Politics, religion and the work of Seamus Heaney

The aim of this thesis is to examine Heaney's 'political' poetry and to demonstrate how the political, religious and social pressures of Ireland, since the outbreak of the Troubles in nineteen-sixty-nine, influence his work. Within . these parameters a study of the changes in Heaney's work is undertaken, which develops in three well defined phases of his career. The thesis concentrates on the period prior to the Troubles in Northern Ireland, through the years of violence, to the current uncertain peace. Heaney's poetry reflects a general historical and political awareness of the conflict surrounding him. He is concerned about the role and responsibility of the poet in society, and in particular in societies fractured by violence. Heaney wishes to avoid restrictive discourses which recapitulate established agendas which fuel the cycle of internecine violence. Throughout the three phases of his career, his perception about the role of the poet and the function of poetry changes, reflecting the situation in Northern Ireland. Heaney examines his Irish heritage, he becomes disillusioned with the impotent, ideological preconceptions of both tribes, the empty rhetoric of politicians, and with the dogmatic, enervating Roman Catholic Church. Heaney is forced into the position of public spokesman by the political convulsions of his time. This creates an agonising self-division, an ongoing struggle between embracing poetic responsibility or accomplishing the tribal duty of political commitment. Heaney reaches some resolution in the third phase of his career. - He accepts that art has limitations, but still believes in the efficacy of poetry. He enlarges his poetic scope by viewing Northern Ireland in relation to other areas of turmoil in the world. He finally resolves the dilemma of an artist in a tumultuous society by being artistically free and socially responsible, by encompassing the inter-dependency between the visionary and the actual