Seamus Heaney’s Early life and Poetic Influence

(McManus, 1971) Seamus Heaney at Co.Wicklow

 In April 1939, Heaney was born into a Catholic family in Derry, Northern Ireland. Heaney describes the earth as being a “continual inspiration” (Green, 2000) for his writing and weaves primitive Irish wilderness and identity through his poetry whilst simultaneously exploring life, loss and political conflict.

Throughout his poems, Heaney uses his Irish identity as a voice for those who faced discrimination during ‘The Troubles’ in Northern Ireland. He used poems such as ‘North’ and ‘Punishment’ to illustrate the conflict that occurred while he was growing up.

 

Heaney’s poetry digs into the complexities of human experience and frequently uses natural imagery to paint this extraordinary picture. He expresses that the memory of his childhood physical environment was a “sensation rather than an intellection that returns to him” (Heaney, 2013) which is why his poetry can capture the natural world so vividly. For Heaney, his poetry was frequently inspired by a ‘memory’ and described this creative process as “something you’d forgotten that comes up like a living gift” (Heaney, 2013) and combined them with life experiences to shape his work.

 

 

‘Making sense of a life’ - Interview with Seamus Heaney (The NewsHouse, 2010)

In this interview, Heaney expresses his beliefs on the power of poetry and its ability to be a “consciousness” and a “voice” (Heaney, 2013) for those who are facing social and political injustice. Heaney also touches on his personal experience of political conflict and how it has influenced his poetry.