Do Now:

How many
SYNONYMS can
you think of for the
word
‘FOLLOWER’?
Challenge: Explain the
different ways each image
could symbolise the role and
attributes of a father?

Undemonstrative: not
tending to express feelings,
especially of affection, openly.
Stoical: enduring pain and
hardship without showing one's
feelings or complaining.
SEAMUS HEANEY
My father was a creature of the archaic world, really. His
side of the family, and the houses I associate with his side
of the family, belonged to a traditional rural Ireland.
Also, nowadays, I am more and more conscious of him as
somebody who was orphaned early on in life. His own
father had died suddenly when he was quite young. His
mother died of breast cancer. So he and his siblings were
then fostered out and reared by aunts and uncles. My
father grew up with three bachelor uncles, men who were
in the cattle trade in a fairly substantial way, travelling
back and forward to markets in the north of England, and
it was from them that he learned the cattle trade. So the
house where he spent his formative years was a place
where there were no women, a place where the style was
undemonstrative and stoical.
All that affected him and, of course, it came through to us
in his presence and his personality.
Homework: How does Seamus Heaney present the theme of admiration in ‘Follower’?
Write TWO analytical paragraphs (success criteria will be provided).
Due Thursday 1st October
 DO NOW: identify examples of the following and annotate, explaining why
you think they have been used.
■ Technical terms from farming - emphasising his father’s skill, expertise, and
the relationship - passing on the legacy, cultural heritage
■ Nautical references - shows father’s strength, power, he is almighty ineffortless
his
son’s eyes - sense of guidance
■ Active verbs - creates sense that his father is always working, emphasises
his skill / power
■ Onomatopoeia - his dominion / control over horses
■ Contrast / juxtaposing ideas and images - son feels like he’s failing,
reminiscing and missing his dependence on his father - end of the poem -
father’s role and power has diminished
■ Volta - a rhetorical shift or dramatic change in thought and/or emotion.
DO NOW: identify examples of the following and annotate, explaining why
you think they have been used.

effortless
■ Technical terms from farming – wing, sock, headrig
■ Active verbs – rolled, stumbled, tripping, faltering, yapping
■ Onomatopoeia – clicking, pluck, yapping
■ Contrast – father’s control is effortless (clicking tongue, single pluck/ of reins)
while powerful horses (sweating team) strain
■ Words of precision – polished, exactly
 The simile shows that just as sails
The assonant long ‘o’ sounds emphasise
harness the power of the wind, he
the broadness of his shoulders
harnesses the power of the horses
and uses them to plough

My father worked with a horse-plough,

His shoulders globed like a full sail strung Onomatopoeia
draws attention to
Between the shafts and the furrow.
his skill – he can
The verb The horse strained at his clicking tongue control the powerful
suggests tough, horses just by
physical work clicking his tongue

Shafts – wooden poles which

harness the horse to the plough
Furrow – a long trench in the soil
made by the plough
It shows that he is technically skilled as well Repetition of the hard sounding letters ‘k’ and
as strong. The short sentence means it is an ‘t’ reflect the precision of his work
inarguable statement

‘rolled’ and
‘breaking’
continue the An expert. He would set the wing
nautical imagery. And fit the bright steel-pointed sock.
The sods are like
rolling waves – the
The sod rolled over without breaking.
father is so skilled At the headrig, with a single pluck 
that he can roll the
sod without
breaking it

Wing – Part of the frame of the plough The enjambment

Sock – the blade that went into the soil imitates how his father
Sod – grass-covered earth turns the horses around
Headrig – a strip of land at the end of a
field that is left unploughed
 They work as
one with the
land

Of reins, the sweating team turned round

And back into the land. His eye
Technical skills
Narrowed and angled at the ground,
Mapping the furrow exactly. 

This stanza changes the emphasis from the

contrast between the father’s skill and the
clumsiness of his son – he won’t grow up
to be like his father
A reference to a ship’s wake This paternal image
The boots are
creates an image of choppy shows that they have
sturdy – like his
water – the son finds it a good relationship –
dad
difficult to follow his father he is patient and
loving with his son

I stumbled in his hob-nailed wake, He describes his father like a

Fell sometimes on the polished sod; ship riding the ‘dipping’ and
Sometimes he rode me on his back ‘rising’ waves of the furrows.
Dipping and rising to his plod.  The rhythm of the poem
seems to dip and rise – like
the movement of being on
his father’s back

Wake – The path left by a ship as

it moves through the water
 ‘plough’ and ‘follow’ are half
He feels like a
rhymes – suggests that he hasn’t
failure for not
been able to follow in his father’s
learning how to
footsteps
plough

I wanted to grow up and plough,

To close one eye, stiffen my arm.
All I ever did was follow
In his broad shadow round the farm.

