Follower (AQA GCSE English Literature)

Revision Note

Author

Each poetry anthology at GCSE contains 15 poems, and in your exam question you will be given one poem - printed in full - and asked to compare this printed poem to another. As this is a closed-book exam, you will not have access to the second poem, so you will have to know it from memory. Fifteen poems is a lot to revise. However, understanding four things will enable you to produce a top-grade response:

The meaning of the poem
The ideas and messages of the poet
How the poet conveys these ideas through their methods
How these ideas compare and contrast with the ideas of other poets in the anthology

Below is a guide to Seamus Heaney’s 'Follower', from the Love and Relationships anthology. It includes:

Overview: a breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations
Writer’s Methods: an exploration of the poet’s techniques and methods
Context: an exploration of the context of the poem, relevant to its themes
What to compare it to: ideas about which poems to compare it to in the exam

Exam Tip

'Follower' is part of the Love and Relationships anthology of poems, and the exam question asks you to compare the ideas presented in two of these anthology poems, specifically related to the ideas of family relationships and love.

It is therefore as important that you learn how 'Follower' compares and contrasts with other poems in the anthology as understanding the poem in isolation. See the section below on ‘What to compare it to’ for detailed comparisons of 'Follower' and other poems in the anthology.

Overview

In order to answer an essay question on any poem it is vital that you understand what it is about. This section includes:

The poem in a nutshell
A ‘translation’ of the poem, section-by-section
A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Seamus Heaney’s intention and message

'Follower' in a nutshell

'Follower', written by the poet Seamus Heaney, describes a vivid memory from the speaker’s childhood. The speaker describes his father, an expert, teaching him how to work the land. The poem’s ending suggests the speaker acknowledges the changing relationship and power dynamic as he grows up.

'Follower' overview

Lines 1 -4

“My father worked with a horse-plough,

His shoulders globed like a full sail strung

Between the shafts and the furrow.

The horses strained at his clicking tongue.”

Translation

The poem’s speaker tells the reader his father was a strong and broad farmer
He shows how the animals were under his control

Heaney’s intention

Heaney begins his first-person poem with a narration describing the speaker’s father as in charge and capable, in order to show the respect he had for him

Lines 5-7

“An expert. He would set the wing

And fit the bright steel-pointed sock.

The sod rolled over without breaking.”

Translation

The speaker describes his father as very good at his job

Heaney’s intention

Heaney presents a vivid description of the speaker’s father to show the power of the memory and his deep respect for his father’s expertise

Lines 8-12

“At the headrig, with a single pluck

Of reins, the sweating team turned round

And back into the land. His eye

Narrowed and angled at the ground,

Mapping the furrow exactly.”

Translation

The speaker now describes the horses turning as his father pulls the reins
The father is exacting and careful as he plans his work

Heaney’s intention

Heaney shows how much respect the animals have for his father, reacting as soon as his father commands
The vivid memories present the influence of his father on his life

Line 13-16

“I stumbled in his hobnailed wake,

Fell sometimes on the polished sod;

Sometimes he rode me on his back

Dipping and rising to his plod.”

Translation

Here, the speaker remembers himself as a child and describes his small figure struggling in the fields
He remembers his father helping him

Heaney’s intention

Heaney’s speaker remembers how difficult it was for him as a child working on the farm
The poem shows the close bond between the father and son, linked by shared labour

Lines 17-20

“I wanted to grow up and plough,

To close one eye, stiffen my arm.

All I ever did was follow

In his broad shadow round the farm.”

