The collection started out rather nicely, with a couple of poems which are dedicated to his mother. Although these two come across as slightly abstract in their imagery, after reading through them once or twice the intimacy which the poet has with the subject matter is obvious. These two poems also seem to have the warmest tone out of the entire collection, making them a nice starting-read to ease you into ‘Part 1’.

Part 1

This section plunges the reader straight into the realms of Greek Mythology with a poem entitled ‘Antaeus’. It then changes to a number of works regarding Ireland, with the heavily recurring themes of bog land and identity. The works themselves don’t seem to have any heavily set rhythm or rhyme to them, although Heaney does use rhyme, alliteration and enjambment on a number of occasions. I couldn’t help but to feel as though the latter of the methods, along with his short sentences and slightly difficult-to-follow imagery only served to give the poems a disjointed feel. That isn’t to say that these works seem to be scrawlings of nonsense. Indeed, within them there are a few true gems which really capture the message of the collection. Such as “When he stripped off blanket bog / The soft piled centuries / Fell open like a glib”, from the poem ‘Belderg’. The section ends with ‘Hercules and Antaeus’, almost as though it was coming full circle back to the Greek mythology written about in the first poem.

Part 2

This section began by throwing me a little. Expecting a poem of the same type of feel as those in the previous part, it instead began with a prose-poem. The first word, “Archimedes” is yet another tip of the hat to Heaney’s love of Greek mythology, although the prose-poem then goes on without another mention of it. As it turned out, ‘The Unacknowledged Legislator’s Dream’ was probably one of my favourite poems of the entire collection, with the last line of “Were those your eyes just now at the hatch?” leaving me as a reader with a chill running down my spine. Especially when taking into consideration the poems which occurred previously within the collection. In this regard, I can certainly see why this work was put in near the end of the book.

The rest of the poems in this part tend to not feel as disjointed as their Part 1 predecessors. They also cover more modern aspects of Irish national identity, moving away from the Vikings and Celts to concentrate on a period known as ‘The Troubles’. Whether Heaney meant to make these poems more accessible to his readers on purpose is not really something I’d count on, but nevertheless they do seem to be a little easier to follow.

Opinions

Although there’s nothing glaringly wrong with this collection of poems, after having been blown away by his translation of Beowulf, I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed, and even a little bitter at having spent £9.99 on this book. The few gems of genius within a few of the poems were, I felt, overshadowed by the disjointed and difficult-to-grasp aspects of the text. These works were surprisingly difficult to follow, and unless the reader has knowledge of Irish Ancient history or Greek Mythology, some of the poems are more or less completely inaccessible. Although the book doesn’t come over as particularly pretentious, I feel that it nevertheless shows a certain unconscious elitism on Heaney’s behalf. I also can’t help wondering that the poet made it intentional for non-Irish people to find the poems hard to follow. Whilst that’s obviously his choice, it did irk me that there seemed to be a barrier between me and the poetry, thus hindering my enjoyment of it.

All in all, a few good pieces here…although unless you’re Irish, I’d get it from a local library or second-hand bookshop instead of spending so much money on it straight away.

Plot Outline: This is a story narrated by one of the Pilgrims from Chaucer’s ‘Canterbury Tales’. The story itself comes after a long prologue by the narrator, in which she describes her various husbands and her own sensibilities (or arguable lack thereof). The tale itself is about a knight who is due to be executed for a misdeed, unless he find out within a year exactly what it is that women seek. After finding no answer, the man comes across a loathly lady, who tells him that she will give him the correct answer, if he should pledge to do something for her in return. The man complies readily, and she informs him that all women want is matriarchy. The knight returns and tells the correct answer to the court, whereupon the loathly lady steps forward and tells the knight to marry her. He does so entirely against his own wishes. On their wedding knight, the lady asks the knight a question, whereupon he tells her to do as she wishes, ensuring an ending befitting both of them.

Characters: The Wife herself has come under much critical scrutiny for decades, and for good reason. The narrator of this tale is a lively, rounded character that has that edge of realism that many characters in modern novels seem to lack. Similarly, the Lady in the tale seems to be a character that the reader roots for. Whether by design or accident, the Knight on the other had is someone that changes his mindset drastically within the space of a few lines, and his characterisation seems to change solely for the story, thus making him rather flat. The Knight is also a character that the readership doesn’t particularly care for, and for this reason the anxiety that might be felt for his situation isn’t present.

Style: Well, unless you’ve got yourself a translation, it’s written in Middle English, for a start. The style itself is that of a poem, using a rhyme scheme that is surprisingly easy to follow. Youwill find yourself wanting to read the poem out loud in order to get into the flow properly, but there were no points at which the style doubled back on itself or turned into something else. Consistency ruled ok. Thankfully.

Opinions: I have mixed feelings about this Canterbury Tale. Although I immensely enjoy the portrayal of the Wife herself, the Prologue to the Tale can be rather slow in places. That’s easy enough to skip over however, and apart from the sudden turn of mind the Knight has at the end of the actual tale (something which seemed to go against his character and therefore became a peeve), the story itself is a rather intriguing one. Would I recommend it? Only if you’re familiar with Chaucerian style, and you enjoy similar stories of ‘English Legend’, such as those of King Arthur.

Audience: Young Teenagers +

Plot Outline: Two Knights, Arcite and Palamon, are captured by Duke Theseus of Athens. Whilst in prison, Palamon looks out of the window to see Emily in the garden below him and falls instantly in love. His moan of love is heard by Arcite, who then looks out of the window to also see the woman. The two men argue over Emily’s love, causing them to break the bond of brotherhood they held to one another. After a number of years, both escape the prison and are interrupted in their fighting by Theseus, who – by request of Emily and his wife to spare the convicts lives – decrees that Emily’s hand will be won by the victor of a tournament. A year passes and the fight begins, each of the men praying to their Gods for victory…

Characters: With a ‘main cast’ of four characters, it’s easy to keep up with who-is-who. Despite the plot being mostly action base, the development of each of the main characters is interesting to see. The female, Emily, is given a voice rather late-on in the story, but this is a strategy that works well to jostle the way in which she’s seen through the earlier parts. I found it easy to warm to each of the characters, and although they all seem to be flawed in some way, that merely serves to make them more realistic.

Style: Unlike the Miller’s Tale, the Knight’s Tale is written in a higher vocabulary, with the use of rhetorical devices. It’s written in Middle English, although you’re able to get some rather good translations if you’d prefer to read in modern language. The tale has a nice flow to it, with each line rhyming with another. Although admittedly, the somewhat archaic word order might take a bit of getting used to for those who aren’t familiar with it.

Critics: The Knight’s Tale is the most critiqued of all the Canterbury Tales. Every theme from Marriage (G. Kitteredge) to Mercenaries (T. Jones) has been looked at over the years. Such criticisms are interesting to look at, allowing a view of the tale that may not previously have been thought of.

Opinions: I can certainly see why this tale has received so much literary criticism. It’s a good read, although I’d have to be honest and say it isn’t for anyone searching for a ‘light read’. For those of you who enjoy epic poetry or myths and legends, you might want to give this a try. Translations of the poem are even found online, so unless you want it in book form, you don’t need to spend a penny.

Audience: 16 / 18+