A guide to analysing Seamus Heaney's "Follower"

1. FOLLOWER
Seamus Heaney

2. My father worked with a horse plough, 1
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung
Between the shafts and the furrow.
The horses strained at his clicking tongue.
An expert. He would set the wing 5
And fit the bright-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 10
Narrowed and angled at the ground,
Mapping the furrow exactly.
I stumbled in his hobnailed wake,
Fell sometimes on the polished sod;
Sometimes he rode me on his back 15
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 around the farm. 20
I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,
Yapping always. But today
It is my father who keeps stumbling
Behind me, and will not go away.

3. SUMMARY OF THE POEM
 The speaker tells us about his hardworking father. A
man he greatly admired.
 As a child, the speaker was not very useful on the
farm and must have been a nuisance to his father.
 As they both get older their relationship changes.
 The poem conveys the message about the bonds
between family members and the way time affects
us all.

4. STANZA 1 (LINES 1 – 4)
My father worked with a horse plough,
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung
Between the shafts and the furrow.
The horses strained at his clicking tongue.
 A horse plough is a farm tool pulled by horses and
used to break the soil before planting.
 Line 2: Simile – The father’s shoulders are
compared to a sail full of air. The shape being the
common characteristic.
 Shafts: long poles
 Furrow: shallow trenches dug into the ground.
 L4: Reflects control over the animals

5. STANZA 2: (LINES 5 – 8)
An expert. He would set the wing
And fit the bright-pointed sock.
The sod rolled over without breaking.
At the headrig, with a single pluck
 “An expert” tells us that the boy believed his father
to be outstanding at his work.
 This is confirmed in lines 7-8. The father is able to
plough without difficulty – an achievement greatly
admired by the speaker.
Wing, sock and
headrig = parts of
the plough

6. STANZA 3: (LINES 9 – 12)
Of reins, the sweating team turned round
And back into the land. His eye
Narrowed and angled at the ground,
Mapping the furrow exactly.
 Between lines 8 & 9, we see a poetic technique
called “enjambment” or “run-on lines” where one
sentence is continued onto the next line/stanza.
 The father’s ability is emphasised here when we
learn that he worked only by eye – and still got the
lines exactly right.
 The speaker’s admiration is clear.

7. STANZA 4: (LINES 13 – 16)
I stumbled in his hobnailed wake,
Fell sometimes on the polished sod;
Sometimes he rode me on his back
Dipping and rising to his plod.
 The speaker tells us that as a child, he was quite
clumsy on the farm.
 He loved following his father as he worked, but had
to be carried along due to his stumbling and falling.
 Plod: slow, steady style of walking.
Hobnailed refers
to very heavy
workboots
Stumbled: to walk
unsteadily or miss a
step.

8. STANZA 5: (LINES 17 – 20)
I wanted to grow up and plough,
To close one eye, stiffen my arm.
All I ever did was follow
In his broad shadow around the farm.
 We now learn that the speaker wanted to grow up to be
just like his father – a man he considered very strong
and capable – but he never managed to achieve his
ambition.
 The only thing the speaker did was follow in his father’s
shadow.
 Q: What tone is the speaker using here?

9. STANZA 6: ( LINES 21 – 24)
I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,
Yapping always. But today
It is my father who keeps stumbling
Behind me, and will not go away.
 The speaker reinforces the point that he could never be
like his father. “Yapping always” creates the image of a
naughty but energetic puppy.
 The change in the poem comes with the word: “But”
 We are suddenly confronted with the image of the father
being the troublesome, annoying person.
 The father has gotten old and now relies on his son.
Nuisance: an
annoying person
But: indicates a
change in the
tone/mood of a
poem

10. CYCLE OF LIFE:
SON IS
BORN
THE FATHER
SUPPORTS
HIS SON
BOTH
FATHER AND
SON GET
OLDER
THE FATHER
DEPENDS
ON THE SON
THE SON
GROWS
OLDER AND
BECOMES A
PARENT
HIMSELF

11. QUESTIONS:
1. Name and explain the figure of speech in
line 2.
2. What do we learn about the father’s ability
to plough?
3. How does the son feel about his father?
4. What is a furrow?
5. How would you describe the relationship
between the father and son?
6. How does this relationship change?

12. ANSWERS
1. Name and explain the figure of speech in line 2.
Simile. The father’s shoulders are compared to sails. The common
characteristic is the shape. This shows the father’s strength.
2. What do we learn about the father’s ability to plough?
The son says his father ploughs the land perfectly. “an expert”
3. How does the son feel about his father?
The son admires his father greatly
4. What is a furrow?
Shallow trenches dug into the ground (in which seeds are planted)
5. How would you describe the relationship between the father
and son?
They have a strong bond – the father is patient with his son and the boy
admires his father. The son is quite dependent on his father, but feels
annoying at times.
6. How does this relationship change?
The father and son age and the father becomes more dependent on
his son. Instead of the boy following the dad around – the situation is
reversed.

13. PARAGRAPH:
 Write a 6 – 8 line paragraph on the changing
relationship between the father and son as time
progresses.
[6 marks]