Follower

This poem was written by Seamus Heaney. The poet tells the story of his childhood with his father on the countryside. He follows his father while he ploughs throughout the field. The poet admires the way his father does this. He describes the action of ploughing as amazing and perfectly done. He is willing to follow his father’s footsteps. He achieves his dream as his father is too old to continue doing the job. The old man takes the place of his son, inverting roles. This is a typical case of the son taking care of the father’s lifetime achievement, working on it and improving what was left by the older man.

There is also a description of the physical conditions of the father in the very beginning of the poem, and the reader is also informed about this man’s works as a farmer. The man is described as a very hard-working person. The title refers to the admiration that the poet feels for his father and it also represents the desire of being like him in a future.

The author places himself in his childhood, and gives us his own point of view about the personal relation that he had with his father, which was very special and close. Being the first of nine children made this easier and is considered to be important.

The author is an Irish poet. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995.

Martina Izurieta and Manuela Scatena Bugallo