North

By Seamus Heaney

Book Overview

In North Seamus Heaney finds a myth which allowed him to articulate a vision of Ireland - its people, history and landscape. Here the Irish experience is refracted through images drawn from different parts of the Northern European experience, and the idea of the north allows the poet to contemplate the violence on his home ground in relation to memories of the Scandinavian and English invasions which have marked Irish history so indelibly. Reviewing "North" in The New York Times in 1976, the Irish poet Richard Murphy wrote: "His original power, which even the sternest critics bow to with respect, is that he can give you the feeling as you read his poems that you are actually doing what they describe. His words not only mean what they say, they sound like their meaning."

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 0195199138
• ISBN13: 9780195199130
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 73 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Mystic poems from the Celtic-Nordic Axis

These poems connect the twenty first century reader with the Celtic past of Ireland, in a unique way: through the experience of the marauding Vikings. Wonderful poems with a mythic edge. Heaney is fantastic. Fans of Heaney's Beowulf translation will find a great introduction to his work here in this accessible group of poems.

Great Poems

I don't know much about poetry, but as a fan of Irish culture, I decided to pick up this small collection. I was moved by the images. Heaney brought the past alive. I could picture the Vikings coming up the Shannon and storming Clen McNois and other monastries. Definately recommended!