1. Follower
by Seamus Heaney

2. Subject & Themes
Heaney as a child following his father literally
and metaphorically.
Son’s tribute to his father based on admiration.
Awareness that he gets in the way but eager to be in
the fields as his father goes about his work.
Themes of father/son relationships, frustration,
role reversal, old age and change.

3. Tone & Mood
Reflective, remembering childhood and observing
the changes that have taken place.
Final stanza – clear aggravation at father –
hypocritical?

4. Quotes to Underline & Explain
‘his shoulders globed like a full sail strung’
‘mapping the furrow exactly’
‘I stumbled in his hobnailed wake’
‘sometimes he rode me on his back’
‘I was a nuisance, tripping, falling’
‘It is my father who keeps stumbling’

5. Viewpoint
1st person narration – autobiographical
based on lived experience of poet.
Heaney reflecting on how their
relationship has changed over time.

6. Language & Imagery
‘an expert’ – admiration.
Animals obey his effortless instructions (‘single pluck’, ‘clicking tongue’)
Eager to follow in father’s footsteps – ‘I wanted to grow up and plough’
Stanzas laid out like furrows in a field.

7. Language & Imagery Nautical imagery. Lexis specific to farming.
‘Will not go away’ – frustrated tone, angry at father.