Translation

The detailed observational narration continues as the speaker describes his father’s actions and how he wished to mimic them

Heaney’s intention

Heaney conveys the speaker’s desire to be like his father, presenting the parent as a role model

Lines 21-22

“I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,

Yapping always. But today”

Translation

The speaker recognises how he must have been annoying to his father as a small child

Heaney’s intention

Heaney uses a list to show the repetition of the son’s actions as a child in order to present the perspective of the father, offering an alternative view

Lines 23-24

“It is my father who keeps stumbling

Behind me, and will not go away”

Translation

The speaker describes his father’s actions now he is older
He expresses his own frustration at his limited capability

Heaney’s intention

Heaney conveys the shifting relationship over time

His father is the one who is a nuisance now

Exam Tip

Your exam question will ask you to compare how poets present ideas about love and/or relationships in the poem given to you on the exam paper and one other from the Love and Relationships anthology. It is therefore a good idea to begin your answer using the wording of the question and summarising what the poem tells us about the nature of love or relationships. This demonstrates that you have understood the poem and the poet’s intention. For example, “Seamus Heaney presents ideas related to dependence within family relationships. Similar themes can be found in…”

Writer’s Methods

Although this section is organised into three separate sections - form, structure and language - it is always best to move from what the poet is presenting (the techniques they use; the overall form of the poem; what comes at the beginning, middle and end of a poem) to how and why they have made the choices they have.

Focusing on the poet’s overarching ideas, rather than individual poetic techniques, will gain you far more marks. Crucially, in the below sections, all analysis is arranged by theme, and includes Seamus Heaney’s intentions behind his choices in terms of:

Form
Structure
Language

Exam Tip

The last thing examiners want to see is what they call “technique spotting”. This is when students use overly sophisticated terminology unnecessarily (“polysyndeton”; “epanalepsis”), without explaining their analysis.

Knowing the names of sophisticated techniques will not gain you any more marks, especially if these techniques are only “spotted” and the poet’s intentions for this language is not explained. Instead of technique spotting, focus your analysis on the reasons why the poet is presenting their ideas in the way that they do: what is their message? What ideas are they presenting, or challenging?

Form

Seamus Heaney’s narrative poem pays tribute to the intimate bond between father and son, while reflecting on the changing identities and relationships between a son and parent, particularly regarding strength and dependence.

Theme	Evidence	Poet’s intention
Changing identities in family relationships	The childhood memory is presented in the first-person voice of an adult son to show his perspective as he looks back on the past	Heaney shows the son reflecting on the shift in the male power dynamic: he compares himself as a dependant child to his father now he is older
	The poem is cyclical in nature, repeating ideas about dependence As a child he “stumbled in his hob-nob wake” but now his father “keeps stumbling”	The poet shows the cycle of family life: the son as a dependant child now grown and taking his father’s place
	Heaney uses a caesura to show the changing nature of their relationship: “Yapping always. But today”	The tone changes here as the speaker identifies that while he was reliant on his father then, it is his father who depends on him now
	Seamus Heaney’s poem takes the form of a reflection on his childhood to convey how strength and independence is passed down from father to son

Structure

The poem’s rhythmic structure shows the speaker’s composed reflections on his father, representing their relationship as stable and strong. However, Heaney’s alternating rhyme scheme conveys the son’s tension as he attempts to rise to his father’s expectations.

Theme	Evidence	Poet’s intention
Acceptance and independence	Heaney’s poem is made up of four quatrains with lines of similar length in a disciplined an controlled structure	As the speaker remembers a childhood memory working on the farm, his tone is composed as well as nostalgic to present the stable nature of his relationship with his father
	Heaney’s poem uses half-rhymes to represent the speaker and perfect rhyming lines to represent his father His rhyme “I wanted to grow up and plough,” with “All I ever did was follow” conveys his desire to be as good as his father The rhyme of “To close one eye, stiffen my arm” and “In his broad shadow round the farm” shows the father as steadfast and disciplined	The speaker’s tone presents a slight tension which implies his need to be like his father and to follow in his footsteps, whereas the perfect rhyming lines as he describes his father, imply an unshakeable voice
	Seamus Heaney depicts a speaker taking comfort from his memory of his stable childhood, however, he suggests his attempt to mimic his father is not without challenge

Language

Seamus Heaney uses natural imagery to depict the speaker’s memory of his father teaching him to work on the farm and to present the simple, yet disciplined hard-working father he admires. While verbs are used to convey the active role his father took in his life, by the end they present the father as dependent on his son now that he is older.

