CCoollbbyy QQuuaarrtteerrllyy Volume 30 Article 3 Issue 1 March March 1994 SSeeaammuuss HHeeaanneeyy:: DDiivviissiioonnss aanndd AAlllleeggiiaanncceess Maurice Harmon Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cq RReeccoommmmeennddeedd CCiittaattiioonn Colby Quarterly, Volume 30, no.1, March 1994, p. 7-16 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Colby. It has been accepted for inclusion in Colby Quarterly by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ Colby. Harmon: Seamus Heaney: Divisions and Allegiances SeamusHeaneyatColby,February, 1993 Published by Digital Commons @ Colby, 1994 1 Colby Quarterly, Vol. 30, Iss. 1 [1994], Art. 3 Seamus Heaney: Divisions and Allegiances by MAURICEHARMON T HEPOETRY INSeamusHeaney'sfirstthreecollections-DeathofaNatural ist(1966),DoorintotheDark(1969), Wintering Out(1972)-seemstobe a poetry of happy recovery in which the imagination repossesses a secure, familiar background. Deceptively, it transcends the divide that education and departurehavemadebetweentheselfthatwritesandtheselfthatiswrittenabout. Thatneedto createan imaginative worldinbetweenwhatwas andwhatis, or between what is and what the imagination prefers, runs throughoutHeaney's career. Intheseearly books hecreatesan attractiveplacewiththematerialsof an actualplace. .Tospeakoftheearlypoetryonlyintermsofhappyrelationshipistomissthe tensions out of which it grows. The creative consciousness works across a division between understanding and experience. The poethas been distanced from the things which were a natural part ofhis formative years. To miss the disruptionanduncertaintycausedbythatloss,andtheresultingneedtodiscover andfashionanindividualidentity,istoundervaluethestrugglefromwhichthe poetrycomes.Thepoetrymakesupforloss,refusestobedefeated,worksoutan attractiveinterpretationofthepastandin theprocesscommemoratesawayof life and a Wordsworthian fostering by beauty and fear. It strengthens the connection,isself-strengtheningandself-creating,aforging ofvaluesthrough a process ofsympathetic reckoning. Thepoetry defines whathe values in his former community and in that definition defines and demonstrates its own values-thoseofcraftandofbelonging,ofbeingintouchwithandtruetoaplace, whatithasproducedandwhatithasgonethrough. Ifwetake"Digging"asthemomentinwhichthepoetfirstfeelswhathemay do, we can take "Bogland" as the first direction-finder out of the familiar. "Bogland"'sidealisedlandscaperatifies whattheimaginationholds dear. The choice taken seems to exclude the road not taken, the one, in effect, Heaney actually took. The more successful he was in creating a viable past the more conscioushebecameofallthatseparatedhimfromit.Atthesametime,theworld thathetookas hisimagination'sdomain inthemid-sixtieswas, withintwoor threeyears,afflictedbytherecurrenceofNorthernTroubles.These,too,hadto befaced; thesignsofthatcomingstormcouldbereadinthelandscape. Poems that take linguistic soundings read the landscape but alsodefine its divisions between Planter and Gael, Protestant and Catholic, Unionist and 7 https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cq/vol30/iss1/3 2 Harmon: Seamus Heaney: Divisions and Allegiances 8 COLBY QUARTERLY Nationalist.Thereisalegacyofinjusticeandfear.Thepoetry'sbeautyofsound and shape substitutes but does not deny the dissonance ofpolitical division, dispossession,colonisationandloss.Atthedeepestlevelthepoemsfightback, saying that deprivation cannot, will not, deny the poet the fullest possible imaginative achievement. That claim is subtly presented, the more tellingly present for being conveyed within image, metaphor and sound. Resentment, nationalist hurt, and racial wrong are driving forces. Some poems evoke an ancestrybeyondTudorinvasionandplantation.Somefirewarningshotsacross the gates ofthe demesne. The Moyola poems are detonations underground, where rivers run deep. Their explosive power is all the greater for being so melodious. In these ways Heaney finds a resolution to the challenges ofhis backgroundandculture,totheheritageofdispossession,topersonalmemories