Follower - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)

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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 / 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...'

'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.

1When We Two Parted - Lord Byron (1788-1824)

1.1When We Two Parted Analysis

1.1.1Summary & Structure

1.1.2Themes: Death & Loss

1.1.3Themes: Time & Anger

1.1.4Key Quotes & Comparisons

1.1.5End of Topic Test - When We Two Parted

2Love’s Philosophy - Percy Bysshe Shelley

2.1Love's Philosophy Analysis

2.1.1Summary & Structure

2.1.2Themes

2.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

2.1.4End of Topic Test - Love's Philosophy

2.1.5Exam-Style Questions - Love's Philosophy

3Porphyria’s Lover - Robert Browning (1812-1889)

3.1Porphyria’s Lover Analysis

3.1.1Summary & Structure

3.1.2Themes: Porphyria & Violence

3.1.3Themes: Sin & Pathetic Fallacy

3.1.4Key Quotes & Comparisons

3.1.5End of Topic Test - Porphyria's Lover

4Sonnet 29 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)

4.1Sonnet 29 – ‘I think of thee!’ Analysis

4.1.1Summary & Structure

4.1.2Themes

4.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

5Neutral Tones - Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)

5.1Neutral Tones Analysis

5.1.1Summary & Structure

5.1.2Themes

5.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

5.1.4End of Topic Test - Sonnet 29 & Neutral Tones

6Letters from Yorkshire - Maura Dooley (Born 1957)

6.1Letters from Yorkshire Analysis

6.1.1Summary & Structure

6.1.2Themes

6.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

7The Farmer’s Bride - Charlotte Mew (1869-1928)

7.1The Farmer's Bride Analaysis

7.1.1Summary, Structure & Form

7.1.2Themes

7.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

7.1.4End of Topic Test - Dooley & Mew

7.1.5Exam-Style Questions - The Farmer's Bride

8Walking Away - Cecil Day Lewis (1904-1972)

8.1Walking Away Analysis

8.1.1Summary, Structure & Form

8.1.2Themes

8.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

9Eden Rock - Charles Causley (1917-2003)

9.1Eden Rock Analysis

9.1.1Summary, Structure & Form

9.1.2Themes

9.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

9.1.4End of Topic Test - Walking Away & Eden Rock

10Follower - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)

10.1Follower Analysis

10.1.1Summary, Structure & Form

10.1.2Themes

10.1.3Quotes and Comparisons

11‘Mother, Any Distance’ - Simon Armitage (Born1963

11.1'Mother, Any Distance' Analysis

11.1.1Summary, Structure & Form

11.1.2Themes

11.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

11.1.4End of Topic Test - Follower& Mother, Any Distance

12Before You Were Mine - Carol Ann Duffy (Born 1955)

12.1Before You Were Mine Analysis

12.1.1Summary, Structure & Form

12.1.2Themes

12.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

13Winter Swans - Owen Sheers (Born 1974)

13.1Winter Swans Analysis

13.1.1Summary, Structure & Form

13.1.2Themes

13.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

13.1.4End of Topic Test - Duffy & Sheers

14Singh Song! - Daljit Nagra (Born 1966)

14.1Singh Song! Analysis

14.1.1Summary, Structure & Form

14.1.2Themes

14.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

15Climbing My Grandfather - Andrew Waterhouse

15.1Climbing My Grandfather Analysis

15.1.1Summary, Structure & Form

15.1.2Themes

15.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons

15.1.4End of Topic Test - Nagra & Waterhouse

16Grade 9 - Comparisons

16.1Grade 9 - Comparisons

16.1.1Grade 9 - Comparisons

17Recap: Main Quotes

17.1Recap: Main Quotes

17.1.1When We Two Parted - Lord Byron (1788-1824)

17.1.2Love’s Philosophy - Percy Bysshe Shelley

17.1.3Porphyria’s Lover - Robert Browning (1812-1889)

17.1.4Sonnet 29 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning (

17.1.5Neutral Tones - Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)

17.1.6Letters from Yorkshire - Maura Dooley (Born 1957)

17.1.7The Farmer’s Bride - Charlotte Mew (1869-1928)

17.1.8Walking Away - Cecil Day Lewis (1904-1972)

17.1.9Eden Rock - Charles Causley (1917-2003)

17.1.10Follower - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)

17.1.11‘Mother, Any Distance’ - Simon Armitage (Born1963)

17.1.12Before You Were Mine - Carol Ann Duffy (Born 1955)

17.1.13Winter Swans - Owen Sheers (Born 1974)

17.1.14Singh Song! - Daljit Nagra (Born 1966)

17.1.15Climbing My Grandfather - Andrew Waterhouse

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