In your essay, you should

• Introduce the central paradox of the poem: the islanders prepare with assurance, yet find themselves vulnerable and afraid.
• Analyze at least three specific poetic techniques (e.g., enjambment, military metaphor, negative imagery, the volta) and explain how each enhances the poem's main argument.
• Track the shift in tone throughout the poem, moving from confidence to fear, and discuss how this transition underscores Heaney's message about human vulnerability.
• Reflect on the poem's dramatic monologue / communal voice ("we") and what it reveals about shared human experience in the face of nature.
• Conclude by exploring the broader thematic implications: what does Heaney convey about humanity's connection with the natural world?

Assessment Focus

Sustained critical argument | Close textual analysis | Awareness of poetic craft | Thematic insight

In your essay, be sure to:

Support your claims with close textual references throughout.

• Analyze how Heaney's use of tone and voice (e.g., the confident, almost boastful opening versus the fearful conclusion) reflects a change in the speaker's psychological state.
• Examine the significance of absence and negation (e.g., "There are no trees", "No natural shelter") in creating a sense of vulnerability despite apparent preparedness.
• Discuss how sound devices (sibilance, plosives, onomatopoeia) convey the storm's violence to the reader.
• Reflect on how the poem's volta — "But that is not to say…" — challenges the speaker's earlier confidence and reshapes the poem's central argument.