1. Requiem for the Croppies Seamus Heaney

2. Watch this interpretation of the poem. What is the poem about? 3. Basic Information Structure: Sonnet (14 lines, without division into sections) Language: past tense everything happened giving more emotional impact we referring to the Irish rebels they English enemies 4. Definitions & Historical Aspects Cropped Hair vs long haired aristocrats. Who are the Irish and who are the English? What happened 21st June 1798 in Vinegar Hill? What is barley and what is it used for? 5. written in 1966 on the fiftieth anniversary of the Easter Rising of 1916 Heaney celebrates not the Rising itself but what he considers its original seed in the rebellion of 1798." Neil Corcoran Poem was printed in his second collection Door into the Dark 6. Easter Rising the harvest of seeds sown in 1798, when revolutionary republican ideals and national feeling coalesced in the doctrines of Irish republicanism and in the rebellion of 1798 itself - unsuccessful and savagely put down. 7. Basic Information Heaney tells the story of the _______ though the voice of a random dead croppy boy and, therefore, the rebel's point of view. The poem is written in _______ form - 14 lines - but with no division into stanzas. The poem describes the _______ the Irish rebels had to undergo. Heaney focuses on the old-fashioned weapons - _______, _______ - the rebels used. The rebels also used _______ _______ to stampede into the lines of British solders. The poem shows how the rebels used clever tactics to attack the superior army. The rebels included _______, _______and _______ A _______, Father John Murphy, led the rebellion in Wexford. The first line and the last line both mention barley, the _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ The setting of the last lines of the poem is _______ _______ where the rebels were defeated. Vinegar Hill in Wexford was the site of the battle in which the rebels were defeated. By describing the hillside as "blushing", Heaney expresses the vast amount of blood that was shed The rebels who died were buried without a coffin or even a shroud. 8. About the Poem Theme: Irish freedom Life and death Tone: distant urgency of separation Mood: sombre tragedy in the poem fatalism Form sonnet 14 lines most lines 10 syllables (some run over) adds to the meaning as it comes from an uneducated narrator Voice 1st person plural Rhythm full of punctuation making the reader stop and think about what is being said 9. Lines 1,2 The pockets of our greatcoats full of barley No kitchens on the run, no striking camp Where are they? Why dont they have a kitchen? What does this imply? Why are they on the run? Is it possible for them to set up camp somewhere? 10. Answers They are on the run from the English They have to carry their food with them so they are considered nomads 11. Questions We moved quick and sudden in our own country. The priest lay behind ditches with the tramp. What does the 3rd line mean by the emphasis of our own country? What is a ditch? Why were the priests there? Why does it mention the priest and the tramp? What place in society do they hold and how are they given the same place in this poem? 12. Answers 1.Ironic phrase as Ireland was dominated by the English and not the Irish. 2. Because they had to hide. Not even priests were safe from the English. 3.The priest (especially then) was a symbol of holiness and purity whereas the tramp was the lowest of mankind. There was no difference between the people. All classes were under persecution because they were Irish. 13. Questions A people hardly marching on the hike We found new tactics happening each day: Who marches? Are the people here marching? What could it represent? 14. Answers 1.The people were common people and trained army men. They were not organised and they had not special training. 15. Questions Wed cut through reins and rider with the pike And stampede cattle into infantry, What tools do they use to fight? What is their purpose? 16. Answers 1.These tools are used for farming. Again we are seeing the Irish in disadvantage. 17. Questions Then retreat through hedges where cavalry must be thrown. Until on Vinegar Hill the final conclave. Research what happened in Vinegar Hill. How are these lines examples of what happened? 18. Answers Did you think you would get the answer that easily? Go and research what happened! This poem has a strong historical presence and you should find out what happened. 19. Questions Terraced thousands died, shaking scythes at cannon. The hillside blushed, soaked in our broken wave. Find an example of personification. How does this add meaning to the poem? 20. Answers 1. It is used to express the immense amount of bloodshed that splattered along the hills making them as read as blushed cheeks. This also creates a sense of embarrassment fo what has been done to these people. 21. Questions They buried us without shroud or coffin And in August the barley grew up out of our grave. How were the dead buried? Were they given respect? What happened in August and what does it refer to? What irony is mentioned here? What metaphor is used? 22. Answers The dead were buried in mass burials. There was no respect as the English buried them. The Irish could not even burry their own. The English tried to kill the rebellion but the Irish just would not give up. The seed of rebellion continued to grow even from the grave. The irony of the barley that the soldiers had was the same that made the barley grow out of the graves. Even though they were killed the Irish still continued to fight. The new grown barley is a metaphor for the new Irish society that hopes one day all the pain and death will end. 23. Bibliography Gardiner.M, (1998) Summaries of selected poetry by Seamus Heaney (Higher School Certificate 1998), Available at: https://files.puzzling.org/wayback/hsc/heaney Accessed 30th July, 2014 (n/a) (2013), Pulpteacher, A quick reading of Seamus Heaneys Requiem for the croppies. Avalible at: http://pulpteacher.wordpress.com/2013/03/13/a-quick- reading-of-seamus-heaneys-requiem-for-the-croppies/ Accessed: 30th July, 2014 (n/a), (n/d) ENotes, Available at: http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/how- heaneys-poem-titled-requiem-croppies-effective-329611 Accessed 30th July, 2014