Comparison of Heaneys at a Potato Digging and Hardys Autumn Midnight free essay sample

In their poems ‘At a Potato Digging’ and ‘A Sheep Fair’ they describe different aspects of rural life; these were elements of life that would have been familiar to the poets and ones that they would have experienced. In their poetry Heaney and Hardy show an appreciation of rural life and the traditions and subsequent hardships that people would have dealt with as part of their lives. Heaney’s ‘At a Potato Digging’ describes the way in which the Irish people farmed the land and relied upon the earth for sustenance. Hardy’s ‘A Sheep Fair’ draws a picture of the animal fairs that would have been an integral part of the farming life and the British rural community. Both poets use language and techniques to show these events as, at times, unpleasant and difficult, experiences. In Heaney’s ‘At a Potato Digging’ the language sets up the close relationship between man and the earth and the cruel treatment man receives by the earth. The labourers are shown to work hard; the verb ‘swarm’ in the first stanza is used to show the frantic and busy nature of their work. This is followed by ‘ fingers go dead in the cold. ’ This metaphor for the workers illustrates how cruel the labour and working conditions were. The simile used in the second stanza compares the labourers to ‘crows’ that are entrapped by the land- unable to escape; they must scavenge, like crows, for survival. Similarly ‘A Sheep Fair’ draws a picture of rural life as unpleasant and difficult. The repetition of rainfall throughout the poem emphasises the uncomfortable hardship of this work: ‘And torrents fall’. This phrase is repeated at the end of the first stanza and the theme of ‘wetness’ is continued in stanza two: ‘The buyers’ hat- brims fill like pails,/ Which spill small cascades†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ The rain here reflects the tone of this poem as the poem is similar to a funeral dirge- the sheep are being hastened to their doom. This is comparable to the tone in ‘At a Potato Digging’. Here we have a tone of detachment and monotony in relation to the labourers and the dehumanizing effect of their work. This is achieved through synecdoche; in stanza three the workers are referred to simply as body parts: ‘Heads bow, trunks bend, hands fumble†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ This loss of identity strips the worker of personality and emphasises their servitude. This theme of servitude is further emphasised in ‘At a Potato Digging’ by the structure and rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme is ABAB- it is repetitive and this reflects the monotonous nature of the work. The poem also uses enjambment throughout to symbolise the continuous motion of their labour: ‘Some pairs keep breaking ranks to fetch/ A full creel to the pit and straighten, stand/ Tall for a moment but soon stumble back†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ This example of enjambment between stanzas two and three show us that although the labourers may have moments of dignity and accomplishment they must ‘fall’ back to work in order to survive. ‘A Sheep Fair’ also uses a regular rhyme scheme and structure. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCCCDD. This shows the rhythmical and methodical way in which the sheep fair would have worked through the lots of sheep for sale. The CCCC is used as listing and this increases the pace of the poem and reflects the busyness of the fair. This also captures snapshot moments of the fair from the poet’s memory: ‘Their horns are soft as finger- nails,/ Their shepards reek against the rails,/ The tied dogs soak with tucked- in tails,/ The buyers’ hats fill like pails†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ These lines also use alliteration to emphasise the methodical motions of the events of the fair; they create a pace and rhythm in the poem. A Sheep Fair’ also uses a POSTSCRIPT as part of its structure. This is to show the passage of time- time has moved on and the sheep fair is now a memory. Like ‘At a Potato Digging’ nature is cruel and here time’s passing has been cruel- the sheep have ‘long since bled’ and ironically the auctioneer ‘who â€Å"Going- Going† so often said’ has also died. In ‘At a Potato Digging’ modernity is juxtaposed to traditional farming methods. This coupled with the violent vocabulary in the word ‘wrecked’ allows the reader to see the cruelty of the earth and the servile attitude of the labourers. There is also the use of religious language in this poem- ‘Processional stooping through the turf/ Recurs mindlessly as autumn†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ This shows the reader how the labourers bow to the earth, they make it their ‘altar’. The vocabulary used in this last stanza is an abundance of single syllable words. This gives the poem a harsh, jarring quality. It shows the raw power of nature and man’s subservience to ‘mother nature’: ‘fear’, ‘sod’ and ‘god’. ‘A Sheep Fair’ also uses language and sound to reflect the busy and quick pace of the fair. Alliteration is used in the first stanza to show the methodical nature of the auction: ‘†¦ round them reared’ and ‘lot by lot.. ’ This device is developed in the second stanza- ‘reek against the rails’ and tucked- in tails’. The alliteration also provides the poem with a lyrical quality that emphasises that this is a memory. The alliteration continues into the third and final stanza: ‘wet/ And wooly wear’ and ‘ meek, mewed band.. ’ Here the alliteration focuses on the description of the unfortunate sheep that the poet remembers were sent to their death. Both poets successfully use language, imagery and structure to capture pictures of rural life. They both create a tone that is quite negative and reflects the hardship of that life. Personally I preferred ‘At a Potato Digging’ as it creates real pathos for the labourers. The religious imagery seems to almost hearken back to the fall of mankind and the curse that was then put upon man to live by the sweat of his brow. There is that suggestion that the earth, which is meant to nurture and sustain has cruelly turned its back upon the workers; we know from history and the Irish potato famine that this was the case for many Irish farmers. When it comes to depicting hardship I think Heaney does it best. Although there is the definite suggestion that the sheep fair was wet and uncomfortable there is almost a fondness in the depth of the memory as it is retold in ‘A Sheep Fair’. The vivid memory and the snapshot images have an element of nostalgia to them that is quite positive in tone. Both poets give us visual depictions of scenes that they were both clearly familiar with.