ofinjustice,andofbeingmadetofeelinferior,inaculturewhereone'sveryname evokes apolitical-religiouscoloration. He also takes apolitical stand without beingdrawnintotherhetoricofpolitics.Thepoetrygrowsfromhisstrugglewith himself,from hisdiscovery,acceptanceandcreationofhisfated field. Ifhewastoaccepthisresponsibilityasapoetwhowasdrawn,as"Bogland" makesclear,towardsafullinvestigationofitslayered,complex,dividednature, hewouldfindameansbywhichtoinvestigateit.WinteringOut(1972),aswell astakingsoundings,tookstock.Initsexaminationofheritage,hesideswiththe mound-dwellers,thelastmummer,theservantboywhodrawshimintohistrail. Theservantboyknowsthebackdoorsofthelittlebarons;hehasdevelopedaway ofdealing with historical injustice; he keeps his patience and his counsel, is "resentfulandimpenitent."Behindhimliethecausesofhiscondition: planta tions, poverty, starvation, the "geniuses who creep" in Spenser's terrible ac count. Like the last mummer Heaney is "trammelled/in the taboos of the country," picks his way through "the long toils of blood/and feuding," is adaptableandself-protective.Thelanguageanticipatestheverballandscapeof North. Intheextensiveinvestigationofhowtheselffeels,andhowtheselfresponds toasituationthatisinitselfnotsimple,thepoetrycreatesavarietyofmirroring presences;notjustthemanhoopedtohisfields, notjustthemusic-makerswith theirearstotheground,buttheservantboy,themummer,thedispossessed.He is"snared"tothelandhehascomposedhabitsfor. Heis"hooped,""sleeved," hidesinthehollowtrunk,Irelandishisnation,hespeaksinaself-identifyingway inaplacewherespeechrevealswhoyouare.Heregistersallofthis,claimsitall, acknowledges itall. He will notshirkordisguise both whatattracts and what seemsalien.Thepoemsrespondtothetugandpullofadividedheritagewhich hedoesnotsimplify;themoreheexploresit,themorerichlyandvariouslycan itberealised. Hecan optfor an attractivereadingofplace names, sincethese verify whatheis. Heyieldsto aself-definingimpulse: "Iopenedmyright-of way,""Icomposedhabits,""Iwasreadytogoanywhere,""Imightturn,""Ijust makeout,""Icockmyear,""Iwouldquestion,""Ipushinto," "Iamsleeved." In theseprojections ofan investigative, identifying pioneer, he negotiates his way in thelayeredlandscape. Theservantboy is also thewatchingpoetin"A Published by Digital Commons @ Colby, 1994 3 Colby Quarterly, Vol. 30, Iss. 1 [1994], Art. 3 MAURICE HARMON 9 NewSong."In"TheOtherSide,"thedispossessedspeakandobserve:language both identifies anddivides. On theothersidethechosen people, thepromised land,theBible;onhissidethepoorland,thescraggyacres,themournfulrosary. There is, to be sure, a kind of fanning community that can overlook these divisions,butwhathappenswhenthatneighbourputsontheuniformofanarmed B-Special, mans check points on the roads, interrogates, and asserts control? Howdoesthatexperienceaffecttheservantboy,thelastmummer,themenwith thememoriesofancientwrongsofwhichthisisjusttheimmediatesign?In"The ConstableCalls"thelawismale,dominating,andfrightening. The"Docker'"s fistwoulddropahammeronaCatholic.Therearemorewaysthanoneofkeeping yourindependence.Thenavvy hasnotrelented,heispluggedtothehardcore. Heaney's road has more twists and dips to it, itaccommodates a freer way of going.Inthelatesixtiesthehammerbegantofallandhasbeenfallingeversince. Poetryoccurssomewherebetweendreamingandthinking.Muchthatgoeson isinstinctiveandunpremeditated.Poetstrustsecrettributariesthat,attimes,flow together, meetingandconsortingagreeably.MuchofHeaney's watermusicis atributetotheprocess. SoateseveralpoemsinNorth (1975)whichrepeatthe emphaticself-definingdrive.Whatheneededandwhathefoundwasametaphor toilluminatehisaccumulatedawarenessoftheNorth'spolitics.ReadingGlob's BogPeopleengenderedanintellectualandimaginativescheme: apaganreligion comparable to Christianity, a myth ofkilling and resurrection, the images of TollundMan,GrauballeMan,andothers,morevividthantheimagesofChrist orthesaintsinthefamiliartexts;parallelsbetweenearlyIronAgeatrocities,and similar deeds carried out in Northern Ireland. The manner of writing poems which echoed with