Act of Union: Structure & Language Techniques

Act of Union - Structure

Act of Union is a two-stanza poem with an ABBA rhyme scheme, embodying the form of a sonnet, traditionally a poetic form used to express love. This is ironic as the poem rather communicates the oppressive and imperfect relationship between Ireland and Britain.
The poem’s division into two stanzas reflects the duality inherent in the Act of Union, which linked two nations together under one rule. This recurring theme of duality is further enhanced by the poem’s careful balance of masculine and feminine rhymes.
Each line consists of ten syllables, adhering to the iambic pentameter, a rhythm associated with natural speech, serving to convey the ‘voice’ of Britain controlling the conversation.

Heaney uses personification throughout the poem to characterise England as a dominating male and Ireland as a female victim, laying out the power dynamics of colonization and exploitation.
Heaney skilfully uses an extended metaphor of violent union, comparing British imperialism to an act of rape, to illustrate the forced imposition of British rule and the resulting trauma inflicted upon Ireland.
There is a somewhat ironic use of romantic language in phrases such as “I am screed in your back, carrier of your pain” which adds to the poem’s power, evoking a sense of possessiveness and dominance.
Pregnancy and childbirth imagery are employed to symbolise the mingling of Irish and British identities, and the painful emergence of a new political reality. The physical imagery of invasion and implantation conveys the lasting impact of the political union on the Irish identity.
The final lines feature an end-stop, rendering the speaker’s final words definitive and conclusive - indicative of the unyielding nature of Britain’s rule.