"Follower"

“Follower” by Seamus Heaney

In the poem “Follower” by Seamus Heaney, Heaney expresses the love and bond between that of a father and son. The speaker, or the son in this case, looks up to his father and admires the work he does, as well as the way he goes about accomplishing the tasks his father set out for himself. Not only does the son articulate his love for his father and his work, but the father shows his love and care for the son, as a father should. As the son followed in his father’s footsteps all his life, the irony kicks as the child ages, leaving the father to trail the likes of his own son. With imagery as such utilized in the poem, one can vividly envision the author’s work and grasp a better understanding of what the poem has to offer.
The son had seen his father as a very strong individual with the ability to do so much, especially when it came to his father’s job, which was farming. He claimed his father “an expert” and always seen himself growing up to, one day, do as his father did, as well as how he did it. Although the son felt as if he was a nuisance to his father at times, the father expressed his love for his son despite the fact. What seems to be the paradox in the poem happens to be the last two lines of the play. The speaker conveys how it is his father who follows behind him now, and appears that he will not go away, thus, seeing his father as a nuisance as he claims he was to his father. Why he sees his father as a bother could ensue reasons as to why this is. The elderly state of the father could have played a role in him being a nuisance, or the father could have simply done or could be doing something unpleasant in the son’s eyes that resulted in the father becoming unworthy of looking up to anymore, leaving the son on top to care of his father now.
With such word choice as “stumbling” to describe his father’s action when the son figuratively becomes the authority emphasizes how much he has fallen off from the son’s perspective. The image of this can vividly be envisaged with such diction used, not only in this aspect, but throughout the entire poem. Heaney’s imagery in combination with his diction helps one to clearly comprehend a given situation in his poems. Overall, the poem “Follower” displays a sense of how what is on top does not always remain and that all greats come to an end eventually. This poem gives off the wisdom that one can make their way to the top, leaving them in charge and having others to follow what they do.