Theme	Evidence	Poet’s intention
Nostalgia	The semantic field of work shows the hard labour his father was capable of The verbs “worked”, “strained”, “narrowed” and “angled” present the work his father did as steady and careful The sensory imagery in “sweating team” and “clicking tongue” present the father as in control	The poet highlights the powerful impact of the event with vivid imagery presenting his father as a capable expert
	The simile presents his father as strong: “His shoulders globed like a full sail strung”	Heaney’s speaker compares his father’s physical strength to a sail, connoting natural power
	Seamus Heaney conveys the close bond a son has with his father through a vivid depiction of a childhood memory in which he describes his father as strong and capable

Exam Tip

Try not to separate “language”, “form” and “structure” into three separate elements you need to include in your answer. To achieve top marks, you need to include an integrated comparison of the themes and ideas in this and the other poems in the anthology, and focus on the relevance of the method used by the poet to the ideas in the poem(s).

This means it is better to structure your answer around an exploration of the ideas and themes in the poems, commenting on elements of language, form or structure that contribute to the presentation of these themes, rather than simply listing all of the key methods you think should be covered when writing about poetry (with no analysis or exploration of their relevance to the themes and ideas). Stay focused on the task, and then choose your comments based on the focus of the question.

Context

Examiners repeatedly state that context should not be considered as additional factual information: in this case, it is not random biographical information about Seamus Heaney or facts unrelated to the ideas in Follower. The best way to understand context is as the ideas and perspectives explored by Seamus Heaney in Follower which relate to family love and relationships.

This section has therefore been divided into two relevant themes that Heaney explores:

Family relationships

Seamus Heaney was the eldest son of a farmer, brought up in traditional, rural Ireland

The poem describes his father as working a plough with horses
The poem conveys the son’s admiration for his capable and reliable father illustrating the close bond in the paternal relationship
Traditional values within family relationships, specifically between father and son, are depicted through the speaker’s memory

The son comments on how he wished to become just like his father
His father is described as strong and “broad”, in charge of the farm

Acceptance and independence

Seamus Heaney’s poem, Follower, was published in an anthology called “Death of a Naturalist” in 1966

The collection focuses on Heaney’s rural childhood, working on the farm with his father, being taught how to do manual labour

The poem focuses on the lessons the son was taught by his father
As the eldest child, he was expected to follow in his father’s footsteps

The poem (perhaps autobiographical) focuses on the dependence between a son and father and the changing dynamic as the parent ages

By the end, however, the son seems impatient with his father’s closeness
He reflects on his father, now “stumbling” and not going “away”
The poem implies the son has not chosen the same path as his father

Exam Tip

Remember, AO3 is only worth up to 6 marks in this question. You will be expected to demonstrate your understanding of the relationship between the poem and the context in which it was written in an integrated way, throughout your answer. It is therefore important to focus on the key themes, and have a thorough knowledge of the cluster of poems.

Context comes from the key word in the task, so your answer should emphasise the key themes of the effects of desire and love. Writing a whole paragraph about Seamus Heaney’s childhood is not an integrated approach, and will not achieve high marks.

What to compare it to

The essay you are required to write in your exam is a comparison of the ideas and themes explored in two of your anthology poems. It is therefore essential that you revise the poems together, in pairs, to understand how each poet presents ideas about love or relationships, in comparison to other poets in the anthology. Given that Follower explores the ideas of family relationships and independence, the following comparisons are the most appropriate:

For each pair of poems, you will find:

The comparison in a nutshell
Similarities between the ideas presented in each poem
Differences between the ideas presented in each poem
Evidence and analysis of these similarities and differences

Exam Tip

You will be expected to not only explore this poem in depth, but make perceptive comparisons to themes, language, form and structure used in other poems in the anthology that also comment on family relationships, love and independence. It is therefore important that you have a thorough knowledge of all of the poems, rather than just memorising a series of quotations. It is also essential that you not only write about the named poem, but compare it to one other in the anthology. Only writing about the poem given on the paper will severely limit your marks.

