A* Essay (22/24) on Seamus Heaney's 'Scaffolding' (GCSE Literature)
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Course
English
Institution
GCSE
An overview of the poem 'Scaffolding' by Seamus Heaney as a 24 marker appearing in the 2023 GCSE literature paper 2 exam. Meets all assessment objectives required (Ao1 and Ao2) as well as having correct SPaG. It explores the speaker's attitudes towards his relationship and includes positive and ne...
In ‘scaffolding’, how does the poet present the speaker’s feelings about their
relationship? (24 marks)
In the poem ‘Scaffolding’, the speaker presents their strong and secure relationship. The speaker
has confidence and pride in the relationship that they have built with their partner, despite any
problems that they may face. He recognises that true love is only established when said love has
to persevere through adversity.
To begin with, the speaker uses a metaphor of ‘scaffolding’ to mirror his strong relationship. The
‘scaffolding’ is symbolic of the speakers relationship growing stronger and more secure. When
the masons “tighten” the bolted joints, we are introduced to the symbolism of the scaffolding
mirroring the relationship. The verb “tightening” has connotations of consolidating and securing
something; a testament to the strength of his relationship. In addition, perhaps the speaker is
attempting to highlight that his relationship already has security and comfort, however, all
relationships still require moments of weakness to build understanding. The speaker may be
highlighting that through these moments of weakness and “old bridges breaking” can an
individual truly build reliance and trust on their partner. The imagery of the bridges being “old”
can convey the timeless nature of the speaker's relationship, however, it could also allude to the
idea that long-lasting relationships will face hurdles and problems along the way. This is further
highlighted through the harsh alliteration of “bridges breaking”. This alliteration is utilised as a
way of embodying the obstacles in the speaker’s relationship. This introduces a slightly negative
tone towards the relationship, however, this is quickly contrasted when the speaker returns to a
positive tone when saying that their connection is like “sure and solid stone”. The contrast
between the positive and negative tones may be a method of highlighting the tumultuous nature
of relationships and how relationships are never linear. Despite this, they are still a constant
source of security like “stone”. The imagery of the stone may be symbolic of the unbreakable
nature of their relationship, even though there are problems that interfere with their connection. It
implies that their relationship is “sure and solid” just like the stone; no matter what adversity
they will face, they will overcome it due to the strength of their connection.
Towards the end of the poem, the speaker highlights his unity and attachment to his partner
because they have overcome problems. The speaker recognises that despite their problems, what
truly matters is love and security. He calls her “my dear” and tells her to “never fear”. The
personal pronoun “my” again emphasises their strong attachment as the speaker feels possessive
over their partner. Furthermore, the term of endearment “dear” again exemplifies the
unadulterated and loving nature of their relationship. The speaker feels comfortable enough in
their partner's presence to call them nicknames. Furthermore, towards the end of the poem, the
speaker begins to use collective pronouns like “we” and “our” to again highlight their unity. The
contrast between the previous possessive pronouns and the switch to collective pronouns could
mirror the altering nature of their relationship and how they are coming together despite their
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