Here I’m sharing poem “Punishment” by seamus Heaney :
I can feel the tug
of the halter at the nape
of her neck, the wind
on her naked front.
It blows her nipples
to amber beads,
it shakes the frail rigging
of her ribs.
I can see her drowned
body in the bog,
the weighing stone,
the floating rods and boughs.
Under which at first
she was a barked sapling
that is dug up
oak-bone, brain-firkin:
her shaved head
like a stubble of black corn,
her blindfold a soiled bandage,
her noose a ring
to store
the memories of love.
Little adulteress,
before they punished you
you were flaxen-haired,
undernourished, and your
tar-black face was beautiful.
My poor scapegoat,
I almost love you
but would have cast, I know,
the stones of silence.
I am the artful voyeuur
of your brain’s exposed
and darkened combs,
your muscles’ webbing
and all your numbered bones:
I who have stood dumb
when your betraying sisters,
cauled in tar,
wept by the railings,
who would connive
in civilized outrage
yet understand the exact
and tribal, intimate revenge.
of the halter at the nape
of her neck, the wind
on her naked front.
It blows her nipples
to amber beads,
it shakes the frail rigging
of her ribs.
I can see her drowned
body in the bog,
the weighing stone,
the floating rods and boughs.
Under which at first
she was a barked sapling
that is dug up
oak-bone, brain-firkin:
her shaved head
like a stubble of black corn,
her blindfold a soiled bandage,
her noose a ring
to store
the memories of love.
Little adulteress,
before they punished you
you were flaxen-haired,
undernourished, and your
tar-black face was beautiful.
My poor scapegoat,
I almost love you
but would have cast, I know,
the stones of silence.
I am the artful voyeuur
of your brain’s exposed
and darkened combs,
your muscles’ webbing
and all your numbered bones:
I who have stood dumb
when your betraying sisters,
cauled in tar,
wept by the railings,
who would connive
in civilized outrage
yet understand the exact
and tribal, intimate revenge.
Seamus Heaney’s punishment was inspired by the Discovery of a dead body of a young girl who was believed to be killed on the charge of edultury.Heaney developed a facinationary around 1970 for the iron age bodies that had been found in bogs throughout Iraland and Denmark.The ancient bodies found in this bogs were sacrifices of a time long ago and this provided Heaney with a source of inspiration that contained links to both Iraland and the lands history In this poem he has shown darker side which had violent quality.
There is a theme of revenge and punishment is given brutally and without understanding, hence the title is appropriate ”Punishment”. Heaney also three this as an ancient example of brutality and links it with modern form of brutality which is evident of irish rebel’s killing of Irish girls who marry British soldier in this poem Heaney puts brutality at the center and links past and present history and modern time then and now and there and here. what the poet wants to show to his reader is-the continuation from ancient time to modern time is cruelty, brutality and primitivism.
The poet shows his sorrow and pity to the girl who was punished on the charge of adultery. He says:”my poor scapegoat.” which indicates that she is the alone victim of the so called crime of the adultery seems her partner is not punished because he is male.”She alone is punished for their so called criminal act, but she becomes scapegoat in the 1st three stanzas’ the poet uses his sympathetic imagination and describes the way the girl was punished on the charge of adultery. The poet creates the picture of a weak of fragile girl who seems to be suffering her pain and agonies when the girl was punished, she was pulled with a rope tide to her neck ,and she was made necked. The girl was stabling with called, and her whole body was shaking she was treated as if she was not human but a known-living entity. The poet also remembers how her eyes were blind folded so that she could not see the world her head was also shaved with an old knife. The poet laments that instead of ring .she was given a noose, and finally she was buried alive the stones, roads and boughs were used to cover the bog.
The poet from the 5th stanza to the seven stanza beautifies the dead body and attempts to create a mental picture of the girl when she was alive.
“He compares saved head to stubble of black corn” and the noose to a ring and he imagines a beautiful picture of the girl as silky haired and her beautiful face with a far-black face.
