In "Requiem for the Croppies", Heaney presents the reader with a stark image; the 'broken wave' that 'soak[s]' the 'slope'. The broken wave evokes a sense of anti-climax, as a wave can gain momentum, reach its peak, and eventually capsize, possessing great power and destructive force. Here, however, this wave is "broken", split and interrupted before reaching its full potential. This conveys bitterness, disappointment and a sense of wasted opportunity, as the effort made to generate this underground movement, or "wave", against oppressive British rule in Ireland in the late 18th century is undone by a terrible, in contrast, a sudden "final conclave". The hissing assonance of this same line ("the hillside blushed, drenched in our broken wave"), is an auditory image that captures the onomatopoeic sound of the "wave" of blood, and this presents the reader with an image of comparison; of soldiers wallowing in the blood of their own comrades, continually massacred, to underline the true horror and extent of this disaster. The reader is peppered with many other shocking images, such as bodies being "terraced" by the thousands, which suggests that the battlefield is so teeming with corpses that from a distance the hillside would instead resemble a jagged, stepped cliff. , composed of multiple “terraces,” bodies piled on top of each other to clear the battlefield for more atrocious bloodshed, highlighting the disturbingly inhuman and relentless nature of the battle. Through these images, Heaney paints a desolate landscape, as the soldiers' momentum and hope (implied in the wave) are cruelly and mercilessly devastated and violated. It seems all hope is lost. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay However, when the poem finally moves away from the battlefield in the last line, a change occurs. Time has passed, the poem is now "in August" and the monstrous battlefield scene is somewhat attenuated, calmed by this separation of time. Now the public is presented with a starkly contrasting picture, as "barley [grows] from [the soldiers'] graves." This “barley” is by contrast new, vulnerable and just germinating – representing a tenderness and weakness that this battlefield – now field – was so previously devoid of, the brazen and savage destruction contrasted with this uninterrupted growth. The spirit of the fallen crops, whose agricultural "sickles", unprepared for a bloody war, were painfully maladjusted by the faithful military "cannon", is perfectly captured by this crop, which parallels the agricultural origins of the revolution. This 'barley' therefore serves both as a symbol of new life and perseverance, but also as a memorial, testimony to the tenacity and courage of the improvised soldiers who had nothing to live on except the few grains they carried in their 'pockets' . In this way, Heaney describes that while the scale of the "Vinegar Hill" disaster may seem to erase any sense of hope or purpose for the revolution, the new "barley" denies this; life prevails over death, and this experience, whether its immediate effect of torturous physical pain, becomes an experience of growth and eternal memorial, commemorating the powerful sacrifice and courage of these men who did not falter, even in the face of to such monstrous and overwhelming opposition. In this way an idea is introduced; the idea that intense suffering can also confer knowledge, experience, and power that lives on. In “A Transgression,” the reader is immediately introduced to two presences;"the teacher" and the "big kids". The notion of "teacher" is one of supervision, and "big boys" have connotations of power, dominance, and maturity; the voice of this poem is therefore childlike, in awe of the responsibility these "big boys" are given to go out and "pick up sticks", trust this older, controlling "teacher" figure. The older boys' activity, 'collecting wood', is decidedly adult: they provide for others, they collect tinder for the fire, which symbolizes life, protection and comfort, but it is also very patriarchal. The young Heaney's vision of the "teacher" and the "big boys" is in this way almost a form of idolatry, and consequently he wishes to be old, to be trusted like the "big boys" ("I wanted to go out as well "). Then, paralleling the instantaneous nature of the “final conclave” in “Requiem for the Croppies,” “one afternoon” the boy is given access to this alluring, mature world; he is "at liberty" under a "ragged and hasty sky." The description of the boy as "at large" is telling; this action, in the euphoric 'escape-joy', is prophetically wrong, almost criminal; he is ominously "at large", as if a convict had escaped from a prison. These words capture the sense of rebellion that permeates this whole escape, it's 'dar[ing]'; an ostentatious, immature outpouring of bravado that pales in comparison to the "big boys" who don't have to work to gain this confidence; they are simply "let" "out". As a result, the reader is presented with a ream of images that are constantly filled with terror; the 'black stain' of the 'gypsy fire', the 'rags' on the 'stripped hedge', the 'magpie' that 'r[i]se[s]' and flies away. Where fire, just like 'sticks', symbolizes life and survival, all that remains of the nomadic and free gypsies, are the charred 'black' remains, deathly dull and disappointing. The description of the grass as “roadside” implies that it is overrun by industrial asphalt and is therefore devoid of nutrients and herbaceous, neither lush nor vibrant. This is mirrored by the “stripped” hedge which has been similarly stripped of life and interest, and as a result this world is bare and squalid; the freedom the boy sought (the exciting, strange 'gypsies') has either moved on or failed to live up to the boy's expectations. This is summed up in the "magpie", once again a symbol of freedom, which flies away exhibiting an unparalleled movement, to leave the boy only a "void" that is not enough. The reality the boy confronts is that the outside world is not the heavenly realm that had been conjured up in his imagination, but rather that he is trapped beneath the "dome of heaven", cruelly segregated from this utopia by an impenetrable and unattainable firmament , so only the "magpie" that abandons him can get close. The lexical complexity of the last verse, in particular the "ado", is in contrast with the elementary and childish language of the initial stanza ("teacher", "big boys") which limits itself to narration, a narration that sticks to concrete facts such as the date and time ('at two o'clock', 'in the year nineteen forty-six'). This linguistic transition is emblematic of the series of realizations the boy undergoes; there was a gain in experience. He is more mature and is able to recognize his parents' cues and emotional nuances: despite his "transgression", the boy is welcomed by his parents with a "look". This language gives the sense that the parents are glassy-eyed, contemplative, and still overwhelmed by an unceasing love for the boy, despite his unexcused absences. Similar to the soothing epilogue of “Requiem for the Croppies,” this undoes what the boy has done and everything comes"..