Storm on the Island - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)
English Lit: AQA GCSE Poetry - Power & Conflict, topic 17.1.3
Key Quotations in Storm on the Island
Here are key quotations to remember for your exam:
“We are prepared: we build our houses squat”
- Emphatic opening line and caesura.
- The poem opens with a strong statement. This emphasises the confidence and sense of security of the Islanders.
- The use of caesura (break in the line) reinforces this because it conveys the speaker’s certainty as well as the sense that they are safely barricaded in their homes.
“You can listen to the thing you fear..."
- “You can listen to the thing you fear / Forgetting that it pummels your house too.”
- Danger imagery.
“Spits like a tame cat / Turned savage”
- Simile.
- This gives the impression that the storm is wild and uncontrollable.
- It also reminds readers that something that seems innocent can be deadly.
“We are bombarded by the empty air”
- Military metaphor.
- "Bombarded" relates to air strikes.
“Strange, it is a huge nothing that we fear”
- Juxtaposition and irony.
- The juxtaposition of “huge nothing that we fear” in the final line highlights how strange the situation is. Despite huge physical preparations, ultimately it is only air, something that cannot even be seen or touched, that is frightening.
- The contrast between “huge nothing” and “rock” at the start of the poem makes the storm seem even more menacing because human preparation is not sufficient protection.
Test yourself on Storm on the Island - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)
What literary techniques are used in this key quote from Storm on the Island?
“We are prepared: we build our houses squat”Which of these key quotes from Storm on the Island is a military metaphor?