The first and third stanzas of this poem were the easiest for me to understand and make connections with. The second stanza came together after our discussion about it in class. Defining words you don't know is really a huge help when trying to interpret poetry. I had no idea what a "tench" was, and I think that's where my confusion came from. But after I understood the literal meaning, I could connect the stanzas together with its figurative meaning.
I often feel like I connect figurative meanings to sexual connotations by habit.
"I felt like some old pike all badged with sores
Wanting to swim in touch with soft-mouthed life" (Heaney 14-15)
But this quote was pretty obvious. Especially with the masculine, yet lonely tone of the poem. You could tell it was describing the thoughts of a lonely older male.
I usually enjoy poetry, it interests me that people can mean one thing and say something that has no apparent connection to describe it. Hopefully the rest of Heaney's work will intrigue me like "The Guttural Muse" did.
I agree. I had no idea what tench was either. But after I understood the meaning, it was easier to understand the poem.
ReplyDeleteKorinn, I definitely think there's a sexual component to this poem. We get the virginal image of the girl in the white dress, too. Good post!
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