Gifts of Rain :: English Literature

Gifts of RainSeamus Heaneys poem Gifts of Rain is divided into 4 sections. These 4sections could exemplify the stages of life which consists of birth,childhood, adulthood and death. It could also symbolise the stages ofthe river in which it suggests the development of the river from itssource to where it gets strong. Or of course, it could symbolise thestages of the water cycle. Water is the symbol of life, but i toilette alsobe seen as purity, freshness or youth. In this mysterious poem, Heaneytakes a simple view of life and it seems almost documentary-like. The cognomen of the poem Gifts of Rain gives it a positive feeling, butalthough water has its positive aspects such as lifegiving andgrowth, it also has its negative aspects, such as being dangerous oreven deadly.The initial section of the poem has no direction and the rhythm isirregular. This suggests that the rain may come unexpectedly andstarts off somewhat jaggedly. The rest of the poem flows and hasrhythm and thither is regularity in each section. This mimics themovement as the rain as it comes down from the clouds. The running onin the stanzas give the sense that the rain is overflowing. Althoughthe title of the poem gives a positive feeling, the opening lineCloudburst and steady downpour now for days gives the assemble of amonotonous image and a depressing persistance. He begins to senseweather by his skin portrays nature and the sense of a survivor. The carnal-like image continues for the rest of the first section and themovement of that animal continues as the animal goes uprooting whichgives the sense of nature being destructive. Heaney may have includedthis deliberately to show that nature is not as angelic as people maythink. The end of the section highlights the poem as Sounding.Soundings. is what Heaneys poems are all about and more precisely,what this poem is about.A man wading confounded fields breaks the pane of flood which starts thesecond section gives the effect of pain and hurt. T he man survives bygoing along with nature and resisiting it, but it also gives theeffect of danger at the same time. Like a cut swaying carries on theeffect of being deliberate, sharp and precise and its red spoorsand his hands grub continues with the make-up of the animal sort ofworld. The sunken drills give the effect of digging deep and theatlantis he depends on gives a hint of an insecurity of life, as if