3rd Year English

Seamus Heaney Scaffolding.

Question: (20 marks ) ; 4 paragraphs P.Q.E , 3 mins per paragraph =12 mins + 3 mins planning

1. ‘’The more you become familiar with a poem, the deeper your understanding of that poem
becomes.’’

Select a poem you have studied and explain how this statement applies to your understanding of
the poem.
Rough work:

Poem; Scaffolding, Seamus Heaney

4 paragraphs; 4 points

Par 1 Intro – content – what I know – Satire, wife, row, ‘scaffold’ building imagery.

Par 2- Metaphor – poetic technique ‘ secure all ladders, tighten bolted joints’’ ‘’ ‘’masons’’.

Par 3- poetic devices Enjambement & Regular rhyme scheme Run on lines to show; ‘’my dear’’ ‘’
if there seems to be old bridges breaking between me you and me’’

Par 4- Theme of love; reassuring wife, ending note ‘’let the scaffolds fall’’ ‘’we have built our
wall’’.

Concluding sentence (summing up points you’ve made, final comment about the poem)

Title of poem Scaffolding

Name of poet. Seamus Heaney

Intro The poem I have studied is ‘ Scaffolding’ by Seamus Heaney. This is a poem about Love and the
test of relationships. Heaney wrote this poem after an argument with his wife Marie. In the poem
Heaney hopes to reassure her of the strength and stability of their marriage. Heaney does this in his
usual joking way and presents a satire of their relationship and the different arguments that they
may have. He uses building imagery to compare their relationship to construction that is held up in
the first stages by ‘’scaffolds’’, once the couple have built their solid foundations, they can let the
scaffolds fall.

Par 2: In the poem Heaney uses the literary device of metaphor to compare his relationship to the
building process. He compares himself and Marie to building ‘’Masons’’ trying to create the
foundations of the relationship. He describes the first few years of the relationship and having to
build the bonds securely ‘’Secure all ladders, tighten bolted joints’’. Heaney depicts to the readers
the first stages of the relationship, the couple building their marriage.
Par 3: Heaney also uses the literary device of enjambment, which is the continuation of lines without
punction – to reinforce the fact that their love is ever lasting and will continue on despite any
arguments they may have. ‘’my dear’’ ‘’ if there seems to be old bridges breaking between me you
and me’’ , Heaney assures his wife that their love is strong enough to get through challenging times.
The poem has a regular rhyme scheme of (aa,bb,cc,dd,ee), which shows the structure and stability of
their relationship.

Par4 : The theme of the poem is love. Heaney helps us understand the strength of their relationship
through his constant use of imagery. Throughout the poem Heaney offers reassurance to Marie that
they can ‘ ’let the scaffolds fall’’ ‘’we have built our wall’’. No matter what they face their
relationship is strong enough to over come it.

In conclusion, the more we study the poem the deeper our understanding becomes of the strength
and resilience of the relationship between Heaney and his wife. Heaney offers the reader an
optimistic yet realistic outlook on marriage and relationships.