Detailed analysis and contextual notes about Storm on the Island, a poem written by Seamus Heaney. These notes can be used for revision purposes and aid when answering AQA English GCSE questions about the portrayal of power and conflict in poems. It includes key quotes and their significance
How is power/conflict shown in Storm on the Island?
In Storm on the Island by Seamus Heaney, nature is presented as an unforgiving
power that constantly controls humans through fear. Seamus Heaney explores the
battle of nature and those who live amongst it. He repeatedly refers to the
community using the pronouns ‘we’. These are personal pronouns and create a
sense of unity. The island all share similar fears over the possible incoming storm
and these shared experiences bring them together. ‘We are prepared’. This shows
that even though there is a lack of power in humans, we can still have hope and a
strong will. Hope is the only thing keeping the humans on the island sane against
all the fears they are surrounded by. There is also a theme of tragedy throughout
the poem. This is shown through the loneliness described on the island. There is no
companionship between humans and nature. ‘Nor are there trees which might prove
company’.
Towards the end of the poem, there is a volta and a semantic field of war is brought
in. Much military language is used; ‘we are bombarded by the empty air’. This
phrase also has many plosive sounds which emphasise the picture of a battlefield.
Finally, to end the poem, Seamus Heaney says ‘Strange, it is a huge nothing that we
fear’. This leaves the reader open to interpretation. I think of this line as a
metaphorical analogy for the fear that humans have of the unknown.
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