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Characters · 3
The Father
The Father is the commanding, almost mythic central figure of Seamus Heaney's short lyric poem "Follower."
character
The Horses
In Seamus Heaney's poem "Follower," The Horses play a quietly central role, showcasing the father's mastery and the son's deep admiration.
character
The Speaker (Young Seamus)
The Speaker (Young Seamus) serves as the narrator and main consciousness in Seamus Heaney's poem "Follower."
character
Key quotes · 6
“His shoulders globed like a full sail strung / Between the shafts and the furrow.”
This striking simile is taken from Seamus Heaney's poem "Follower," which appears in his 1966 debut collection Death of a Naturalist.
Seamus Heaney (lyric speaker/narrator) · Follower
“An expert. He would set the wing / And fit the bright steel-pointed sock.”
These lines are from Seamus Heaney's poem "Follower" (1966, included in Death of a Naturalist).
Poetic speaker (Seamus Heaney) · Follower
“I wanted to grow up and plough, / To close one eye, stiffen my arm.”
These lines are from Seamus Heaney's poem "Follower," found in his 1966 debut collection Death of a Naturalist.
The speaker / young Heaney (first-person narrator) · "Follower," Death of a Naturalist (1966)
“I stumbled in his hob-nailed wake, / Fell sometimes on the polished sod.”
These lines are from Seamus Heaney's poem "Follower," which appeared in his first collection, Death of a Naturalist (1966).
Seamus Heaney (lyric speaker / the son) · Death of a Naturalist (1966), poem: 'Follower'
“But today / It is my father who keeps stumbling / Behind me, and will not go away.”
These closing lines are from Seamus Heaney's poem "Follower," which appeared in his first collection, Death of a Naturalist, published in 1966.
The speaker / Seamus Heaney (autobiographical voice)
“All I ever did was follow / In his broad shadow round the farm.”
These lines are from Seamus Heaney's poem "Follower," featured in Death of a Naturalist (1966).
Seamus Heaney (lyric speaker / son)
Symbols · 4
The Furrow
In Seamus Heaney's poem "Follower," the furrow—an even trench made by the plough—symbolizes mastery, precision, and the weight of tradition passed down through generations.
The Horses
In Seamus Heaney's poem "Follower," the horses symbolize skill, strength, and the respected authority that comes with hard work.
The Land
In Seamus Heaney's poem "Follower," the land symbolizes the weight of tradition passed down, paternal authority, and the legacy each generation inherits.
The Plough
In Seamus Heaney's poem Follower, the plough represents control, authority, and the burden of tradition passed down through generations.
Literary devices · 12
Extended Metaphor
The entire poem revolves around a central comparison: farming as a form of mastery and the son's role as an apprentice.
Volta
The emotional impact of the poem hinges on a striking shift in its final stanza.
Imagery
Heaney's use of visual and tactile imagery turns the father's body into something almost architectural.
Simile
The poem's most striking simile kicks off the second stanza: the father's shoulders are "globed like a full sail strung / Between the shafts and the furrow."
Alliteration
Heaney uses alliteration to connect lines and reflect the rhythmic, repetitive work of ploughing.
Meter
"Follower" employs a loose iambic tetrameter—four stresses per line—but Heaney plays with this structure to keep things fresh and mimic the uneven steps of trailing behind a plough.
Quatrain
The poem consists of six quatrains—four-line stanzas that follow an ABAB or near-ABAB rhyme scheme.
End Rhyme
Heaney uses an ABAB rhyme scheme in the quatrains, but the rhymes often lean toward slant or half-rhymes—like "plough" with "furrow" and "exactly" with "wake."
Irony
The poem's central irony plays out over time.
Personification
The land and the plough aren't directly personified, but the father's connection with them creates a sense of unity between man and nature.
Motif
The theme of following — whether physical, emotional, or vocational — is present in every stanza.
Juxtaposition
Heaney contrasts the father's skill with the child's awkwardness in the poem's middle stanzas.