'Follower' | GCSE Revision Guide | AQA |

Summary

This GCSE revision guide by Glow Up Your Grades explores Seamus Heaney's poem 'Follower' from the love and relationships poetry cluster. The poem reflects on the complex relationship between a boy and his father as seen through the lens of a farmer's life. Heaney skillfully examines themes of admiration, inadequacy, and role reversal as the son grows older and their relationship evolves. Through vivid imagery and structural intricacies, the poem portrays the cycle of life and changing family dynamics, urging us to reflect on how we perceive and treat our parents over time.

Highlights

• The poem illustrates a son's admiration for his father's farming skills 🌿
• A role reversal occurs as the father ages and follows the son 🌟
• Heaney uses technical farming language to enrich the poem's imagery 🚜
• The poem is structured in a controlled ABAB rhyme scheme, reflecting plowing rhythm 🌾
• Contextual insights about Heaney's Irish heritage add depth 🇮🇪

Key Takeaways

• Understanding family dynamics through poetry 📖
• The inevitability of roles reversing with age 🔄
• Admiration and inadequacy in familial relationships ❤️
• Technical language enriches poetic analysis 🌾
• Contextual insights enhance comprehension 🕵️

Overview

Seamus Heaney's poem 'Follower' is a touching reflection on the evolving dynamics between a father and son. Set against the backdrop of rural farming life, the poem beautifully captures the boy's admiration for his father's expertise and strength. Through the eyes of this young admirer, we witness a vibrant depiction of farm life and the reverberating footsteps of a role model.

As the poem progresses, it reveals a poignant shift. The once energetic father, who was a beacon of reliability and proficiency, now stumbles behind his son. This reversal of roles portrays not just the aging process but also the sentimental complexities that weave through familial bonds.

Heaney's precise language and meticulous structure remind students and poetry lovers alike that the boundaries of personal reflection and poetic expression are often intertwined with broader themes. The poem underscores the importance of understanding both historical context and thematic depth, offering readers a rich tapestry of literary insights.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to 'Follower' by Sheamus Heene This chapter introduces the poem 'Follower' by Seamus Heaney. The poem is part of the love and relationships cluster and focuses on the speaker's idealization of his father. The speaker reflects on his childhood experiences on the farm, where his father played a central role. The speaker admired his father's strength and aspired to emulate him, although he felt he fell short of doing so.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Childhood Memories and Role Reversal In this chapter, the narrator reflects on their childhood memories where they used to follow their father around, imitating his actions. However, towards the end, there's a reversal of roles as the father begins to follow the narrator instead. This shift in roles prompts reflections on the changing perceptions of parents over time, highlighting the cyclic nature of life.
• 01:00 - 04:00: Analyzing the Father's Work and Symbolism The chapter describes the father expertly working with his horse plow. His skill is highlighted by the way he manages the horses and the plow, setting the wing and fitting the steel sock efficiently. The father's work with the land is depicted as harmonious and symbolic, showcasing his connection to the land and his expertise in maneuvering the team of horses.
• 04:00 - 07:00: The Son's Struggles and Admiration The chapter titled "The Son's Struggles and Admiration" explores a son's admiration for his father and his desire to emulate him despite facing various struggles. The son describes following his father's path around the farm, often stumbling and falling, which symbolizes his determination but also his struggles to keep up and become like his father. He expresses a longing to mature and adopt his father's skills and characteristics, even though he often feels like a nuisance as he tries to follow in his father's 'broad shadow'. The imagery of mapping and farmwork, and the son being carried by his father, underscores themes of admiration, aspiration, and the challenges of growing up.
• 07:00 - 10:00: Role Reversal - Present Day Reflection In this chapter titled 'Role Reversal - Present Day Reflection', the narrator reflects on a newly inverted dynamic with their father, who now appears dependent and trailing behind them. The narrative delves into complex segments that might be challenging to comprehend; however, the narrator is supportive, ensuring clarity by explaining each part step by step. Throughout the chapter, the narrator highlights particularly engaging quotations, rich with linguistic techniques, for further analysis, emphasizing their appeal and depth.
• 10:00 - 15:00: Form, Structure, and Contextual Analysis The chapter begins by emphasizing the importance of being able to analyze poetry, especially for exams. It suggests focusing on interpretations and specific words to prepare for long analytical paragraphs.
• 15:00 - 18:30: Heaney's Background and Poetic Inspiration This chapter delves into the background and poetic inspiration of Seamus Heaney, focusing on his father's influence on his work. A quoted line, "worked with the horse plow his shoulders glowed like a Full Sail strung between the Shar and The Farrow," is analyzed. The speaker's use of the possessive pronoun "my father" highlights the affection and strong bond he feels, while addressing his father as "father" denotes respect.

