So now, at the last line of the 5th stanza of "Turpin Song" (Electric
Light) we discover, we are told who the "we" are ... and we should thank
God that this prodigious, this survived Neanderthal poet, Seamus Heaney of
the Bog-Lands, endured millennia just for the sake of reaching us, here
and now , to bring with him to us the voices of our communal ancestors.
I enjoyed your analysis Erminia! Very cogent and interesting. I can see
something in the postition I see emerging here (which wasnt apparent to me
from your first mail).
I do find myself wondering if it makes a difference that Heaney is opposing
an _Irish_ collective voice against the centuries in which 'we' were the
English, having our way with a battered and broken people
?
L
(apologies to those who feel they have already run over this ground)
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