He felt like he was living in

his father’s shadow. He
wanted to be as skilful and
impressive as he was
 The list of verbs and enjambment Caesura makes the change to the present
emphasises the narrator’s clumsy tense sudden and unexpected – heightens the
persistence impact of the final few sentences

I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,

Yapping always. But today 
It is my father who keeps stumbling
Behind me, and will not go away.

Earlier the boy was

The narrator might
stumbling, now it is
be frustrated that
the father
the father won’t go
The follower in the title is away or he may be
now the father – the title glad that they have
refers to them both at a strong bond
different times
How does the speaker present his emotions about his father?
When Heaney, almost surprising himself, notes “but
today/it is my father who keeps stumbling” we are left
Success Criteria
doubting whether or not he still reveres his father, his
ability to ‘plough’ having weakened due to time and
- Sophisticated ideas
age. Nevertheless it’s shocking, it seems, as ‘today’ his - Judicious range of embedded quotations
father appears to be a shadow of the man he once was; - Range of language devices
the speaker wishes to get rid of him as opposed to - Detailed language analysis
‘follow’ him around. The contrast highlighted through - Alternative interpretations
nouns such as ‘today’ and ‘father’ reveal how Heaney’s
feelings towards his father have changed- is it an
- Examination of effect on the reader
inevitable part of the parent/child relationship? The
use of the possessive pronoun in ‘my father’ would
suggest there is of course affection there but perhaps
now it is not as full of admiration as it once was. The
readers are left wondering what has happened
between father and son which now means the father is
‘behind’ the son, so much so that the son wants his
father gone. It is resentment we feel at the end of the
poem and we are left reeling; the father/son
relationship which seemed unbreakable, has indeed
broken.
ACTIVITY: Select one of the statements below and
explain why you agree with this statement. Use
evidence from the poem to support your ideas.
1. Through memory, the narrator adopts his own childhood perspective, seeing
the world through a child’s innocent eyes to express undiluted admiration for
his father.
2. The poet dehumanises the father through his use of language.
3. The father’s physical presence and his skill in performing a difficult task are
emphasised.
4. The narrator seems resentful of his father in the final stanza.
5. The form is neat and orderly. This neat patterning of the stanzas is meant to
symbolise the father’s precise ploughing and expertise.
6. ‘Follower’ seems to show how children stop idolising and admiring their parents
as they grow older.
7. Heaney’s narrator explores how the loss of the innocent perspective of a child
can lead to disillusionment, tension and bitterness.
8. In ‘Follower’ the child in the poem is seen as a problem.
Through memory, the narrator adopts his
own childhood perspective, seeing the
world through a child’s innocent eyes to
express undiluted admiration for his
father.
The form is neat and orderly. This neat
patterning of the stanzas is meant to
symbolise the father’s precise ploughing
and expertise.
The poet dehumanises the
father through his use of
language.
‘Follower’ seems to show how
children stop idolising and admiring
their parents as they grow older.
The father’s physical presence
and his skill in performing a
difficult task are emphasised.
Heaney’s narrator explores how the loss of
the innocent perspective of a child can
lead to disillusionment, tension and
bitterness.
The narrator seems resentful
of his father in the final
stanza.
In ‘Follower’ the child in the
poem is seen as a problem.
GROUP WORK: Each group has been given a statement to discuss. Explain whether you agree or disagree
with the statement and why, using evidence.

1. Through memory, the narrator adopts his own childhood perspective, seeing the world
through a child’s innocent eyes to express undiluted admiration for his father.
2. Agree- “An expert.”
3. “I wanted to grow up and plough”
4. “All I ever did was follow”
5. DISGREE - “and will not go away”

6. The poet dehumanises the father through his use of language.

“To close one eye and stiffen my arm” - agree and disagree
“Sometimes he rode me on his back” - disagree

7. The narrator seems resentful of his father in the final stanza.

8. “Keeps stumbling and will not go away”
9. “I wanted”
10.“All i ever did was follow”
My father worked with a horse-plough,
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung
Between the shafts and the furrow.
The horse strained at his clicking tongue.
Language analysis
An expert. He would set the wing • Highlight all the verbs in the first
And fit the bright steel-pointed sock.
The sod rolled over without breaking. three stanzas (father)
At the headrig, with a single pluck

Of reins, the sweating team turned round

Big questions:
• What impression does it create of
And back into the land. His eye
Narrowed and angled at the ground,
the 1.Does
father? it show undiluted
admiration for his
Mapping the furrow exactly.

