10.1.3
Quotes and Comparisons
Key Quotes in Follower
Key Quotes in Follower
Here are some examples of key quotes from Seamus Heaney's Follower:
'All I ever did was follow
'All I ever did was follow
- 'All I ever did was follow / In his broad shadow round the farm’.
- This shows both the narrator's childhood awe of his father (his 'broad shadow') and his own feels of inadequacy ('All I ever did was follow').
'Keeps stumbling...'
'Keeps stumbling...'
- 'But today / It is my father who keeps stumbling / Behind me, and will not go away.’
- As the poem ends we see how the roles of parent and child have reversed as the child grows up.
- Whereas before, the narrator 'stumbled' in his father's wake, now the old man is 'stumbling' behind him.
- The final line, stating that his father ‘will not go away’, gives a sense that he is almost haunted by his father.
Key Comparisons with Follower
Key Comparisons with Follower
Here are some suggestions for poems you could compare Follower to. Remember, there are endless options!
Walking Away/Mother, Any Distance
Walking Away/Mother, Any Distance
- All explore parent-child relationships.
- You could compare the sense of poignancy created when looking to the past.
Before You Were Mine
Before You Were Mine
- Compare the narrators' longing to be more like their parents or to know them more deeply.
1When We Two Parted - Lord Byron (1788-1824)
2Love’s Philosophy - Percy Bysshe Shelley
3Porphyria’s Lover - Robert Browning (1812-1889)
4Sonnet 29 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)
4.1Sonnet 29 – ‘I think of thee!’ Analysis
5Neutral Tones - Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)
6Letters from Yorkshire - Maura Dooley (Born 1957)
6.1Letters from Yorkshire Analysis
7The Farmer’s Bride - Charlotte Mew (1869-1928)
8Walking Away - Cecil Day Lewis (1904-1972)
8.1Walking Away Analysis
9Eden Rock - Charles Causley (1917-2003)
10Follower - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)
10.1Follower Analysis
11‘Mother, Any Distance’ - Simon Armitage (Born1963
11.1'Mother, Any Distance' Analysis
12Before You Were Mine - Carol Ann Duffy (Born 1955)
12.1Before You Were Mine Analysis
13Winter Swans - Owen Sheers (Born 1974)
14Singh Song! - Daljit Nagra (Born 1966)
14.1Singh Song! Analysis
15Climbing My Grandfather - Andrew Waterhouse
15.1Climbing My Grandfather Analysis
16Grade 9 - Comparisons
16.1Grade 9 - Comparisons
Jump to other topics
1When We Two Parted - Lord Byron (1788-1824)
2Love’s Philosophy - Percy Bysshe Shelley
3Porphyria’s Lover - Robert Browning (1812-1889)
4Sonnet 29 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)
4.1Sonnet 29 – ‘I think of thee!’ Analysis
5Neutral Tones - Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)
6Letters from Yorkshire - Maura Dooley (Born 1957)
6.1Letters from Yorkshire Analysis
7The Farmer’s Bride - Charlotte Mew (1869-1928)
8Walking Away - Cecil Day Lewis (1904-1972)
8.1Walking Away Analysis
9Eden Rock - Charles Causley (1917-2003)
10Follower - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)
10.1Follower Analysis
11‘Mother, Any Distance’ - Simon Armitage (Born1963
11.1'Mother, Any Distance' Analysis
12Before You Were Mine - Carol Ann Duffy (Born 1955)
12.1Before You Were Mine Analysis
13Winter Swans - Owen Sheers (Born 1974)
14Singh Song! - Daljit Nagra (Born 1966)
14.1Singh Song! Analysis
15Climbing My Grandfather - Andrew Waterhouse
15.1Climbing My Grandfather Analysis
16Grade 9 - Comparisons
16.1Grade 9 - Comparisons
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