Search results
"Punishment" appears in Seamus Heaney's 1975 collection North, in which it's one of several poems about ancient, fossilized bodies dug up from Ireland's bogs. This poem contemplates the body of an execution victim: a young woman "scapegoat [ed]," hanged, and drowned for what the speaker imagines was the crime of adultery.
In the poem, the lyrical voice imagines the life of a girl charged with adultery. This ancient form of brutality relates to that of the end of the twentieth century and The Troubles in Ireland, relating past and present through an act of violence. ‘Punishment’ consists of 11 quatrains with no fixed rhyme scheme.
- Female
- Poetry Analyst
and tribal, intimate revenge. © by owner. provided at no charge for educational purposes. Analysis (ai): The poem depicts a horrific act of violence, the drowning of a young woman accused of adultery. The speaker's graphic description of her body, its beauty and decay, adds to the horror.
"Punishment" is a poem by Irish poet Seamus Heaney first published in his 1975 collection North. It, along with "Bog Queen", "The Grauballe Man", "Strange Fruit" and "The Tollund Man", is inspired by P.V. Glob's book, The Bog People. "Punishment" highlights similarities between Europe's ancient past and The Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Oct 11, 2023 · Seamus Heaney's 'Punishment' Poem Summary. 'Punishment' is one of Seamus Heaney's poems that explores the nature of violence and revenge within society. It was first published in the book North in 1975. It focuses specifically on a body that has been buried in a peat bog for around 2000 years.
Oct 14, 2023 · Seamus Heaney’s “Punishment” from his “North” collection is a heartbreaking reflection on pain and revenge. It’s stirred by the tragic tale of a young girl’s ancient remains found preserved in a German bog. This innocent, punished long ago for a mistake, speaks to the soul.
Seamus Heaney’s “Punishment,” initially published in his 1975 poetry collection North, explores the nature of cultural violence and revenge by comparing the ancient violence done to bog bodies with the Irish Republican Army’s (IRA) use of revenge tactics during the Troubles in Northern Ireland (See also: Further Reading).
