Seamus Heaney

Seamus Heaney Poems

Seamus Heaney is one of the best-loved poets of all time. After he passed away in 2013, the world went into grieving. During his lifetime, he was often referred to as the most famous living poet. Read more about Seamus Heaney.

Personal Helicon

by Seamus Heaney

Heaney’s ‘Personal Helicon’ draws inspiration from his rural carefree childhood and intimate connection with nature.

Taken from his most famous collection, Death of a Naturalist, this poem also contains many of the themes that would go on to define Heaney's career, including a fascination with rural Ireland, the passage of time and the loss of childhood innocence.

Anything Can Happen

by Seamus Heaney

‘Anything Can Happen’ depicts a contemporary anxiety while referring to a mythological past. The poem has four quatrains with no fixed rhyme-scheme.

At a Potato Digging

by Seamus Heaney

‘At a Potato Digging’ written by Seamus Heaney. The poem consists of four sections that depict men’s relationship with the land.

Blackberry-Picking

by Seamus Heaney

In ‘Blackberry-Picking’ the speaker is recalling a recurring scene from his youth: each August, he would pick blackberries and relish in their sweet taste.

Clearances

by Seamus Heaney

‘Clearances’ forms part of a series of sonnets in which Heaney examines his relationship with his mother, and focuses on her death.

Death of a Naturalist

by Seamus Heaney

‘Death of a Naturalist’ shows a child’s fascination of the countryside, followed by a sharp shock when he senses the dark side of nature.

District and Circle

by Seamus Heaney

‘District and Circle’, written by Seamus Heaney, depicts parts of a journey, or of several journeys, on the London Underground.

Docker

by Seamus Heaney

‘Docker’ is a 1966 poem by Seamus Heaney which depicts the life of a dockworker in Belfast and explores his personal and religious sense of discord.

Exposure

by Seamus Heaney

‘Exposure’ by Seamus Heaney discusses the poet’s role in a society and how he might contribute helpfully to the discourse of the time. 

Follower

by Seamus Heaney

‘Follower’ has many of the aspects which characterize the poems of Seamus Heaney. Having grown up in an area of Northern Ireland that greatly valued family, hard work, and farming, Heaney’s poems often reflect all of these values at once.

Last Look

by Seamus Heaney

In ‘Last Look’ by Seamus Heaney the tale is told of an older man who is standing stationary and staring blankly toward a physical “field,”

Mid-Term Break

by Seamus Heaney

‘Mid-Term Break’ by Seamus Heaney describes the emotional turmoil experienced by a speaker who has lost a loved one in a traumatic way. 

Punishment

by Seamus Heaney

‘Punishment’ is featured in North, a poetry collection published in 1975. North seeks for images and symbols to convey violence and political conflicts.

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