cultural, racial, and historical definition is replaced with a more explicit moral definition. The "we" and the "our" ofpoems that were admissions of happy belonging give way to a more troubled reflection on complicity as well as belonging. When the violence affectsand involves your kithandkin,youarealsoinvolved,eventhoughyouneverfireashot.Whenyour poetry responds to historical wrong you are involved. Ironically, because the poeticevidenceofyoursympathyisembodiedinimageandmetaphor,thosewho would claim you as theirs and with whom you feel closely bound may be dissatisfiedwithwhatyouwrite."NowtheywillsayIbitethehandthatfedme." Youalsoquestionyourself.Towhatdegreeandinwhatwaysmayyoucomment directly on political violence? Where does yourresponsibility to life end and yourresponsibility to art begin? Whatseparates the two? You experienceand sufferadualloyalty.Youmayseekasolutiontothatdivision, butthesolution is neverclear-cut. Thepoems in North lookinto the self, notoutfrom theself. They are self examiningpilgrimagesintotheconscience. Inroughoutlinethey maybeseen to animate a shifting drama of response, with different personae, different scenes.Theyanimatehisinvolvement."Itouchitagain,""Iwinditin,""Ipush back through dictions"..."re-enter memory," "I hold my lady's headllike a crystal.""Iunpin,""Iunwrap"..."andsee.""Ireachpast."Withintheportrait oftwoculturestheyenactavarietyofwaysinwhichtoreflectbothworlds,and https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cq/vol30/iss1/3 4 Harmon: Seamus Heaney: Divisions and Allegiances 10 COLBY QUARTERLY tousethetwoinmutuallyrevealingexposure. Theytesttheappropriatenessof hisreaction,releasehisdelightinwhatworks,remindhimofthedangersinthe comparison, recognise its evasive, voyeuristic aspects, and condemn what he does. "Funeral Rites" wills itself towards the slow triumph of the bonding, comforting funeral. It leads to the image ofGunnar in a state ofblessedness beyondrevenge, wherethecycleofviolencehasended."North'''sepiphanyis thesavageryhehas transcended. In aself-dramatisingmime, "VikingDublin: TrialPieces"identifiesthepoetasamoralistsniffingoutcorruption.Heshows ustheVikingsforwhattheyare:hoardersofgrudges,killers,gombeen-men.In "The Bog Queen," the victim rises from the dark and speaks directly. "The Grauballe Man" inspects a victim so perfected that he does not seem to be a corpse. In "Punishment,"themostself-accusingofthepoems, theempathetic imaginationisevenmoreintimate."Iwouldhavecast. ..Ithestonesofsilence." "Iwouldhavestooddumb"andI connive incivilizedoutrage yetunderstandtheexact andtribal,intimaterevenge. In "StrangeFruit" the beheaded girl outstares atrocity and the poet's stylised transmutation. "Kinship" celebrates the bog under its various aspects. "This centreholds." "Igrewoutofallthis." Hewas alsoHamlettheDane,parablist, and so 00. "Ocean's Love to Ireland," and related poems, give the historical backgroundofpossessionanddispossession.He"deified"memoriesofhisown life, butthisisourland; wehavesavageways, too. Even-handedly,scapegoat, victim, divided witness, thepoetsuffers,digests, andcreatesloveandhorror. Heaney's work, the poetry, the articles, interviews, reviews, essays, and uncollected poems, reveal conflictand uncertainty. There are inconsistencies andcontradictions,whathesaysononeoccasionqualifiedby whathesayson another, thechoices madein onebookofpoemsqualified by options taken in another,perceptionsinonesectionofabookqualifiedbyperceptionsinanother. Thepoemsenactandshareadramaofdecisionandindecision.Thepoetwrites to seehimself, his situationanditspossibilities, toopendoors intothelightof therationalimagination,aswellasintothedarkinterioroftheself.Hereaches out in discovery and intuition, returns to what was already perceived and recovered, enters into it in a deeper exploration to feel renewed and newly validated.Heisalwaysapilgrimbackintothelandoftheselfanditscontexts, alwaysasearcheraftersecretword-hoardswhoexpandsthesenseofconflictand paininthehinterlandandinhimself.Hereenactswhathasmadehimandinthat reenactment finds himself. But