'Follower' and 'Eden Rock'

Comparison in a nutshell:

Both Seamus Heaney’s 'Follower' and Charles Causely’s 'Eden Rock' present male speakers with positive memories of their parents which convey the influence and significance in their son’s lives. While Heaney’s poem discusses the shifting roles within family relationships and a need for independence, Causely’s poem deals with unresolved separation from absent parents.

Similarities:

Topic sentence	Both poems describe their parents with admiration and love
Evidence and analysis	'Follower'	'Eden Rock'
	Heaney’s speaker describes his positive reflections of a day with his father when he was young, using enjambment and regular quatrains to create a sentimental tone	Similarly, Charles Causely’s first-person speaker describes a vivid memory of a picnic with his parents Enjambment creates a calm and nostalgic tone which presents the memory as comforting The regular structure shows the stabling influence of his parents
	Heaney’s speaker describes his father with imagery presenting him as in control and respected His shoulders “globed like a full sail strung” with a horse straining at his “clicking tongue”	The speaker here also describes his parents as he remembers them as a child He describes his mother in a “sprigged dress” and spreading a “stiff white cloth”, which implies her purity He describes his father in “Genuine Irish Tweed” with a small “trembling” dog at his feet
	Heaney’s speaker describes his father offering him advice and stability He “follows in his broad shadow” as his father is “an expert”	The speaker’s perspective of his parents as reassuring and guiding is shown in their communication to him despite their distance: “'See where the stream-path is!/Crossing is not as hard as you might think.'”
	Causely and Heaney both pay tribute to their parents’ role in their development and present their parents as stabilising and guiding factors in their lives

Topic sentence	Both poets illustrate simple childhood memories which are powerfully vivid
Evidence and analysis	'Follower'	'Eden Rock'
	Heaney’s speaker presents the memory in evocative sensory description: The “sweating team” work with “The bright steel-pointed sock” and the “polished sod”	Causely uses sensory language to present the immersion and vivid recollection of the speaker The mother is described as bright in the sun:“Her hair, the colour of wheat, takes on the light” as she sets out “blue tin cups” The sibilance of the father as he “spins a stone” evokes strong imagery
	Heaney’s speaker remembers a simple and typical day with his father The auxiliary verb ‘would’ in “He would set the wing” implies this was an habitual activity He explains this was a regular day: “Sometimes he rode me on his back”	The ordinariness of the picnic is represented with natural imagery “She pours tea from a Thermos” , sets out the “same three plates” and uses a sauce bottle for the milk, which suggests this is a familiar family outing
	The speaker alludes to the power of the memory of his father as described by the actions of his father He imagines how he would “close one eye, stiffen my arm” like his father and how he “stumbled in his wake”	The speaker’s imagination is powerful as he hears his parents calling to him and his memory brings surreal images to his mind The “sky whitens” with “three suns” represents the speaker’s dream-like state The reference to the three suns could allude to an unbreakable family unit
	Both Heaney and Causely present the influence of seemingly insignificant moments in their childhoods which have a lasting impact on the sons

Differences:

Topic sentence	While Seamus Heaney’s poem ends with a speaker who wishes for independence, Charles Causely’s poem ends with a speaker unable to accept the distance between them [the speaker and their parents]
Evidence and analysis	'Follower'	'Eden Rock'
	In 'Follower', the speaker returns from reflections of their father with a sense of frustration that the father “will not go away” As an adult he is able to acknowledge he was a “nuisance” when he was young A caesura shifts the tone: “yapping always. But today” The speaker describes the changing role: “It is my father who keeps stumbling/Behind me”	Here, the speaker’s unresolved longing for their parents suggests they are caught up in the past The poem ends with a single line, separated from the rest of the poem to show the speaker’s return to reality He conveys his surprise at the emotions the separation from his parents still brings: “I had not thought that it would be like this.”
	The speaker remembers his father as a younger man, yet is able to see him differently now he is older as he is still with him	The speaker remembers a specific memory of his parents as young adults, which suggests he sees them like that still, as they were then
	Both poets present positive childhood memories. However, while Heaney shows a speaker who is more aware of the changing nature of his father, Causely depicts a more idealised version of the speaker’s parents

