Storm on the Island Essay Questions

How does the use of sound in this poem affect and reflect its tonal progression from beginning to end?

Just as the poem's tone moves from bold confidence to reflective wonder, its sounds move from harsh stops to soft consonants. At the beginning of the poem, the speaker enumerates the islanders' preparations for the storm, speaking with sureness. Here, words like "slate" and "stooks" communicate confidence and simplicity, ending words with consonants like "K" and "T." Later, the speaker becomes more thoughtful and contemplative, and the sounds Heaney uses become slow and soft to reflect this shift in tone. By the poem's end, sounds like the soft "G" from "strange" and "huge" dominate, alongside the equally soft "th" from "nothing."

Discuss the use of enjambed and end-stopped lines in this poem.

At the beginning of "Storm on the Island," end-stopped lines convey confidence and preparedness. The use of lines such as "Sink walls in rock and roof them with good slate" communicates that the speaker knows exactly how each phrase will end and operates from a place of predictability or experience. As the storm overtakes the island, enjambed lines evoke its unpredictability, and line breaks mimic the literal breakage and damage of a natural disaster. For instance, the phrase "spits like a tame cat / Turned savage" uses a mid-phrase line break to create a feeling of suspense, confusion, and unpredictability. In the poem's last lines, though, as the speaker retreats inside during the storm and mentally retreats to a place of abstract thought, end-stopped lines once again become predominant, slowing the poem's pace.