it is not an uninterrupted, error-free line of development. It is inaccurate and unfair to draw over him, in misguided admiration,achartofconstantgrowthanddevelopment.Suchpraiseleavesout thestrugglethroughwhichandby whichthepoetry andgrowth takeplace. InNorthbyadoptingthevoiceofthevictimorbycelebratingtheredeeming processesofthebog,Heaneyavoidsstatingdirectly andsimplisticallyhowhe feels. Healso releases language from the kind ofinertness that a response to Published by Digital Commons @ Colby, 1994 5 Colby Quarterly, Vol. 30, Iss. 1 [1994], Art. 3 MAURICE HARMON 11 immediatehorrormayinduce.Itisthebogqueenwhonarratesherstory;itisthe Viking dead who become things ofbeauty. By analogy presenthorror is sub sumed.Themethodsweetenssavagery.Playfulsubmissiontotheforcesofthe bogdistancesatrocityandproducestherisenbeauty.Butthetonechanges: the mothergroundissourwiththebloodofherfaithful;weslaughterforthecommon good, shave the heads ofthe notorious, "the goddess swallows/our love and terror." Theimaginationdigests whatevercomes. WhereasPartOneofNorthcreatesaworldbesidethereal world,mirroring itbutapart,PartTwomarksthepresenceofpolicemen,politicians,journalists, orangedrums,sectarianism,andcuteevasion.Itsdatesmarkapersonalsequence ofconfusion,uncertainty,fear,inferioritiesinducedbychurchandstate,andthe stirringsofindividuality.Thereisthecharacteristicnoteofunease: "forallthis artand sedentary trade/I am incapable." The voice, too, wavers: itexpresses communalirritation. Thepoemsleadonto"Exposure"whereinwinteryweatherthepoetquestions hisresponsibility.Thisisself-definitionofakindnotattemptedbeforeinallthe placings of the mimetic self, the histrionic imagination cauled in history, or geography,orlanguage.Insteadofcertaintiesitposesquestions.Howandwhy didheenduplikethis, bothvictimandwitness, sharingMandelstam'stristia? NowtheVikingdeadspeakwithforkedtongues.Thescalesarebalanced. The imaginedherostandsforasimplicitythatwillnotworkinacomplexsituation. Thereisnoplacefortheonce-in-a-lifetimedeed.Butthereareothervirtuessuch asendurance,patience,precision,andwisdominthefaceofsadness.Andthere is,asthepoemitselfdemonstrates,asdoNorth, FieldWorkandStationIsland, thevirtueofhonest,balancedreckoning.Thisquietnessisastrengthbecauseit says whatall goodpoemssay, thatpoetry has force by virtueofitsown truth. In 1974Heaneysaidthatthepoet'sfunction wasnottohelppeopletoadapt to the Northern crisis or to overcome it. His role was to give a true pictureof man's inhumanity to man, and for that he found the Icelandic sagas a good parallel, "dealingastheydidwithatightlyknitcommunity,reciprocalfeuding and murders which did not shock anyone too badly."1 The shock is absorbed through poetry, filtered in the imaginative treatment. Gunnar is a beautiful image,butthevengeanceinfactcontinued.Artcancreateimagesofbeautyto transcendandtransmutebloodanddeath.Butthatachievementisnotaformof callousindifference.JustbecausethepoemsinNorthbecomeobjectsofbeauty, absorbing suffering and death, and just because he places one world beside another,doesnotmeanthatthepoetdoesnotsufferwiththepeople.Heisboth AntaeusandHercules.Theexperiencesthatpunishthem,theatrocities,deaths, imprisonments, violence, fear, frustration, also enter him. What he does is to digest and reuse this savage food, refusing to meet savagery with a brutal response.Thatwoulddemeanpoetryandthepoet.Instead,hecreatesthingsof beauty in thebeliefthatbeautifulobjectssatisfyandsoothe. FieldWork(1979)hasacuttingedge.Thepoemsoutlineaworldthathasits 1. IrishTimes, 14Nov. 1974. https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cq/vol30/iss1/3 6 Harmon: Seamus Heaney: Divisions and Allegiances 12 COLBY QUARTERLY enduringsimplicitiesandpieties,itssolidbeautyofobjectandtask.Butviolence intrudes:soldierspatrollingwheretheydonotbelong,youngmenwithgunson thehillsides,intimationsofviolence,questionsofsurvival,theneedforforgive nessandunderstanding;"theislandisfullofcomfortlessvoices.""Who'ssorry forourtrouble?" "Whatwillbecomeofus?"Was thefisherman in"Casualty" culpable? "Howperilous isitto chooselNotto