Brief Analysis of a Poem Anahorish

Categories: Language

Analysis, Pages 2 (286 words)

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1959

A poem from Wintering out (1972) still early days in the “troubles” Anahorish is a place in south Derry, just a few kilometers south of Heaney's family farm. In gaelic it translates roughly to “hill of spring water”

My “place of clear water,”
The first hill in the world.
This suggests that literally, Anahorish was the first place Seamus grew up in, but also water symbolizes inspiration in Heaney's poems, so this also suggests it was his first place of inspiration. Anahorish primary was Heany's primary school, and so first place of learning, and literature so this enforces the idea that Anahorish was his first place where he grew inspiration.
The second verse begins with a darker approach, “and darkened cobbles
In the bed of the lane.” this suggests that Anahorish also had some of Heanys first “bad” memorys, possibly a young heaneys first glance at the troubles? Anahorish, soft gradient
Of consonant, vowel-meadow
This is simply describing the actual word, “Anahorish” soft gradient a refrence to hills, and vowel-meadow, a description of the high amount of vowels in the word, and another nature refrence.
Those mound dwellers
Go waist-deep in mist
To break the light ice at wells and dunghills.
Mist and ice are both forms of water, and so in heanys world, inspiration, however as the liquid and gas form, this represents inspiration which cannot be found, even though it is there.

“to break the ice at wells and dunghills” means that you have to put effort in breaking the ice to reach the water underneath it, and so suggesting that you have to work, or search for inspiration.