'Follower' | GCSE Revision Guide | AQA | Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 today we're going to be looking at a poem from the love and relationships cluster we're going to be looking at follower by Sheamus heene now this poem is about a speaker idealizing his father the speaker thinks about his childhood when he was growing up on the farm and the main person in his life at that time was his father and he admired his strength and he wanted to be just like like him but he felt that
• 00:30 - 01:00 somehow he was inherently different but still he followed his dad around trying his best to act like him to work like him and towards the end of the poem there's a reversal of roles and now his father is following him around so heene reflects on how over time the way we perceive our parents changes and this makes them think about the cycle of life let's read it my father worked with a
• 01:00 - 01:30 horse plow his shoulders glowed like a Full Sail strung between the shars and The Farrow the horses strained at his clicking tongue an expert he would set the wing and fit the bright steel pointed sock The Sod rolled over without breaking at the head rig with a single pluck of rains the sweating team turned around and back into the land his eye
• 01:30 - 02:00 narrowed and angled at the ground mapping The Farrow exactly I stumbled in his hop nailed wake fell sometimes on the polished sod sometimes he rode me on his back dipping and rising to his CLA I wanted to grow up and plow to close one eye stiffen my arm all I ever did was follow in his broad Shadow round the farm I was a nuisance tripping falling yapping
• 02:00 - 02:30 always but today it is my father who keeps stumbling behind me and will not go away there are some parts of this puing where it gets quite Technical and they can be a little bit confusing but that's okay cuz I've got you we're going to go through bit by bit figure out exactly what's going on and along the way I'm going to give you some of my favorite juicy quotations and when I say juicy I mean quotations that have interesting language devices that you could analyze
• 02:30 - 03:00 and give lots of interpretations for and words that you can zoom into so that if this poem comes up in your exam you feel confident that you can write a few detailed long analytical paragraphs about it let's start from the beginning the poem begins with the speaker describing his father's job on the farm introducing the reader to agricultural life he says my father
• 03:00 - 03:30 worked with the horse plow his shoulders glowed like a Full Sail strung between the Shar and The Farrow I want you to copy that quotation down and we can analyze it let's go deep there is a possessive pronoun when he says my father and that shows how much the speaker loves his father and feels this strong connection with him he addresses his dad in quite a formal way father displaying the respect he has for him
• 03:30 - 04:00 the equipment listed such as the horse plow the shafts The Farrow it implies how hard the father works and the range of his skills and then there's the simile his shoulders globed like a full sale strung and it emphasizes the speed and the purpose with which his father plows he has control and power over the horses just like a sail controls a boat's movements Against the Wind and stops the boat from sinking the verb
• 04:00 - 04:30 globed demonstrates the spherical shape of his father's shoulders and it highlights his physical strength and his masculinity but I actually think that symbol of the globe is really interesting it's indicative of the father being the center of the boy's Universe Globe he thinks the world of him we can probably look at that sibilance sail strung it creates this soft sound which
• 04:30 - 05:00 ju supposes with the father's power and indicates that despite his physical strength he also has a sensitivity and shares a loving relationship with his son he then says the horses strained at his clicking tongue an expert he would set the wing and fit the bright steel pointed sock so the horses basically they physically respond to his father's clicking of the tongue displaying the
• 05:00 - 05:30 speaker's admiration for him just like the horses and the poet uses a short sentence an expert and this blunt declarative sentence combined with the Cur shows that there is no other view possible he's an expert and that's that and the continuous references to his equipment once again highlights the strength and the expertise necessary to
• 05:30 - 06:00 carry out the work that he does so well the next bit is quite complicated so bear with me here there's lots of technical terminology but I want you to look at the line that says the sod rolls over without breaking Heeney describes the sod which is the Earth turning over but not breaking and that mirrors the father's energy suggesting how the dad doesn't get tired he doesn't stop grafting also the child it's clear that he's watching every detail of his dad's work he's
• 06:00 - 06:30 obviously fascinated observing him in the next part it's not just the father's physical strength that's celebrated it says his eye narrowed and angled at the ground macking the F exactly so when it says his eyes narrow and angle it highlights the level of focus and precision that his work Demands a farough is a long narrow trench made in the ground use for
