Gifts of Rain :: English Literature

Gifts of RainSeamus Heaneys rime Gifts of Rain is divided into 4 sections. These 4sections could symbolise the stages of life which consists of birth,childhood, adulthood and death. It could also symbolise the stages ofthe river in which it suggests the discipline of the river from itssource to where it gets strong. Or of course, it could symbolise thestages of the water cycle. Water is the symbol of life, further i can alsobe seen as purity, freshness or youth. In this mysterious rime, Heaneytakes a simple view of life and it seems nearly documentary-like. Thetitle of the poem Gifts of Rain gives it a despotic feeling, butalthough water has its positive aspects such as lifegiving andgrowth, it also has its negative aspects, such as beingness dangerous oreven deadly.The first section of the poem has no direction and the rhythm isirregular. This suggests that the rain may come unexpectedly andstarts off-key somewhat jaggedly. The rest of the poem flows and hasrhythm and there is regularity in each section. This mimics the private road as the rain as it comes down from the clouds. The raceway onin the stanzas give the sense that the rain is overflowing. Althoughthe title of the poem gives a positive feeling, the opening lineCloudburst and steady deluge now for days gives the effect of amonotonous image and a depressing persistance. He begins to senseweather by his skin portrays temperament and the sense of a survivor. Theanimal-like image continues for the rest of the first section and themovement of that animal continues as the animal goes uprooting whichgives the sense of nature being destructive. Heaney may have includedthis deliberately to show that nature is not as angelic as people maythink. The end of the section highlights the poem as Sounding.Soundings. is what Heaneys poems are all about and more precisely,what this poem is about.A man wading lost fields breaks the pane of flood which starts the twinkling section gives the effect of pain and hurt. The man survives bygoing along with nature and resisiting it, but it also gives theeffect of danger at the comparable time. Like a cut swaying carries on theeffect of being deliberate, perspicacious and precise and its red spoorsand his hands grub continues with the theme of the animal mixture ofworld. The sunken drills give the effect of digging deep and theatlantis he depends on gives a hint of an insecurity of life, as if