Bone Dreams by Seamus Heaney Essay -- English Literature

Bone Dreams by Seamus Heaney An AnalysisBone Dreams is an obscure and trying poesy to understand. In all mysearching on the internet, I appoint very little to help me in myanalysis of this poem and so the ideas are basically my own. I mightbe wide of the mark, scarce for anybody struggling to understand thispoem, it might at least give you well-nigh ideas of your own. I make noapology for asking questions or for appear vague or even muddled inplaces. I trust that this essay is of help to somebody, somewhere.The poem begins in a thoughtful wit the voice is relaxed, Whitebone found/on the grazing suggesting that the loudspeaker is walking inthe countryside when he discovers a piece of bone in the grass. Heuses tactile imagery to describe his palpate, the bone is rough, porousand has the vocabulary of touch. This image would be powerful if notfor the mildness of the language, which conveys a musing quality inits passivity, for example, found and grazing - these words induce nothing of a hurry about them and suggest a placidity of mind inthe opening stanzas.He continues to describe the piece of bone, do comparisons with aship-burial and notes the impressions in the grass as yellowing, ribbed. The word ribbed is suggestive, with its subject matter ofbone, to a rib-cage.The bone takes on a importation which is greater than its intrinsicworth which is nothing because the speaker equates it withtreasure it is, flint-find, a nugget of chalk, the word nugget be quite often associated with gold, and therefore he says it has avalue in itself. Flint suggests history, a link to the rock-age andthe find is, in fact, described as being, as dead as stone. So here... ... little points were the eyes, as if tosay that he had never really seen anything. Furthermore, if he isidentifying with the English (if he is the mole) then this poemcould be about trying to see through the eyes of the invader andcoming to a new understanding through this identification process .The shutting lines are exceedingly optimistic, as if the sun has come outfrom being behind a very large, black cloud I touched(p) small distantPennines, /a pelt of grass and grain/ running play south.The final section as a whole is highly suggestive of discovery or ofrealisation, of alter perception and of forgiveness for chivalric sins.The poem begins in Ireland with a piece of yellowing bone, but ends inEngland with a dead mole. The bone found on Irish grass has interpreted himthrough a series of thoughts and memories. At the end he seems alteredby the experience.