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Question: Discuss how two poets from the selection treat the subject of childhood.
The poems ‘Follower’ by Seamus Heaney and ‘My Parents’ by Stephen Spenders.
AS Level, A Mark, Band 2, 80%
Answer: It has often been said that to understand the adult one should better understand the child. This is because the very essence of our being is cultivated in those few years between infanthood and youth. The influences of our parents, relatives, teachers and peers in that impressionable stage of our life shape us into the adults that we will one day become. In the poem ‘Follower’ by Seamus Heaney, the admiration, devotion and mutual love shared between Heaney and his father is almost tangible. This provides a stark contrast to Stephen Spenders poem ‘My Parents’ where Spenders childhood is characterized by conflict and discord.
In Ireland, the relationship between the land and the people is an ancient one. In the past, order to survive in often harsh conditions, the people of the land developed skillfulness in the art of farming that was passed through the generations as shown t...(short extract)
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- Subject: English Literature
- Course: English Literature
- Level: A-Level
- Year: Not applicable
- Mark: 80%
- Words: 1619
- Date submitted: February 25, 2013
- Date written: Not available
- References: No
- Document type: Essay*
- Essay ID: 4520
