8/2/2019 TPCASTT Sheet- Storm on the Island

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Poetry Analysis- TPCASTT

Title: Storm on the Island

Author: Seamus Heaney

Rhyme Scheme/Meter: Free Verse

T Title The title of this particular Heaney poem leads me to believe, prior to reading it,

that its about the dangers of the weather. Being raised in a rural part of Ireland

as a farmers son likely instilled in the Heaney the importance and the dangers

of the weather.

P Paraphrase N/A

C Connotation Throughout the entire poem Heaney uses words, descriptions, imagery, etc.

that have negative connotations. This can be seen at the beginning of the poem

through the following examples: our houses squat line 1, sink walls in rock

line 2, etc. Then this continues through the middle of the poem as seen in the

following examples: listen to the thing you fear line 9, forgetting that itpummels your house line 10, exploding comfortably down on the cliffs line

13, etc. Finally, this continues all the way to the end of the poem as shown in

the following examples: turned savage line 16, strafes invisibly, space is a

salvo line 17, bombarded by the empty air line 18, etc. Heaney does this in

order to convey properly the danger of living on a cottage on a cliff on the Irish

coast during a bad storm.

A Attitude Throughout the poem Heaney has a mood/attitude of suspense, danger, and

fear which reflects the connotations that he uses throughout the poem in order

to convey to the reader the poems theme.

S Shifts The poem only really has one shift within it and that is the shift near the

beginning of the poem between Heaney describing what its like before the

storm and then during the storm. Heaney uses this in order to contrast the two

periods for the reader.

T Title While this poem is about the dangers of storms and the feeling which that

danger inspires, this particular poem is not a reference to Heaneys own

personal experiences but rather a generic allusion to living in a cottage on one

of the main cliffs along the Irish coast during a bad storm. Thus provoking, or

Heaney at least hoping to provoke, larger emotional understanding as it

pertains to the storm.

T Theme The theme of this poem is the fearful emotions that emerge within one who

lives on the cliffs of the Irish coast during a bad storm. The storm causes one to

perceive its destructive power and the terrible ruckus which it creates, yet it

ends up doing nothing to the people who live in the cottages on these cliffs.Thus bringing up the famous adage (as seen in the final line of the poem) that

there is nothing to fear but fear itself.