love the things we're shown?" "Whatismyapologyforpoetry?"Questioningisnowamodeaswellasamood. Thevoiceisclosetothepoet'sactualvoice.Thedramaofself-perceptionismore intense.Theartist-fishermanistruetoimpulsesandallegiancesthatmustnotbe overruled.Inpoemafterpoemtheartistgoesabouthisbusiness.Thatjustifica tionhastobemadeinthefaceofconflictingpressuresbetweenartandlife.For example,how shouldthepoethavereacted whenhiscousin wasshot? Heaneywasdeeplytroubledbythesufferingandself-sacrificeofthehunger strikers. They werevictimsasmuchas thosein theearlyIronAge. Ifhecould reactsympatheticallytothem,couldhenotreactwithequalsympathytothese nearerhome?Mighthebetooscrupulousinrefusingtogetinvolved?Hefeltthe urge to respond, buttodo so, he argued, is to loseone'smystery by being too openlypartofapoliticalsituation.Hewascaught"betweentheurgetowritelyric poetry, tomakebeautifulthingsthatarecomforting" andtheparalleldesire to "wreckthatcomfort"withthepoet'struth.2Butthetruthofartisadifferenttruth. Nevertheless,thedemandsonhimcannoteasilybepushedaside.Ishetooself consciousinhisuneaseaboutthepoet'sroleinthecircumstances?Toshutout politicswouldinitselfbeapoliticalstatement.Towritelyricsatatimeofdeep sufferingmaygivetheimpressionthatitis notall thatimportant. Helookedat otherpoets. Yeatstookastand.In"Easter1916"hedeclaredhimselfinrelationtoanevent andaperiod.Danteplacedhimselfwithinhistory,andaddressedpublicevents inaforcefulway.Theevidenceshowedthatapoetcouldspeakconfidentlyout of a particular history and a particular set of circumstances. His personal dilemmasmaybefocused wherehistoryandtheindividuallifeintersect.Field Work brings the autobiographical selfinto immediate contact with particular individualswhoselives havebeenbrutallyand wastefullyendedinasituation withwhichHeaneyhasalwaysidentified.Thecontactisonthelevelofkinship, shared experience and an intimate relationship with the common landscape. Tendernessandimmediacy,plainnessoflanguageandfeelingcharacterisethese portraitsofindividualsfatallycaughtintherealitiesofhistory,inHeaney'stime andplace. Literature itself is a form of betrayal. At a remove from experience it substitutesfictionsforexperienceandexposeswhatmightprefertobehidden. Itcancommentonpoliticswithoutbecomingdirectlyinvolved.AgainYeatsis anexample.Beingsoawareofthecausesandconsequencesofviolenceinthe North, Heaneycouldeasilyfeel guiltyofevasion. InStation Island(1984) we 2. TheNewYorkTimesMagazine, 13March1983. Published by Digital Commons @ Colby, 1994 7 Colby Quarterly, Vol. 30, Iss. 1 [1994], Art. 3 MAURICE HARMON 13 hear the doubting self. The dead accuse: "You confused evasion with artistic tact."Heaneypleads:"forgivemytimidcircumstantialinvolvement"andjudges "Ihateeverythingffhatmademebiddableandunforthcoming."Atthesametime hemustbefree, musthavehisownimaginativespace,tofillashewill withthe "trialpieces" ofhis art. Thatis theabsolution heseeks. StationIslandreexaminesforces, people,incidents,memories.Inoneframe after another it delineates moments of significant experience. Its series of encounterscreatesacomplex,changinganddevelopingdramaofidentification, involvementand assessment. "Youhavetotry tomakesenseofwhatcomes." You have to "remember everything and keep your head." Some are tender revisitings,someevokeknownplacesorrememberedobjects;theseare"refresh ing."Feelingandloveareessentialtothepoet-pilgrim'sexaminationofthings pastandpresent:notflintypurpose,butcompassion,sympathyandunderstand ing,virtuesappropriatetoapilgrimage,andtoapoem.Nolongerassertivethe "I"figurereviews,acknowledges,confesses.Confessionisnotjustaboutguilt, orthe burdens ofpoeticresponsibility. The accusing voices are deeply challenging. The murdered cousin, for example, subjectoftheLoughBegelegy,brings forward theconflictbetween sufferingandlyricpoetry.Theelegyconcludeswithasoothingceremony:"Idab youclean,""Iliftyouunderthearmsandlayyouflat,""Iplait/Greenscapulars towearoveryourshroud."Thetoneisdirectandintimate.WhenHeaneywrote in pity, he did not express anger at the murder, nordid he voice the rage ofa