• 06:30 - 07:00 planting and basically the dad without using any technology any Hightech like equipment he can just map out the requirements with his eye and the speaker admits how he feels awkward compared to his father's Brilliance he says I stumbled in his hob Nails wake fell sometimes on the polished sod copy that quotation down let's write some notes on it the first person I shows the first first time when the speaker
• 07:00 - 07:30 directly Compares himself to his father and reflects on the differences between the two rather than just glorifying his dad and the verb stumbled conveys the son's struggle to follow in his Father's Footsteps a hob nail is a nail on the sole of the shoe for a grip and there's a jux AOS between the son's clumsiness and the dad's stability
• 07:30 - 08:00 and that contrast is further emphasized by the image of the speaker falling in the polished sod which is the earth that his father has just perfectly plowed the adjective polished has connotations of beauty and cleanliness which shows how the speaker romanticizes his father's work we know that the Earth is not polished it's muddy and it's like dirty but the boy sees it as polish cuz his dad did it it says sometimes he rode me
• 08:00 - 08:30 on his back dipping and rising to his pla so the father riding the son on his back is almost described like waves dipping and rising and the sun feels secure navigating the highs and the lows of life as long as he is in the safety of his father's care he says I wanted to grow up and plow to close one eye stiffen my arm because he admired his
• 08:30 - 09:00 father throughout his childhood the speaker wanted to follow in his dad's footsteps and learn to plow hoping to one day emulate his father he says all I ever did was follow in his broad Shadow round the farm I was a nuisance tripping falling yapping always the level of inadequacy feeling like he's not good enough is explicit in this next s ction
• 09:00 - 09:30 the son feels like he's a failure and just follows his father's broad Shadow around the farm the phrase to be in someone's Shadow means to be second best or not quite up to that standard and that line also alludes to the title of the poem follower revealing he's perception of himself tripping falling yapping compared to his successful father and that triplet emphasizes how annoying his presence must have been to his father as well as how hopeless he
• 09:30 - 10:00 felt trying to copy him during his childhood and it says but today it is my father who keeps stumbling behind me and will not go away that conjunction but today shifts the focus to the present day and in this ending the roles of the speaker and the father have suddenly and dramatically reversed the father is now old and frail and is stumbling behind the Sun and it's is the son who feels
• 10:00 - 10:30 frustrated and dismissive of him I feel like this ending comes so quickly and unexpectedly that it seems to mirror how quickly we age old age just creeps up on you even the strongest person it's inevitable before you know it whoa I'm 30 however unlike parents who put up with children during the weak stage of their life children don't always share the same tolerance and patience with their
• 10:30 - 11:00 parents when you're a baby and you're crying and you're not letting anyone sleep your parents look after you they will feed you they will love you they will look after you but then when parents get older and they are weaker and they need help do we offer them that same level of care so the poet ends with a deep message for people to take away about familial relationships and the treatment of the elderly in society now this poem is written in the the form of a dramatic monologue so one
• 11:00 - 11:30 person is speaking and it's set out in six regular quatrains it has a ABAB rhyme scheme as well as half rhyme so that very controlled structure represents the ordered rhythm of plowing as well as how fixed this memory is in the speaker's mind so that's a bit of analysis for you we've got some good quotations that you could talk about in your exam we've looked at language devices and we've
• 11:30 - 12:00 looked at some structural devices but in your exam there is one more thing you need to do you also need to mention context and all that means is you need to talk about something that was going on during the time the poem was written or tell me a bit about the poet's life and then link that to the message of this poem why did the poet bother to write this poem what were they trying to make the reader think some interesting
• 12:00 - 12:30 context points for follower are Heeney was brought up in a simple rural family and was the eldest of nine children he was born in Northern Ireland and was from a farming Community where physical labor was valued and this man he had a lot of pressure to conform to the expectations of his environment and upbringing but he became an English teacher and began to write poetry he became the professor of poetry at Oxford
• 12:30 - 13:00 and in 1995 he won the Nobel Prize for literature he was also offered the role of poet Laurette which is an honor given by the king or the queen to be the national poet Heeney turned down though because of his strong Irish roots and identity he often wrote about his Irish heritage as well as his family now this poem is from a collection Called Death of a naturalist written in the 60s just
• 13:00 - 13:30 before the Irish troubles many of the poems in that Anthology focused on childhood memories and growing up so there you have it a full analysis of follower by Shane Masini I hope you found this video helpful if you did please give it a like and don't forget to check out the rest of the videos in this series