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PAPER ID:IJIM/V.II(IV)/249-252/38
AUTHOR: Dr. Ashok Kumar
TITLE: IRISH HISTORY AND IDENTITY IN THE POETRY OF SEAMUS HEANEY
ABSTRACT: This research paper examines the themes of Irish history and identity in the poetry of Seamus Heaney, with attention to how his work reflects, interprets, and reshapes collective memory. The central argument is that Heaney’s poems transform historical trauma and cultural inheritance into lyrical form, providing both a record of Irish experience and a commentary on the ethical responsibilities of the poet. Close readings of “Requiem for the Croppies,” “Bogland,” “North,” “Punishment,” “Act of Union,” and “From the Frontier of Writing” demonstrate how Heaney negotiates the pressures of political violence and colonial history through symbolic landscapes, mythological parallels, and personal testimony. Drawing on critical voices such as Edna Longley, Helen Vendler, and Neil Corcoran, the study situates Heaney within debates about poetry’s role in times of crisis. The analysis shows that Heaney conceives identity as inseparable from history: land, myth, and memory intertwine to articulate an Irishness that is at once fragile and resilient. By aligning private lyric expression with communal remembrance, Heaney establishes poetry as both cultural archive and moral witness
KEYWORDS: Seamus Heaney, Irish, History, Identity, Poetry