Question: How does Heaney present family relationships in “The Wife’s Tale” and “The

Harvest Bow?”

Seamus Heaney explores family relationships in The Wife’s Tale and The Harvest Bow
through the exploration of other themes like tradition, unspoken bonds as well as a range of
poetic and structural devices. Heaney uses poetic devices like imagery and symbolism to
emphasise and explore the complexity and multifaceted nature of relationships.

Heaney manipulates and utilises the structure and form in The Wife’s Tale in order to
showcase the theme of family relationships. This narrative poem narrates a moment
between a wife and her husband during a harvest meal. The poem is structured as a free
verse poem with an element of being a narrative monologue and defies the traditional
gender roles of the time by giving a voice to the wife and her perspective by making her the
speaker of the poem. Following Heaney’s typical style, he utilises very conversational
language and this coupled with the lack of rigidity as a free verse poem which uses
enjambment reflects the informality of rural life and the ease they have together as a couple
in their familial relationship. This further goes to present their family relationship as
supportive and easy going. On the other hand the controlled line breaks hint at the unvoiced
emotions beneath the surface and this tradition of using acts of service rather than verbal
communication as a means of expressing love in family relationships is also echoed in The
Harvest Bow where the father creates harvest bows for his child in order to express the
unspoken love between them. This reflects the attitudes of the time in rural areas such as
the one where Heanery grew up in where family relationships relied on acts of service to
communicate feelings of love as opposed to the reliance and importance of verbal
communication that is common to use as modern readers. The use of enjambment
throughout the poem also helps to create a flowing rhythm and create a sense of normalcy
and routine and therefore presents this family relationship as stable, tried and tested, and
comfortable with each other as they are comfortable and therefore find comfort in each
other’s presence. The poem’s lines also frequently run into another without strong pauses for
example in “…I heard their boots/ Crunching the stubble twenty yards away” and this goes
further to add to the fluidity of the poem which mirrors the fluidity in their family relationship.
The conversation tone also reflects the informal, loving yet slightly detached nature of the
wife’s experience because despite being part of the scene, she is also an observer of the
men’s work. This is clearly seen in “So I belonged no further to the work.” The interjection
“so“ coupled with the full stops creates a sense of finality in the statement and solidifies the
separation in gender roles that was common in family relationships during that time.

In The Harvest Bow, Heaney adopts a more structured, reflective form to explore his
relationships with his father. The poem is a lyrical(?) poem with no rhyme scheme and the
narrative flows smoothly, aided by enjambed line endings and long sentences. The poem
has a regular stanza structure that reflects the steady presence of the father in their family
relationship and the steady feeling of love experienced by Heaney from his father in this
family relationship and recalls throughout the poem. The absence of rhyme suggests natural
speech making the poem feel like a personal recollection of his family relationship rather
than a formal tribute. This reiterates to the reader that the familial relationship between them
was warm and loving and this memory is held very dearly to Heaney. This idea is solidified
by the final line of “Yet burnished by its passage, and still warm”. Similar to The Wife’s Tale,
here Heaney also utilises a full stop to create a sense of finality to underscore to the reader
that the memory of the relationships he had with his family is still a lovely memory despite
the destructive nature of time. Heaney also utilises irregular line length to evoke an image of
the father’s hands at work, twisting and weaving, reinforcing the tactile connection between
father and son in their family relationship. The twisting and weaving further highlight the
importance and use of acts of services as a demonstration of love that was common during
Heaney’s childhood.

Heaney presents the theme of family relationships in The Wife’s Tale through a range of
imagery. Heaney uses sensory descriptions to highlight the wife’s role in the family
relationship. The opening line of the poem being “When I had spread it all on linen cloth”
immediately introduces the theme of gender roles in the relationship as the sensory
descriptions create and image of a domestic setting showing how the wife’s contribution to
the family relationship is womanly duties such as cooking and setting the table. The “linen
cloth” is a metonymy for all the wifely duties in the family relationship and despite the clear
gender roles, Heaney uses this metonymy to depict how the wife is keen to provide in her
own way and wants to support the family relationship and her husband in the way that she
knows how. Heaney introduces a sense of balance in the family relationship by depicting
how they both take time to admire each other’s work. This is made clear through the simile
and triad “hard as shot,/ Innumerable and cool…” The simile “hard as shot” is contrasted
with the images of “linen cloth” that the wife brings to sensory depiction. This contrast
depicts the man’s world as dangerous and this coupled with the triad underscores to the
reader the strength and diligence that the husband has and brings to the family relationship.
The woman brings the submission and softness to the family relationship that was necessary
for the relationship to work. This sense of their familial relationship being harmonious and
them working in tandem is first introduced in the last line of the first stanza where it says “I
heard their boots/ Crunching the stubble twenty yards away”. The onomatopoeia creates a
sense of urgency and immediate obedience on behalf of the men as they obey her quickly
when she calls. This portrays to the reader that their family relationships are harmonious.
There is a motif throughout the poem of this family relationship being about harmony and
balance and this is then clearly outlined heavily at the end of the second stanza and onto the
third stanza: “Even when I don’t know what to look for. /But I ran my hand in the half-filled
bags” and then continued in “I moved between them back across the stubble”. The adverbial
clause “Even when” heightens the sense of balance in this familial relationship as despite
her lack of knowledge she is still willing to do it in order to please her husband.This
willingness and sense of compromise is then furthered in “But I ran my hand”. The
conjunction “But” reiterates and underscores the sense of compromise that they are willing
to demonstrate towards each other in the familial relationship. This clearly depicts this family
relationship as sacrificial and a selfless one as they both value and seemingly prioritize
having a sense of balance in their relationship as it enables them to both appreciate each
other and their efforts more deeply. The active verb and therefore movement in “I moved”
reflects how they go back and forth to one another such as during a dance and how in sync
they are with one another. This desire for approval and appreciation in this family
relationship is also presented in the last stanza: “There’s good yield,/Isn’t there?’ - as proud
as if he were the land itself” The use of dialogue illustrates his desire for his wife’s approval
and validation which she similarly receives from him earlier in the poem. The simile “as
proud as the land itself” not only highlights the gender roles of the time as it draws attention
to the desire and importance of masculinity and machismo for men of the time. It also
references Irish literature as for the Irish people, land is a big part of their identity and
therefore so is harvesting. The theme of rural landscapes and harvesting underscores their
connection to land and this represents their down to earth nature and lack of pride and
arrogance in their familial relationship as despite the clear separation of gender roles and by
extension the expected misogyny, the husband is totally appreciative of his wife and her
efforts and does not view his work as more important than hers. The rhyming couplet at the
end of the poem with “ease…trees” emphasises how they are in sync and balanced
together. The couplet represents the both members of the family relationship mentioned in
the poem and how they are in accord. The harvest itself symbolises both the physical labour
and the effort needed to sustain their familial relationship alongside their roles. The wife is
involved in the process, however there is a sense of separation between both their roles
reflecting on the traditional gender roles.