In the 6th stanza the poet makes it clear that she was killed on the charge of adultery but this adultery for making love,loving someone is not a crime.
In the 8th stanza the poet shows his helplessness that he could do nothing to save the girl. This stanza raises the serious question about the role of an artist in a situation in which the innocent people victimized the poet observes that the role of a poet/of himself is a role of a “voyeur “that is one, who can observe the scene from a distance only to draw it artistically.
In the last two stanzas of the poem. The poet repeat the same role of passive observer and links past and presents. He compares the brutality of tribleman of 1st century and the brutality of Irish revolutionary army. What the poet observes it. the form of brutality it same in both past and present innocence are victimize for the crime in Ireland the Irish girl who married British soldier were brutally killed bt Irish revolutionary army.
The marriage between an Irish girl and the British soldier was viewed as an act of betraying Irish nationalism or Irish revolution as suggested by the term “your betraying sisters”. The poet seems to be mocking the calm of modern man being civilized and the poet in this poem has shown that though there is a constant claim of civilization but the modern man an their base nature is constituted by brutality, in humanity atrocity an cruelty .
Seamus Heaney is Irish and he engages themes in his poems with Irish culture, tradition or the convention.
There is a theme of revenge and punishment is given brutally and without understanding, hence the title is appropriate ”Punishment”. Heaney also three this as an ancient example of brutality and links it with modern form of brutality which is evident of irish rebel’s killing of Irish girls who marry British soldier in this poem Heaney puts brutality at the center and links past and present history and modern time then and now and there and here. what the poet wants to show to his reader is-the continuation from ancient time to modern time is cruelty, brutality and primitivism.
The poet shows his sorrow and pity to the girl who was punished on the charge of adultery. He says:”my poor scapegoat.” which indicates that she is the alone victim of the so called crime of the adultery seems her partner is not punished because he is male.”She alone is punished for their so called criminal act, but she becomes scapegoat in the 1st three stanzas’ the poet uses his sympathetic imagination and describes the way the girl was punished on the charge of adultery. The poet creates the picture of a weak of fragile girl who seems to be suffering her pain and agonies when the girl was punished, she was pulled with a rope tide to her neck ,and she was made necked. The girl was stabling with called, and her whole body was shaking she was treated as if she was not human but a known-living entity. The poet also remembers how her eyes were blind folded so that she could not see the world her head was also shaved with an old knife. The poet laments that instead of ring .she was given a noose, and finally she was buried alive the stones, roads and boughs were used to cover the bog.
The poet from the 5th stanza to the seven stanza beautifies the dead body and attempts to create a mental picture of the girl when she was alive.
“He compares saved head to stubble of black corn” and the noose to a ring and he imagines a beautiful picture of the girl as silky haired and her beautiful face with a far-black face.
In the 6th stanza the poet makes it clear that she was killed on the charge of adultery but this adultery for making love,loving someone is not a crime.
In the 8th stanza the poet shows his helplessness that he could do nothing to save the girl. This stanza raises the serious question about the role of an artist in a situation in which the innocent people victimized the poet observes that the role of a poet/of himself is a role of a “voyeur “that is one, who can observe the scene from a distance only to draw it artistically.
In the last two stanzas of the poem. The poet repeat the same role of passive observer and links past and presents. He compares the brutality of tribleman of 1st century and the brutality of Irish revolutionary army. What the poet observes it. the form of brutality it same in both past and present innocence are victimize for the crime in Ireland the Irish girl who married British soldier were brutally killed bt Irish revolutionary army.
The marriage between an Irish girl and the British soldier was viewed as an act of betraying Irish nationalism or Irish revolution as suggested by the term “your betraying sisters”. The poet seems to be mocking the calm of modern man being civilized and the poet in this poem has shown that though there is a constant claim of civilization but the modern man an their base nature is constituted by brutality, in humanity atrocity an cruelty .
Seamus Heaney is Irish and he engages themes in his poems with Irish culture, tradition or the convention.
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