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Year 10 - English

Analysing the poem 'Follower' by Seamus Heaney

'Love and Relationships'

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupis explore 12 of the 15 poems from the 'Love and Relationships' anthology. Pupils complete two lessons about each poem: one on understanding and one on analysis. Pupils study the poems in four groups, and they pause after each group to compare how those poems present common themes.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to explore how Heaney presents the admiration found in a parental relationship and how this changes over time.

Key Notes

  • Heaney uses imagery to convey the sense of wonder, awe and admiration felt towards a parental figure.
  • Heaney uses powerful verbs to suggest how the speaker felt inadequate when with his father.
  • Heaney uses the resolution to reveal how the roles of the father and son are reversed in their later years.
  • The stable rhyme scheme could mirror the stable nature of parental support the speaker felt.
  • Heaney's use of caesura could indicate a turning point in the poem at the end of stanzas 2 and 6.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • awe: a feeling of wonder or admiration, often mixed with fear or amazement
  • prowess: exceptional skill or ability, especially in a particular field or activity
  • earnest: serious and sincere in intention or effort; showing deep conviction or dedication
  • quatrain: a four-line stanza in a poem
  • caesura: a pause or break within a line of poetry, often marked by punctuation

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Students may think that in the last two lines of the poem, the father now follows behind the son while he is out ploughing a field.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.

Heaney uses imagery to convey the sense of wonder, awe and admiration felt towards a parental figure. Heaney uses powerful verbs to suggest how the speaker felt inadequate when with his father.

2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'awe'

a feeling of wonder or admiration, often mixed with fear or amazement.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: Students may think that in the last two lines of the poem, the father now follows behind the son while he is out ploughing a field. Correction: Although their roles have reversed, there is no indication that the last two lines involve the father and son ploughing. The echoes in the language merely symbolise that their roles have reversed as the son has grown up.

More Lessons In This Unit

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