LINES WRITTEN ON A SEAT ON THE GRAND CANAL, DUBLIN
FORM AND STRUCTURE
The poem is an inventive use of the Petrarchan sonnet form
It has an octave / sestet division
It is a poem of commemoration; a self-reflexive requiem stimulated by the inscription on a
summer seat on the Grand Canal
The poet issues a directive as to how he would like to be memorialised
The poem spans the themes of place, poetry and memory
The use of half rhymes in the poem and the fluidity of the rhythm is used to evoke the beauty
of the scene and to emphasise the tranquil, laid-back atmosphere of the natural environment
LANGAUGE AND IMAGERY
Title
The title is a self-reflexive reference to the poet and the poem
The poem can arguably be described as a poetic epitaph
The place name curiously has venetian references “Grand Canal” which evokes both the
functionality and the aesthetic appeal of the canal
A paradox is presented between the lofty language used to describe the grandness of the
Canal with the simple language used in the rest of the title
Body of Poem
Octave
The first line is a footnote to the title. The language is similar to that which could be found on
a tombstone or a memorial. The inscription on the seat acts as a creative catalyst for the poem
as it inspires the poet to considered the way in which he would like to be remembered /
memorialised post-humously and instigates poetic musing on his own mortality
Line 1: The poem becomes an apostrophe to an unidentified reader “O commemorate me.”
The consonantal musicality of the polysyllabic verb and the use of the repeated motif
throughout the poem create an almost incantatory, pleading tone. A didactic tone is also
created through the use of imperatives. “Water” also becomes a repeated linguistic pattern
throughout the poem. The alliteration “where there is water” evokes the ploysemous
connotations of the water reference- life / re-birth / re-generation
Line 2: The “canal water” almost becomes a symbol of what poetry should be: a fusion of
functionality and asceticism. The specificity of the qualifying phrase “Canal water,
preferably” evokes the sharp, poetic vision of Kavanagh
Line 3: The inventive neologistic adjectives “stilly / greeny” emphasises the poets
appreciation of the tranquillity and verdant abundance of nature. The pleasant seasonal
imagery “heart of summer” evokes the speaker’s love of nature. The familial address to the
reader “Brother” suggests that part of Kavanagh’s euphoric personal renaissance following
his survival from lung cancer was a new-found solidarity and community with his fellow man
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