peoplesufferingsuchoutrage.Carletoncouldwieldtheknifeofsectarianhatred, butHeaneywillnotwieldthe"unforgivingiron."Theagitatedvoiceofthenext victimrelivesloveandterror,thehorrorofsectarianviolence,hisdoomedwalk tofacehisbare-facedkillers.Thisdeathisnotveiledinlyricsong.Thevoiceis ferocious.Itconfrontsthepoet's"circumspectinvolvement."Thevictimsimply doesnotunderstandthepoet'schoiceandthatmakesthechoicehardertojustify. Heaneyresponds: "ForgivethewayIhavelivedindifferent."Facedwiththe death of the archaeologist he admits another failure-the failure to comfort. Ironically,thepoetwhocanprovidesolaceinpoetrycannotbringcomforttohis dyingfriend: hefelt"guiltyandempty";hehad"failedanobligation";isstruck dumb. He was struckdumb also atthe news ofhiscousin's death; his feelings driedup. Butthecousindismisses suchexplanation, accuseshimofconfusing evasionwithartistictact,ofwhitewashingugliness,ofmakingdeathsweetwith thesaccharineofhispoetry,andthisalsohurts.FacedwiththefigureofaMaze hunger-striker, Heaney repents a life that kept him "competentffo sleepwalk withconnivanceandmistrust."Heyieldstofeelings ofdisgustinconfessional self-abasement. IhatehowquickIwastoknowmyplace. IhatewhereIwasborn,hateeverything Thatmademebiddableandunforthcoming. Butsuch vehemencegoesagainstthegrainofwhatheis.While'hedramatises his hatred ofall that made him what he is, he also accepts the way he is. The https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cq/vol30/iss1/3 8 Harmon: Seamus Heaney: Divisions and Allegiances 14 COLBY QUARTERLY accusationsendhere;recoverycomesintheabyssofguiltandself-blame.Hehas gained insight, sees, understands and is absolved. He discovers, or has con firmed, "theneedandchance/tosalvageeverything, tore-envisage." Imouthedatmyhalf-composedface Intheshavingmirror,likesomebody Drunkinthebathroomduringaparty, Lulledandrepelledbyhisownreflection. Asifthecairnstonecoulddenythecairn. Asiftheeddycouldreformthepool. Asifastonewhirledunderacascade, Erodedanderodinginitsbed, Couldgrinditselfdowntoadifferentcore. ThenIthoughtofthetribewhosedancesneverfail Fortheykeepdancingtilltheysightthedeer. "As if," "As if," "As if'-there is no point to this sourfacedmood. "There is nothingtoconfess." The poem ends in images of the dazzling cup, 5t. John of the Cross's absolvingandconfirmingpoemaboutloveandbeauty,theeternalfountain,full oflight, unending, refreshing the world. "No otherthing can beso beautiful." Joyce's admonitions confirm the importance of art and the poet's right to freedom. Isthepilgrim-poetdeeplyriven?Eventospeakofencounters,confrontations, orpurgationistousealanguagethatseemstoodramaticformostofwhattakes place. Heaney likes to make poems "which are full ofblessings and delights, whicharecelebrations,whichinthemselvesaretransformed,freethings,which affirmthattheironeandonlyfunctionistobeworkswhichgivedelight."But, atthesametime,hewassuspiciousofgivingpleasure.StationIsland,hehoped, wouldredeemhisrighttowritepleasurably.3 Bothartandlifebearupontheformationofthepoet.InStationIslandHeaney revealshisallegiancetoboth.Thevoicesofthedeadaccusehimofconnivance andevasion.Othervoicesurgehimtosteerclearofpolitics,torememberhisduty asapoet.ThepoemshowsthatHeaneydoesnotindulgecomplacentlyinlyric utterancewhilefriends dieandapeoplesuffer. Hisisa"voicethatmightcon tinue,hold,dispel,appease."Hecanclearhisconsciencethroughthepilgrimage, by showing himselftorn, challenged, and responsive to suffering. He has the feelingandlovethatHopkinsidentifiedasthetruesourceofpoetry.Throughthe pilgrimage,initsenactmentsofchallengeandresponse,hepurgeshisguilt.He can face the accusations, can mime the suffering, can present himself as sympatheticallyinvolved,can,inshort,facethechallengesandtherebyearnthe righttobefree.Heisbothresponsiveandresponsible.Hefeelstheneedtojustify whathedoes,inparticularthewritingoffree,lyricpoetry,atatimeandinaplace wherepeoplesufferandarenotfree.Hedemonstratesthathedoesnotrunaway fromreality.Thatjustifiesthepoem'sconclusion.Poetrywashesawaytheguilt 3. IrishTribune,30Sept.1984. Published by Digital Commons @ Colby, 1994 9