Heaney presents family relationships in a more personal manner as he becomes the

speaker of the poem and the subject is his relationship with his own father. The title “The
Harvest Bow” is a symbol of the father’s love and patience for his son in their familial
relationship. The bow represents the father’s skill, patience as well as the poet’s connection
to him. It is then later described as a “throwaway love not of straw”. The degrading adjective
“throwaway” presents both the transient nature of harvest bow and its is not meant to last
forever unlike the love in their family relationship. This line immediatel;y juxtaposed the
previous line where the harvest bow is described as being a “knowable corona ”. The
metaphor presents the sheer value of the harvest bow to him and his family relationship as it
is being compared to being the bright eye of the sun. This reverential description
underscores to the reader the importance of the harvest bow to their family relationship.
Heaney’s appreciation for something so disposable also presents their family relationship as
being filled with contentment as bothe the son and father enjoy a sense of comfortability in
each other’s presence and simply appreciating the small things done for them as they know
it represents their love. However through sensory description later on in the poem, we are
informed that he kept the harvest bow. The preservation of the harvest bow is representative
of the fondness and love present in their family relationship even after all these years. “That I
have pinned up on our deal dresser” depicts to the reader how Heaney has given the
harvest bow from many years ago a place of prominence both in his memories but also in
his home . The interview from 1996 helps to shed light on why this particular harvest bow is
so important despite being a “throwaway” piece and easily disposable. This harvest bow is
important because the harvest bow also represents the memories from the summer before
he went off to boarding school in Derry. Heaney remembers asking his father to make him
one before he moved to Wicklow. Heaney maintains it sits on his dresser, acting as a
permanent memory of his father. The characterisation of the father throughout the poem
helps also characterise their family relationship as he would have a huge impact on it due to
his role as the patriarch and this was highly important during that time period. Heaney uses
direct address in “you implicated the mellowed silence in you/ In wheat that does not rust” .
The descriptive adjective “mellowed silence” links his dad to the theme of harvest and
signifies how his temperament has grown and softened over time. It also goes on to echo
the theme in The Wife’s Tale where there is a reliance on acts of service to express
everything that cannot or will not be said. The active verb “implicated” coms from the latin
word implico which means to interweave and this links with the image throughout the poem
of his father weaving the harvest bow. It also shows how despite his doubt, his father allows
himself to be intimately connected to it and utilises it to convey his feelings of love for his
son. The connotations of the world represent how the harvest bow is a symbol of their love
and their increasingly interconnectedness in their family relationship. Heaney then continues
to characterise the father as highly skilled in “harked to their gift and worked with fine intent/
Until your fingers moved somnambulant” The personification in “their gift” reiterates to the
reader just how talented his father was. The double entendre in “harked” relates to just how
practiced his father was as his skill and how easily it came to him now. This idea is furthered
in the hyperbole “fingers moved somnambulant”. The hyperbole suggests he is so well
practiced and his gift is so wonderful that he could fashion one in his sleep. The double
entendre also relates to how this poem is about nostalgia and memory and “harked” also
means to be remembered. The idiomatic phrase “fine intent” underscores how much Heaney
appreciates how his farmer or a father could have wasted his gift on harsh labour but instead
makes him something intricate similar to his and poetry. This idea is echoed in his poem
“Digging” where he discusses how he would dig with his pen instead. The understanding of
his son on behalf of the father is clear as he decides to make him something intricate as he
is an artistic and gentle soul as opposed to showing him how to rear cows or other farm
related work. His appreciation for creativity could reflect his acceptance of his son’s choice
not to be a farmer and his decision to give him something creative before he goes off to
boarding school presents this family relationship as full of acceptance, creativity and love.

Both poems explore family relationships through physical labour and acts of service - oen
through harvesting and preparing meals, and the other through crafting. In The Wife’s Tale,
there’s an appreciation for both roles and each other whilst in The harvest Bow, the father
and son bond is expressed through an object imbued with memory. Heaney uses
symbolism, imagery and structure to highlight the depth of these relationships especially
when words remain unspoken.