The Tollund Man: Themes & Linking Poems

The Tollund Man: Themes & Linking Poems

Themes in “The Tollund Man”

Violence and Sacrifice

  • “His peat-brown head”: The poem opens with a direct confrontation with death. The description paints a vivid picture of the preserved body, symbolising both a life taken and a gift to the gods.

  • “Bridegroom to the goddess”: The nature of the Tollund Man’s death is referred to as a marriage, a union with the goddess through sacrifice. It is a reference to the ancient tradition of sacrifice to appease the gods.

Nature and Landscape

  • “I will stand a long time”: The speaker’s determination to reflect mirrors the preservation of the Tollund Man in the peat. It ties in with Heaney’s recurring theme of the timeless quality of nature.

  • “The scattered, ambushed flesh of labourers”: Here we see the juxtaposition between the ancient Tollund Man and the modern casualties of violence. The phrase emphasizes the cyclicality of violence and death, which the land always witnesses.

Connection with the Past

  • “Out here in Jutland”: This geographical reference not only sets the scene but also indicates the attempt to connect with the past, specifically to the ancient Tollund man and the ritual traditions.

  • “I will feel lost, unhappy and at home”: The speaker’s deep connection with the past is complicated – it brings him comfort but also a profound sense of melancholy, thinking about the unending cycle of life and death, violence and peace.

Linking Poems

“Punishment”

  • Like “The Tollund Man”, “Punishment” focuses on the preservation of bodies in bog peat and the acts of violence that caused their deaths. Both poems explore the themes of sacrifice and violence.

  • The speaker in “Punishment” expresses guilt and remorse, emotions which also feature in “The Tollund Man”, as the speaker reflects on humanity’s capacity for violence.

“The Grauballe Man”

  • “The Grauballe Man” also features a preserved bog body. This allows for similar reflections on violence, sacrifice and preservation of the past.

  • In both poems, Heaney uses vivid, tactile language and imagery to describe the bodies, creating a sense of the almost eerie preservation and portraying an intimate connection with these ancient figures.

“Strange Fruit”

  • Heaney continues his exploration of violence, death, and preservation in “Strange Fruit”. This time the focus shifts from sacrifices to victims of political violence, drawing parallels between historical and contemporary acts of brutality.

  • Similar to “The Tollund Man”, preservation and death are presented through detailed, physical description, linking the poems through their shared focus on the tension between life, death and time.