Exam Tip

It is a good idea to outline your choice of second poem in your introduction to your response, with a clear overview of the overarching themes within both poems. You can then use the theme to move between both poems to provide the substance to illustrate your arguments. However, this does not mean that you cannot focus on one poem first, and then the other, linking ideas back to the main poem. You should choose whichever structure suits you best, as long as comparison is embedded and ideas for both texts are well-developed.

'Follower' and 'Mother Any Distance'

Comparison in a nutshell:

This is an effective comparative choice to explore changing roles in family relationships. Both Seamus Heaney’s 'Follower' and Simon Armitage’s Mother Any Distance deal with complex dynamics of intimacy and independence between a parent and child.

Similarities:

Topic sentence	Both poems present speakers who express their admiration for, and feel reassurance from, supportive parents
Evidence and analysis	'Follower'	'Mother Any Distance'
	Heaney’s poem focuses on a significant, yet typical memory of a son and his father working on a farm The imagery is personal: “Sometimes he rode me on his back” The semantic field of rural farm-life (“plough”, “furrow”, “sod”) shows his vivid recollections of his simple childhood	Similarly, Armitage’s poem explores the emotional impact of a normal event - a parent helping their child move and measuring the rooms He uses a semantic field of furniture, such as “pelmets”, “windows”, “floors” and “spool of tape” Armitage uses imagery to present the emotional impact the moment: “the prairies of the floors”
	Seamus Heaney’s speaker shows his father as careful and exacting He is an “expert”: “His eye/Narrowed and angled at the ground” He presents his father as a role-model: “I wanted to grow up and plough,/To close one eye, stiffen my arm.”	Armitage, too, describes his mother’s calm and guiding actions She helps him: “You at the zero-end, me with the spool of tape, recording/length” Armitage shows his mother’s experience: “requires a second pair of hands./You come to help me measure windows, pelmets, doors”
	The speakers both explore the family relationship by showing the impact of ordinary events during which parents provide their children with support and guidance

Topic sentence	Both poems present speakers who express painful and confusing feelings about the distance between parent and child
Evidence and analysis	'Follower'	'Mother Any Distance'
	Heaney’s speaker is uneasy about the changing relationship His poem depicts the strength of his father as a young man and how this changes as he ages He uses a verb which implies struggling movements: the son “stumbles in his wake” as a child, but now the father “keeps stumbling”	Armitage’s speaker, too, seems confused about whether to be with his parents or become independent He uses metaphor to contrast the support and freedom each brings: “unreeling/years between us. Anchor. Kite.” The metaphorical “to fall or fly” implies the speaker’s dilemma
	Heaney’s speaker presents a nostalgic tone regarding his father with lines of enjambment at the start, however by the end the speaker’s tone changes with caesura to represent the changes in the relationship: “always yapping.But today”	Similarly, Armitage’s speaker mixes reflective enjambment with poignant pauses created by caesurae to reflect his mixed emotions: “the last one-hundredth of an inch...I reach”
	Both poems explore the strong pull of parental love and the confusing emotions of growing independence

Differences:

Topic sentence	While both poems show a close bond, Seamus Heaney’s poem focuses on a son’s need to follow in his father’s footsteps and Simon Armitage’s poem focuses around a son breaking away from his mother
Evidence and analysis	'Follower'	'Mother Any Distance'
	Heaney’s poem presents the speaker’s father as close by at the end The present-tense continuous verb in “It is my father who keeps stumbling” shows the continuing dependence in the relationship	Armitage, however, has a speaker who describes the relationship as possessive using present-tense verbs, “your fingertips still pinch”
	The poem illustrates traditional family values: The dependence of the father on his son is a frustrating yet necessary role: “Behind me, and will not go away”	However, Armitage shows a child realising the necessity of leaving: His present dependance on his parent is described as a “breaking point” “where something has to give” The speaker uses metaphor to show his desire for independence and freedom: “I reach/towards a hatch that opens on an endless sky”
	Both poems discuss family love. However Heaney’s speaker offers strength and comfort to his father as he ages, while Armitage’s speaker chooses freedom

'Follower' and 'Before You Were Mine'

Comparison in a nutshell:

Both Seamus Heaney’s poem 'Follower' and Carol Ann Duffy’s poem 'Before You Were Mine' present the perspectives of children reflecting on their parents in their younger years and acknowledging the different roles within family relationships. However, Heaney’s poem only considers the role of fatherhood, whereas Duffy’s poem considers her mother as an individual before she had a child.

Similarities:

Topic sentence	Both poems are tributes to parents by speakers who reflect on their parents in younger years
Evidence and analysis	'Follower'	'Before You Were Mine'
	Heaney’s poem describes the father with a simile presenting him as a strong and vibrant younger man: “His shoulders globed like a full sail strung” The sensory imagery presents his father as powerful: “The horses strained at his clicking tongue.”	Similarly, the first-person speaker in 'Before You Were Mine' describes her mother in rich imagery: “Your polka-dot dress blows round your legs” and “you shriek at the pavement”
	The speakers evoke positive imagery to show their parents as vibrant younger adults
	Heaney’s speaker shows his parents as guiding him in his life: “All I ever did was follow/In his broad shadow round the farm.”	Similarly, Duffy’s speaker reflects on her mother as a mentor and presents her poem as a eulogy: “You'd teach me the steps on the way home”
	The poems both comment on the powerful, positive influence of parents in family relationships, while the speakers equally recognise them as younger, more powerful individuals

Similarities:

Topic sentence	Both poets present speakers who comment on dependence within family relationships
Evidence and analysis	'Follower'	'Before You Were Mine'
	Heaney’s poem presents a speaker who is aware he was reliant on his father as a child He uses present-tense verbs to highlight how he was a “nuisance”: “yapping”, “tripping”, “falling”	Duffy’s speaker, too,is aware of her impact in the mother’s life: “The decade ahead of my loud, possessive yell”
	The speaker presents the close link in family relationships with with the possessive pronoun “my”	Duffy’s speaker also relates this idea with repetition of the line: “'Before You Were Mine'.”
	The poets both explore family love which comments on the dependance of a child on their parent

Differences:

Topic sentence	Seamus Heaney’s poem depicts a speaker who consider their father’s role in their life, while Carol Ann Duffy’s poem presents a speaker aware of her mother as an individual, not just in her role as parent
Evidence and analysis	'Follower'	'Before You Were Mine'
	Heaney’s speaker describes his father in his role as father: “Sometimes he rode me on his back”	However, Duffy’s speaker reflects on her mother as she was before she had a child: “where you sparkle and waltz and laugh 'Before You Were Mine'.”
	Heaney’s speaker discusses his father in a detached third-person	Duffy, however, presents an intimate monologue which directly addresses the mother: “You reckon it’s worth it.”
	Both speakers reflect on their parents, however Heaney’s poem is a childhood memory of his own, whereas Duffy’s poem is an imagined event from her mother’s past

Exam Tip

You can choose whichever poem you feel you are able to make the most in-depth comparisons to in the exam. For example, you could choose to compare the presentation of independence in family relationships in 'Follower' and 'Eden Rock'. Or you might wish to explore the idea of intimate family love in 'Eden Rock' and 'Before You Were Mine'. What is important is that you view the poems thematically, with a clear emphasis on love and relationships. This will give you a better framework in which to write your response in the exam.

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Follower (AQA GCSE English Literature)

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Author: Sam Evans