Analysing the poem 'Storm on the Island'
I can explore how Heaney uses structure and form to present ideas about power and conflict.
Analysing the poem 'Storm on the Island'
I can explore how Heaney uses structure and form to present ideas about power and conflict.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Conflict between nature and man seems to be a 'big idea' in the poem.
- The speaker opens with a confident assertion but becomes increasingly insecure and powerless as the storm progresses.
- The use of enjambment, volta, lack of rhyme and single stanza form may reflect nature’s omnipotence.
- Iambic pentameter, colloquialisms and oxymorons may reflect speaker’s attempt to stay calm and confident in the storm.
- The use of half-rhyme may reflect the speaker’s futile attempts to assert control over nature.
Common misconception
All stylistic choices in a poem have to be in harmony with each other.
Heaney's stylistic choices often seem to contradict each other but this could be symbolic of the conflict occurring between man and nature.
Keywords
Omnipotent - having unlimited power
Unrelenting - never weakening or ending
Half-rhyme - in most instances when the last consonant sounds of words rhyme but the preceding vowel sounds do not (this can be vice versa)
Colloquial - language used in ordinary conversation, not formal or literary
Equipment
You will need a copy of the AQA Power & Conflict Poetry Anthology for GCSE.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
the words a writer uses to convey meaning
the organisation of the text on a page
the type of text it is