INTRODUCTION I. Thesis Statement: The present research work entitled An Exploration of the History, Myths and Landscape in the Selected Poems of Seamus Heaney evaluates and interprets selected poems of Noble Laureate Seamus Heaney. As the title suggests the research is three dimensional. Northern Ireland has a very long history of conflict and struggle and this has shaped the culture of Ireland. Heaney has used Irish history in his poetry very extensively. He has tried to find out the root causes of present troubles in NorthernIreland somewhere in the history f Ireland. So the researcher will explore his use of history in his poetry We find various poets in modern English poetry who have used mythology in their poetry. The most notable example is T.S. Eliot s The West Land. Heaney has used various myths in his poetry throughout his career. He tries to find out some basic pattern, archetype by exploring various myths in his poetry. The most important is the bog myth. So researcher will examine the Heaney s use of myth in his poetry. Heaney is primarily apoet of nature. Landscape is a source of inspiration in his poetry. The Irish landscape appears and reappears in his poetry throughout his career. Digging is a central metaphor in his poetry which directly related to landscape. II. Aims and Objectives of the Study: The present research work aims to achieve the following aims and objectives. 1. To evaluate the life and works of Seamus Heaney. 2. To evaluate the use of history in the poetry of Seamus Heaney. 3. To evaluate the use of myths in the poetry of Seamus Heaney. 4. To interpret the Irish landscape in the poetry of Seamus Heaney 5. To evaluate how Heaney uses myths and history in his poetry to comment on contemporary violence inireland. [I]
6. To analyze how Heaney uses past to interpret present. 7. To analyze that nature and humans are inseparable in Heaney s poetry. 8. To assess Seamus Heaney s contribution to Irish poetry. 9. To interpret socio-political condition of Irelandof Heaney s time. 10. To interpret history of Ireland. 11. To interpret various myths of Ireland. 12. To analyze nature poetry of Seamus Heaney. 13. To show that Heaney is nature poet with a difference. III. Hypothesis : 1. Seamus Heaney uses Irish history and myths in his poetry. 2. There is minute and detailed depiction of Irish landscape in Heaney s poetry. 3. Irish landscape serves as a background in Heaney s poetry. 4. Heaney used history and myths to understand the present. 5. Heaney uses history and myths to comment on present sociopolitical condition of Ireland. 6. Heaney s landscape is inseparable from human beings. IV. Review of Literature : Seamus Heaney is most important poet of 21 st century in English. So there is ample critical writing available on his poetry. However, there is no exclusive and comprehensive study that deals with his use of history and myths in his poetry.also no study shows him as nature poet with difference. V. Scope and Limitations : Seamus Heaney is a versatile poet who has written in various genres. So the present research work will study only selected poems of Heaney. It will not cover other writings of Heaney as well as other poems other that those selected for the present study. The present research work will concentrate on the use of history and myths in selected poems of Heaney. It will study depiction of Irish landscape in his selected poems. It will also show how Heaney has used the past to [II]
interpret the present in his poetry. It will also show how Heaney use myths and history to comment on present political turmoil and violence in Ireland. So the present research work will study contemporary sociopolitical condition of Ireland. The present research work will exclude all other aspects of Heaney s poetry. The present research work also shows how pastoral tradition and agrarian way of life is reflected in Heaney s poetry. VI. Significance of the Study : Seamus Heaney is one of the most important poetry of the 21 st century. Throughout his life he has witnessed violence and political turmoil in Ireland. As with Ireland there is a widespread violence and ethnic conflict all over the work. Naturally, as a poet, Heaney was pained to see all this violence and destruction. He want to condemn and at the same time to understand the cause of all the things. But neither is he a political commentator or an activist. He is an artist. He is a sensitive human being and a poet. And very skillfully Heaney uses history and myths to condemn and comment on his violence and destruction. He want to show us that the roots of contemporary violence lay somewhere in the past. We must dig out and understand these reasons. Heaney is also one of the greatest nature poets of 21th century. However, he is different from traditional natural poets. His treatment of nature is different. Unlike other nature poets and Romantics his landscape is full of people. His landscape is fraught with historical and mythological significance. He didn t write nature poetry only for the sake of natural beauty. He shows in his poetry the harmony as well as disharmony between human and non-human environment. VII. Research Methodology : The present research work is both analytical and interpretative. First it will give a very short history of Ireland. Then it will study the various Irish myths. It will analyze how this history and myths are used by Seamus Heaney in his poetry. The present research work will study depiction of Irish landscape in Heaney poetry. It will analyze how Heaney s nature writing is different from other nature poets. The research candidate will visit various libraries and study centers. The [III]
study material will be collected from books, journals, articles, websites, magazine and other critical writing. VIII. Chapter Scheme Chapter I Life and Works of Seamus Heaney This chapter will first give a detailed biography of Seamus Heaney. The biography will also include influences which shapes him as a man and writer. Secondly, this chapter will introduce all the works of Seamus Heaney including his poems and other fictional and non-fictional writing Chapter II Irish Myths and History of Ireland As the research student is going to study use of history by Seamus Heaney in his poetry, it is but relevant that he includes a brief historical sketch of Ireland. Heaney has used the history even of tribal s when Ireland was not even a nation. So the chapter will deal with the history of Ireland from the times of Stone Age. This chapter will also deal with myths and legends. Secondly it will survey the myths and legends in Ireland. It will also survey tribal practices and folk tales becauseheaney also uses these in his poetry. Chapter III Use of HistoryinHeaney s Poetry. This chapter will study the use of history in Heaney s poetry. It will also study the purpose and relevance of the use of history in his poetry. This chapter will also show how Heaney draws parallels between historical past of Ireland and contemporary Irish situation. It will examine how Heaney uses history to understand the present situation in Ireland. It will analyze how Heaney uses history to comment on the present in an oblique way. Number of Heaney s poems deal with his personal memories and are based on his friends, relative and acquaintances. So he not only writes about his nation s history but also about his personal history. So this chapter will also study those poems. Chapter IV Use of Myths in Heaney s Poetry. It is a tendency is modern literature to pattern a literary work on patterns of myths. This chapter will examine how Heaney has patterned his works on myths. Apart from this, Heaney has used number of myths, legends, folktales and tribal practices in his poetry. This chapter will [IV]
show the purpose and relevance of this use. It will also examine how Heaney has used myths to comment upon contemporary social and political condition in Ireland in an oblique manner. Chapter V Landscape in Heaney s Poetry. Heaney is strongly devoted to the soil of Ireland. Irish landscape serves as a background in almost all his poems. So this chapter will first examine depiction of Irish landscape in his poetry. Heaney is not a romantic wanderer. His landscape is inseparable from Irish people. He is not an advocate of arts for art s sake. Here lies the difference between Heaney and other nature poets. His landscape is always inhabited by people. Every landscape has some personal, historical or mythological association. So this chapter will also study this difference in Heaney s nature poetry. Chapter VI Conclusions. This chapter will come with certain conclusion about Heaney s use of history and myths in his poetry. This will also make concluding remarks about portrayal of Irish landscape by Heaney. Lastly, it will make a statement about the pedagogical implications and scope for further research. [V]