Storm on the Island

Poet

SEAMUS HEANEY

Context

• Ireland faced much unrest with regard to politics and religion.
• The country was divided, because some wanted independence from England and others did not.
• As well as this, Protestants and Catholics were often bitterly opposed to one another which caused problems within communities.
• The poem is symbolic of the struggles that Ireland faced, particularly in Stormont.

Plot

• A story of a powerful storm that attacks an isolated cottage located next to the sea.
• Despite the preparedness of the occupants, the house struggles under the strength of the storm.

Form

• Iambic pentameter
• Does not rhyme
• Present tense
• Enjambment
• Conversational asides

Structure

• Blank verse
• 19 lines

Language

• Onomatopoeia
• Metaphor
• Synaesthesia
• Simile
• Personification
• Opinion

Tone

• Fear
• Hope
• Patriotic

Themes

• Power of humans
• Power of nature
• War
• Politics
• Religion