The Tollund Man: Plot

“The Tollund Man: Plot”

Introduction

• “The Tollund Man” focuses on the discovery of a bog body and delves into the historical and cultural significance of ancient ritual killings.

• Heaney’s encounter with the Iron Age body, perfectly preserved in the peat bog, leads him to ponder about the man’s life, the reason for his death, and draw parallels with his own times.

The Treacherous Past

• The poet embarks on a speculative journey into the Iron Age man’s past, reconstructing tonal admiration for the man whose death was an act of faith in the fertility gods.

• Through a rich tapestry of images, Heaney portrays the gruesome nature of the man’s death and his peaceful eternal rest in the embrace of the bog.

Comparison to Modern Times

• Heaney draws a chilling parallel between the past and the present, linking these ancient sacrifices to the then ongoing political turmoil in Ireland – the Troubles.

• Juxtaposing the past with present-day violence, the poem highlights the continuity of brutality in the name of a cause.

Closure and Inevitability

• The poet conveys his final thoughts while hopeful in ideology, but practical in its sentiment. He acknowledges that the cycle of violence is inevitable and ubiquitous.

• Despite the gloom, there’s a certain respect for the ritualistic past and melancholic beauty towards how history repeats itself, albeit in different forms.