1. ‘Follower’
Seamus Heaney

2. Challenge: Can you find any other contrasting images in the poem?
My father worked with a horse-plough, His shoulders globed like a full sail strung Between the shafts and the furrow. The horse strained at his clicking tongue. An expert. He would set the wing And fit the bright steel-pointed sock. The sod rolled over without breaking. 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. I stumbled in his hob-nailed wake, Fell sometimes on the polished sod; Sometimes he rode me on his back Dipping and rising to his plod. 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. I was a nuisance, tripping, falling, Yapping always. But today It is my father who keeps stumbling Behind me, and will not go away.
Comparing the Verbs
Write a list of the verbs used to describe the father
Write a list of the verbs used to describe the son.
What do you notice?
Challenge: Can you find any other contrasting images in the poem?

3. Context Born in County Derry, Ireland in 1939
His father was a farmer and the countryside and nature are reflected in many of his poems.
He helped his father in the fields.
He did well academically and became a teacher and then a lecturer
He published a lot of poetry in the 1960s and 1970s
Literal
Follower
Metaphorical
Ambiguous
More than one meaning

4. The assonant long ‘o’ sounds emphasise the broadness of his shoulders
The simile and alliteration shows that just as sails harness the power of the wind, he harnesses the power of the horses and uses them to plough
My father worked with a horse-plough, His shoulders globed like a full sail strung Between the shafts and the furrow. The horse strained at his clicking tongue
Nostalgia
Onomatopoeia draws attention to his skill – he can control the powerful horses just by clicking his tongue
The verb suggests tough, physical work
Shafts – wooden poles which harness the horse to the plough
Furrow – a long trench in the soil made by the plough

5. The enjambment imitates how his father turns the horses around
It shows that he is technically skilled as well as strong. The short sentence means it is an inarguable statement
Repetition of the hard sounding letters ‘k’ and ‘t’ reflect the precision of his work
‘rolled’ and ‘breaking’ continue the nautical imagery. The sods are like rolling waves – the father is so skilled that he can roll the sod without breaking it
An expert. He would set the wing And fit the bright steel-pointed sock. The sod rolled over without breaking. At the headrig, with a single pluck 
Wing – Part of the frame of the plough
Sock – the blade that went into the soil
Sod – grass-covered earth
Headrig – point where the plough turns
The enjambment imitates how his father turns the horses around

6. They work as one with the land
Of reins, the sweating team turned round And back into the land. His eye Narrowed and angled at the ground, Mapping the furrow exactly. 
Technical skills
This stanza changes the emphasis from the contrast between the father’s skill and the clumsiness of his son – he won’t grow up to be like his father

7. The boots are sturdy – like his dad
A reference to a ship’s wake creates an image of choppy water – the son finds it difficult to follow his father
The boots are sturdy – like his dad
St Christopher – Carried Jesus across a river
Makes him sound godly and saint-like
This paternal image shows that they have a good relationship – he is patient and loving with his son
I stumbled in his hob-nailed wake, Fell sometimes on the polished sod; Sometimes he rode me on his back Dipping and rising to his plod. 
He describes his father like a ship riding the ‘dipping’ and ‘rising’ waves of the furrows. The rhythm of the poem seems to dip and rise – like the movement of being on his father’s back
Wake – The path left by a ship as it moves through the water

8. He feels like a failure for not learning how to plough
‘plough’ and ‘follow’ are half rhymes – suggests that he hasn’t been able to follow in his father’s footsteps
He feels like a failure for not learning how to plough
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.
He felt like he was living in his father’s shadow. He wanted to be as skilful and impressive as he was

9. Earlier the boy was stumbling, now it is the father
The list of verbs and enjambment emphasises the narrator’s clumsy persistence
Caesura makes the change to the present tense sudden and unexpected – heightens the impact of the final few sentences
I was a nuisance, tripping, falling, Yapping always. But today  It is my father who keeps stumbling Behind me, and will not go away.
Earlier the boy was stumbling, now it is the father
The narrator might be frustrated that the father won’t go away or he may be glad that they have a strong bond
The follower in the title is now the father – the title refers to them both at different times

10. Structure and form 6 verses – regular structure
4 lines per stanza (quatrains)
8 syllables and 6 iambic feet (iambic tetrameter)
I stumbled in his hob nailed wake
Possibly the steady horse’s hooves
Alternate rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF….
Reflects the steady movements across the field.
Some of the rhymes are half rhymes. Reflecting the son’s inability to keep up and follow?
First 3 stanzas – father
Next 2 and a half – son
Final 2 lines – father as a old man
Enjambment – farmer doesn’t stop but is steady
Neat shape reflects the neat field the father is ploughing

11. Nautical Imagery
Caesura
Enjambment
Simile
Admiration
Bond
Failure
Identity
Paternal
Relationship
Physical
Rhythm
Assonance
Onomatopoeia
Nostalgia
Nautical Imagery
Caesura
Enjambment
Simile
Admiration
Bond
Failure
Identity
Paternal
Relationship
Physical
Rhythm
Assonance
Onomatopoeia
Nostalgia
Nautical Imagery
Caesura
Enjambment
Simile
Admiration
Bond
Failure
Identity
Paternal
Relationship
Physical
Rhythm
Assonance
Onomatopoeia
Nostalgia
Nautical Imagery
Caesura
Enjambment
Simile
Admiration
Bond
Failure
Identity
Paternal
Relationship
Physical
Rhythm
Assonance
Onomatopoeia
Nostalgia
FATHER – SHOULDERS – FURROW – TONGUE – EXPERT – STEEL – POINTED – SOD – PLUCK – TEAM – ONTO – GROUND – EXACTLY – WAKE – FELL – BACK -PLOD – WANTED – STIFFEN – FOLLOW – SHADOW – NUISANCE – BUT - AWAY
FATHER – SHOULDERS – FURROW – TONGUE – EXPERT – STEEL – POINTED – SOD – PLUCK – TEAM – ONTO – GROUND – EXACTLY – WAKE – FELL – BACK -PLOD – WANTED – STIFFEN – FOLLOW – SHADOW – NUISANCE – BUT - AWAY
FATHER – SHOULDERS – FURROW – TONGUE – EXPERT – STEEL – POINTED – SOD – PLUCK – TEAM – ONTO – GROUND – EXACTLY – WAKE – FELL – BACK -PLOD – WANTED – STIFFEN – FOLLOW – SHADOW – NUISANCE – BUT - AWAY
FATHER – SHOULDERS – FURROW – TONGUE – EXPERT – STEEL – POINTED – SOD – PLUCK – TEAM – ONTO – GROUND – EXACTLY – WAKE – FELL – BACK -PLOD – WANTED – STIFFEN – FOLLOW – SHADOW – NUISANCE – BUT - AWAY