The All-Female Revolution in Seamus Heaney’s “North”

Abstract

Seamus Heaney’s North (1975) is generally considered as the most political collection among his works of poetry. Amidst the rebellious years of The Troubles, the Irish Laureate Poet subverted the traditional metaphor of ‘Mother Ireland’ through a poetic message strongly embedded in political and social issues. Starting from the topos of the subdued and frail woman of the aisling tradition, Heaney moulded a modern entity that spoke better to the years of war and instability afflicting Northern Ireland in the 1970s. After reading P.V. Glob’s The Bog People: Iron-Age Man Preserved, he endorsed a vision of the land which built on a comparison with the ancient Germanic goddess Nerthus, thus providing his Ireland with a fierce and headstrong personality. This essay delves into the dynamics of Heaney’s choices linked to the representation of the nation and femininity.