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The Tollund ManShort story by Seamus Heaney

Flashcards for The Tollund Man

27 cards · 4 characters · 7 key quotes · 4 symbols · 12 literary devices. Nothing is saved and nothing is asked for — close the tab and the deck resets.

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Characters · 4

  1. Nerthus (the Goddess)

    Nerthus is the ancient Germanic earth goddess mentioned in Seamus Heaney's "The Tollund Man."

    character

  2. The Bog Victims

    The Bog Victims are a collective presence in Seamus Heaney's "The Tollund Man," acting more as a haunting chorus of the sacrificed and slaughtered than as individual characters.

    character

  3. The Speaker / Poet

    The Speaker / Poet embodies the living, contemporary consciousness at the heart of Seamus Heaney's poem "The Tollund Man," acting as a bridge between the modern world and the ancient past.

    character

  4. The Tollund Man

    The Tollund Man is the quiet focal point of Seamus Heaney's poem of the same name—a man from the Iron Age found preserved in a Danish peat bog, his body so well-kept that his calm, dark face seems almost alive.

    character

Key quotes · 7

  1. “Some day I will go to Aarhus / To see his peat-brown head”

    These lines introduce "The Tollund Man," a poem by Seamus Heaney from his 1972 collection Wintering Out.

    Seamus Heaney (lyric speaker) · Stanza 1

  2. “Trove of the turfcutters' / Honeycombed workings.”

    These lines are from Seamus Heaney's well-known poem "The Tollund Man," which appeared in his 1972 collection Wintering Out.

    Seamus Heaney (poetic speaker) · Part I

  3. “She tightened her torc on him / And opened her fen”

    These lines are from Seamus Heaney's poem "The Tollund Man," which appears in his 1972 collection Wintering Out.

    Seamus Heaney (poetic speaker) · Wintering Out (collection), poem: 'The Tollund Man'

  4. “I could risk blasphemy, / Consecrate the cauldron bog / Our holy ground”

    These lines come from Seamus Heaney's poem "The Tollund Man" (1972), which is included in Wintering Out.

    Seamus Heaney (poetic speaker) · The Tollund Man

  5. “Saying the names / Tollund, Grauballe, Nebelgard”

    This line is from Seamus Heaney's poem "The Tollund Man," which appears in his 1972 collection Wintering Out.

    Seamus Heaney (poetic speaker) · The Tollund Man

  6. “Out there in Jutland / In the old man-killing parishes / I will feel lost”

    These closing lines are from Seamus Heaney's poem "The Tollund Man," which appears in his 1972 collection Wintering Out.

    Seamus Heaney (lyric speaker) · The Tollund Man

  7. “Unhappy and at home”

    "Unhappy and at home" is the closing phrase of Seamus Heaney's poem The Tollund Man (1972), which is part of the collection Wintering Out.

    Seamus Heaney (lyric speaker) · The Tollund Man (poem, Part III)

Symbols · 4

  1. Seeds and Grain

    In Seamus Heaney's poem "The Tollund Man," seeds and grain represent the ongoing cycle of death, fertility, and renewal.

  2. The Bog

    In Seamus Heaney's poem "The Tollund Man," the bog symbolizes timeless preservation and the ongoing cycle of violence and sacrifice.

  3. The Noose / Torque

    In Seamus Heaney's poem "The Tollund Man," the noose around the bog body's neck serves as a powerful symbol of both ritual sacrifice and ongoing violence.

  4. The Tollund Man's Head

    In Seamus Heaney's poem "The Tollund Man," the preserved head of the Iron Age bog victim symbolizes sacrificial martyrdom, ancestral memory, and the recurring cycle of political violence.

Literary devices · 12

  1. Elegy

    Though 'The Tollund Man' is specifically about one bog body, it also serves as a broader elegy for all victims of political violence.

  2. Apostrophe

    The poem starts by directly addressing the long-dead figure: 'Some day I will go to Aarhus / To see his pout of skin.'

  3. Extended Metaphor

    The central extended metaphor compares the bog to a goddess — specifically, a fertility deity who both kills and preserves.

  4. Symbolism

    The Tollund Man is a complex symbol.

  5. Imagery

    Heaney's imagery is rich and sensory throughout.

  6. Juxtaposition

    Heaney contrasts ancient ritual sacrifice with contemporary sectarian murder throughout the poem.

  7. Allusion

    The poem references P.V. Glob's archaeological study 'The Bog People' (1969), which Heaney openly credited as a source.

  8. Free Verse

    The poem is crafted in free verse, featuring short, uneven lines that defy a consistent metrical pattern.

  9. Enjambment

    Enjambment serves as a key rhythmic engine in the poem.

  10. Paradox

    The poem's emotional core presents a paradox: the speaker will feel 'lost, / unhappy and at home' in Jutland.

  11. Motif

    The motif of the preserved body appears throughout all three sections, connecting the poem's movements.

  12. Volta

    Although 'The Tollund Man' isn't a sonnet, it features a noticeable shift between its second and third sections.