Summary
Summary Poem Analysis: The Lammas Hireling
- Course
- Institution
4 pages analysing ‘The Lammas Hireling’ by Ian Duhig. From ‘Poems of the Decade’ for the Edexcel A-Level English Literature course.
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
msbow9
Reviews received
Content preview
The Lammas Hireling (Ian Duhig)Title and context
• ‘Lammas’ refers to a traditional festival marking the beginning of the harvest
season (early August). Hireling would therefore be a self-employed farmhand hired
from an agricultural fair to help out at this busy time.
• Hireling is an archetypal intruder, taciturn stranger. Central to the poem’s plot
and mystery.
• Dated language - evokes the atmosphere of historical times and rural setting. Era
of deeply entrenched superstition and folklore in rural communities (due to chance
involved with harvests etc. and lack of scientific knowledge), potent fear of
witchcraft and supernatural activity
Plot summary and interpretation
First stanza: widower farmer hires a farmhand at the fair, good price, success on farm
Second stanza: but one night, dreams of late wife wake him, and he finds the farmhand
and identifies him with the supernatural: ‘knew him a warlock’
Third stanza: shoots him instinctively and he changes into a hare
Fourth stanza: drops his body over a bridge, farm out of luck and farmer isolated, melts
down money gained into bullets, overcome by guilt and turns to confession.
Meta-textually, there may be more to the story. One interpretation: the farmer is
attracted to the hireling against his better judgement (has been lonely for a long time,
feels guilty due to the taboo of homosexuality, memory of late wife stirs him into action),
can’t bear it and has to destroy evidence of these feelings – so kills the hireling despite
feelings of love and pity. Shape-shifting into hare could be literal, or could be his
hallucinations/him trying to justify his actions afterwards. Combined guilt at end as he has
killed the innocent hireling and arguably was attracted to him, so seeks repentance.
Possible themes
• Supernatural, folklore
• Societal taboos
• Guilt and confession vs innocence
• Human emotions and relationships
• Setting itself is important – recreating atmosphere of outdated rural beliefs, vivid
storytelling
Form
4 stanzas of 6 lines, no regular syllable patterns, stanza breaks don’t quite match
paragraph breaks. Lack of formality in structure reflects the tone of the poem as the
farmer relating a story, intimate, like he is speaking to us about what has happened
(perhaps the reader is even cast into the role of the priest in the confession booth). Use of
varied sentence lengths and enjambment adds to this conversational flow and creates
particular effects (see quote analysis below).
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller msbow9. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $5.69. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
64450 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 15 years now