Figurative Language In Follower By Heaney And Waterhouse

Firstly, both Heaney and Waterhouse have used figurative language to animate how the young boy in each of their poems admires his father or grandfather. In ‘Follower’, Heaney starts off by comparing his father’s ‘globed’ shoulders to a ‘full sail strung’- across some sort of boat. Other sailing imagery is also used throughout the poem. For instance, ‘mapping the furrow exactly’ and ‘i stumbled in his hob-nailed wake’, where the poet’s father is juxtaposed with a sea captain and a boat, respectively. This indicates that the young boy looked up to his father, he saw him as a strong, large and powerful man. Similarly, in ‘Climbing My Grandfather’, an extended metaphor is used. The poet compares his grandfather to a mountain, which he
‘climbs’. The extended metaphor is reinforced by the frame of reference, which helps in making it make sense: ‘The nails are splintered and give good purchase’, ‘then pull myself up the loose skin of his neck’. The comparison of his grandfather to a mountain could connote that the young poet looks up to his grandfather, respects and admires him. He sees him as an old, wise and large man. The boy’s determination shown when he decides to ‘do it free, without a rope or net’ suggests that he is inspired and/or challenged by his grandfather. Secondly, both poems are written in the first-person point of view: ‘I stumbled’ (in ‘Follower’) and ‘I decide to do it free’ (in ‘Climbing My Grandfather’). In both cases, this creates a personal and convincing effect; it makes it easier for the readers to empathise with the narrator. It also makes it seem realistic; more like an experience than just a story.