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Follower : Key info

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Follower is a notable literary work by Seamus Heaney. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, and various study materials of Follower.

Key info

Key Facts

  • Poet: Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)
  • Full Title: Follower
  • First Published: 1966 in his poetry collection, Death of a Naturalist
  • Form: Six quatrains (4-line stanzas)
  • Lines: 24
  • Meter: “Follower” is mostly written in iambic tetrameter, meaning that the lines consist of four sets of iambs or eight syllables, an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. Take line 5:

An ex- | pert. He | would set | the wing

  • Rhyme Scheme: ABAB throughout the poem
  • Tone: Admiring, nostalgic, and emotional
  • Setting: A farm in rural Ireland, where Heaney’s father ploughs the fields
  • Speaker: The poet himself (as an adult remembering his childhood)
  • Main Characters: The poet and his father