I stumbled in his hob-nailed wake,
Fell sometimes on the polished sod;
Sometimes he rode me on his back
Dipping and rising to his plod.
• Highlight all the verbs in the last
father?
three stanzas (son/speaker)

I wanted to grow up and plough,

2.Conversely,
• What doesititcreate
impression does serveof
To close one eye, stiffen my arm.
All I ever did was follow
the speaker and his feelings
to dehumanise his
In his broad shadow round the farm.
towards his father?
I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,
father?
Yapping always. But today
It is my father who keeps stumbling
Behind me, and will not go away.
My father worked with a horse-plough,
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung
Between the shafts and the furrow.
The horse strained at his clicking tongue. Language analysis
An expert. He would set the wing
And fit the bright steel-pointed sock.
• Highlight all the nouns and adjectives
The sod rolled over without breaking.
At the headrig, with a single pluck
(further categorise)
Of reins, the sweating team turned round
Big questions:
• What impression does it create of the
And back into the land. His eye
Narrowed and angled at the ground, 1. andHow
father does(and
ploughing it help to
by extension,
Mapping the furrow exactly.
rural life)?
I stumbled in his hob-nailed wake,
emphasise his
• What does it suggest about the
father’s
speaker’sphysical presence?
Fell sometimes on the polished sod;
Sometimes he rode me on his back
Dipping and rising to his plod.
feelings towards his father?
I wanted to grow up and plough, 2. How could it show the
To close one eye, stiffen my arm.
All I ever did was follow
In his broad shadow round the farm.
loss of innocence and
I was a nuisance, tripping, falling, disillusionment?
Yapping always. But today
It is my father who keeps stumbling
Behind me, and will not go away.
My father worked with a horse-plough,
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung
Between the shafts and the furrow.
Form, structure, language
The horse strained at his clicking tongue.

An expert. He would set the wing

And fit the bright steel-pointed sock. Each group will be allocated a stanza
The sod rolled over without breaking.
At the headrig, with a single pluck
Identify a range of poet’s techniques
Explore impact on reader
Of reins, the sweating team turned round
And back into the land. His eye
Narrowed and angled at the ground,
Mapping the furrow exactly. Challenge: Offer alternative analysis and link to
I stumbled in his hob-nailed wake,
context
Fell sometimes on the polished sod;
Sometimes he rode me on his back
Dipping and rising to his plod. • Metaphors
• Active verbs
I wanted to grow up and plough,
To close one eye, stiffen my arm.
• Nautical
All I ever did was follow
• Contrasts
In his broad shadow round the farm. references
I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,
Yapping always. But today • Farming skills
It is my father who keeps stumbling • Onomatopoeia
Behind me, and will not go away.
 You have been given a quote from the poem.
Do Now Complete a quote explosion of the quote without looking at your
notes.

‘back into the land’ suggests

that the horses, man and earth
The full stop creates a are all one, working in unity.
caesura, like a breathing Unlike the life of a poet, which is
space in which the poet can critical and unstable and
come to terms with the solitary.
painful images of his father

Of reins, the sweating

team turned round
And back into the land. His
eye

The enjambment and the The alliteration of ‘sweating

punctuation give the lines a team turned’ adds to the
halting, breathy quality, as harshness and nobility of his
though the author is overcome view of life working the land.
with emotion The harsh ‘t’ increases its effect.
 Seamus Heaney-‘Follower’

L.O. To insightfully
comment on the way that
feelings are conveyed in
poem ‘Follower.’
How does the poet feel about his father at
the end of the poem?
“But today
It is my father who keeps stumbling
Behind me, and will not go away.”

Self-assess Success criteria:

• Cirlce all examples of subject ✔Explore meaning
terminology
✔Identify a range of
• Underline where you’ve
explored meaning poet’s methods
• Squiggly line where you’ve ✔Explore impact on
explored impact on reader reader
•
 Homework. Due: Monday 25th September

Language
1. Why do you think the poet uses the extended metaphor of a mountain?
2. What do you think the “climb” could be indicative of?
3. Can you find any language which resembles the idea of exploration? What do
you think this could be trying to convey?
4. Can you find any language which resembles the idea of personal discovery?
Structure
5. Why is the poem not broken up into stanzas? Why has Waterhouse created a
poem with no stanzas, what could it resemble?
6. What does Waterhouse’s use of enjambment create?
7. Highlight all of the full stops in the poem. Apart from the first line, all of the
other sentences extend over several lines.  What is the effect of this?
 You must be
Do Now prepared to justify
your reasons

The narrator seems resentful of his father in the final

stanza.
To what extent do you agree?

Strongly agree Strongly disagree

Challenge: Can you use

academic language in your
responses?