‘The Harvest Bow’ by Seamus Heaney and ‘Mending Wall’ by Robert Frost comparison.
Description
Read again ‘The Harvest Bow’ by Seamus Heaney and ‘Mending Wall’ by Robert Frost. Compare and contrast how each poet uses poetic methods to present their ideas on the theme of rural relationships. Include relevant contextual information.
‘The Harvest Bow’ by Seamus Heaney and
‘Mending Wall’ by Robert Frost comparison.
Relationship with the other person in poem
HB – The poem is about Heaney’s father, Patrick. “As you plaited
the harvest bow”. Heaney is the speaker and he reflects on his
childhood memories with his dad as he addresses him directly as
he makes a harvest bow, a love token which you keep for a year
to bring good luck. This shows how Heaney’s relationship with his
father is built on rural tradition.
There is juxtaposition in the line, “A throwaway love-knot of
straw”, as it emphasises the closeness of Heaney and his father
and his great memory and respect for this traditional craft
compared to other people who do not care for the fragile
tradition.
MW – This contrasts the relationship Frost has with his neighbour in this poem.
“But at spring mending-time we find them there.” Despite the collective pronoun
‘we’, the poem is written in blank verse and features little enjambment,
emphasising the rigid structure of the poem which indicates the formality of the
relationship between Frost and his neighbour and echoes the image of the wall
which physically separates them.
The wall is a symbol of separation, “we keep the wall between us as we go.” There is a
contrast between the sense of togetherness that comes from the collective pronoun, “we”
and the physical separation the wall provides. The wall also symbolises the division of the
contrasting views of how to fix the wall which they meet to repair once a year, which can
be compared tot Heaney as he and his father gathered to make harvest bows once a year,
but in contrast to Frost, they are close throughout the year.
Frost uses a metaphor to describe the contrasting ages between
his neighbour and himself. “He is all pine and I am apple orchard.”
This indicates a difference in their very natures, highlighting their
contrasting views and emphasising Frost’s youthful arrogance by
comparing him to an apple orchard.
Relationship with tradition
HB – Heaney clearly respects tradition and has a great respect for his father’s traditional skills. “For the big lift of
these evenings, as your stick/Whacking the tips of weeds and bushes”. Heaney uses the onomatopoeic verb,
“whacking,” to show the power of his father and how he was in awe of him when he moved the grain out of his path
as the travelled when Heaney was young.
Heaney uses the simile, “Like a drawn snare” to show how he keeps his memories of his father and of
rural traditions such as the making of a harvest bow trapped together like a snare, capturing the rural
tradition and creating a sense of rural community.
MW – Frost uses the symbol of a physical wall between him and his neighbour. “And set the wall
between us once again.” This symbolises how they do not physically or mentally step into each
other’s land, representing how they are both set in their ways and will not find a middle ground.
Frost is not open to learning from traditional methods and his neighbour is also not open to new
ideas. This is highlighted through their contrasting ages.
The opposing personalities of the two neighbours is emphasised through the
lines, “My apple trees will never get across/ And eat the cones under his pines, I
tell him.” There is a juxtaposition between Frost’s humorous tone and youthful
arrogance and his neighbours seriousness and how strongly he sticks to the
traditional methods his father taught him
Dialogue
MW – Frost uses the direct speech of his neighbour, “Good fences
make good neighbours.” This dramatizes and authenticates his
encounter with his neighbour. It also highlights their conflicting
opinions as he also uses the direct speech of his younger self, “Why
do they make good neighbours?”. He makes use of italics to place
emphasis on the word ‘why’ which clearly showcases his immaturity
as he questions the other, older farmer’s wisdom, again highlighting
their formal, uncomfortable relationship.
There is repetition of the other farmer’s direct
speech in the final line: “Good fences make good
/neighbours”. This creates a tone of finality,
emphasising the farmer’s final word on the matter
of farming. Again, this shows how Frost is mocking
his younger self and his youthful ignorance as he
refused to understand the other farmer’s way of
thinking and questioned his experience.
HB – In contrast to Frost, there is no dialogue in
Heaney’s poem. “You implicated the mellow silence
in you”. The lack of dialogue between Heaney and
his father emphasises the closeness of their
relationship as there is no need for words to be
spoken as they are connected through their mutual
love and appreciation of tradition.
“I tell and finger it like braille, / Gleaning the
unsaid off the palpable,”. Heaney shows that his
father’s work is what connects them as he
understands his father as his craft shows him
what he doesn’t say. This emphasises how
Heaney has a close relationship with rural
tradition and believes that it cannot be passed
on through speech, but through craft such as
the harvest bow. “Still tongue-tied”.
Relationship with nature and tradition
HB – Heaney has a close relationship with nature and tradition, “that original
townland”. Heaney uses the image of the harvest bow as a symbol to represent his
love for all of Ireland and rural tradition. He uses the craft of the harvest bow to
communicate with his father and to highlight how he values the importance of
rural traditions.
Heaney, again, shows his close relationship with tradition as he quotes the Coventry Patmore, “The end of art is
peace” meaning that art brings fulfilment and contentment. This shows that the symbol of the harvest bow is
enough to bring peace and as this poem was published in 1979, the height of the roubles in Northern Ireland, it could
be showing how Heaney longs again for peace in the country and traditions that he holds so dear to his heart.
Heaney uses the metaphor, “Into a knowable corona,” to indicate the intricacy of his father’s work and
also to show how the beautiful and ethereal aspects of nature can become art.
Heaney personifies his father’s fingers: “Until your fingers moved somnambulant”. He describes how his
father’s fingers worked as if they were sleepwalking to show how his father has done this for a long
time and how important tradition is to Heaney’s family.
MW – Frost had a farming background in New England and also suffered from ill
mental health. “I let my neighbour know beyond the hill;”. Frost uses the image
of the hill and of the wall in the poem as a symbol of the physical separation
between him and his neighbours, highlighting his isolationist attitudes. This is
further emphasised as he mocks the other farmer for his wisdom despite being
a failed farmer himself, “like an old-stone savage armed.” Frost mocks the older
farmer and accuses him of being backward because of his traditional farming
methods instead of learning from tradition and respecting it. Frost clearly has
no respect for tradition and traditional ways of doing things.
Frost disregards the other farmer. “He will not go behind his father’s saying”. He reiterates his
entrenched perception of the farmer as he learnt the rural tradition of farming from his father. Frost
shows no respect for tradition.
Other
MW – Frost uses repetition to create balance, “To each the boulders
that have fallen to each.” He shows that they are both doing half of
the workload and emphasises the teamwork through the collective
pronoun, “we”. He uses a metaphor to emphasise this, “another kind
of outdoor game, / One on a side.” He compares how he works
together with his neighbour to playing a game, implying that they are
on opposing teams and creating a sense of separation between them
as he presents the physical separation between him and his
neighbour and their strained, formal relationship.
HB – Heaney also uses a metaphor as a
symbol of his relationship. “In wheat that
does not rust”. Wheat does not die and
Heaney uses this to show how the skill of
traditional bow making will not die as long
as there is love and passion for nature and
tradition.
Heaney connects the image of the harvest bow to
family and tradition. “Could be the motto of this
frail device”. He compares the bow to a Heraldic
coat of arms and how family identity is rooted in
rural traditions and farming, highlighting his
fondness and close relationship with rural
traditions.