A Conflicted Approach to History: “Easter, 1916” First Person Analysis Anonymous 12th Grade

Since 1801, Ireland was under British control due to the abolition of the Irish Parliament by the United Kingdom. Several uprisings had been attempted during the reign of the British, but none of them were necessarily note-worthy until Easter Morning of 1916. On this fateful day in Irish history, rebels within Dublin decided to clash with British soldiers and gain control of several vital government buildings within the city. Eventually, the uprising was extinguished by Britain and the leaders were captured and publicly executed. The concept of the uprising in general was not supported by the Irish people, but as time began to pass, the word martyr began to be used when referring to those who gave their lives in the hopes of autonomy for their people. The poem, “Easter, 1916”, details the thoughts of a singular man in the wake of the executions that followed the uprising. The speaker of “Easter, 1916”, attempts to convey the shifting of public opinion in Ireland as time progressed after the executions on a smaller scale by relaying his own internal conflict about those who led the uprising.

In the beginning of the poem, the speaker displays his disdain with those involved in the Easter uprising by reminiscing on how bright the...