Punishment

The poem “Punishment” by Seamus Heaney, just like the bulk of his other works, consist of multiple counts of vivid imagery throughout the entire poem. As for Heaney poems go, it is if he tells stories, maybe even personal life experiences through the means of poetry, just as in “Punishment”. This poem uses an abundant amount of similes and metaphors to add emphasis on the imagery utilized. Heaney also does not include any rhyme scheme and structures this poem the way it is, perhaps, for a reasonable cause.
The imagery in this poem can be clearly seen or pictured in one’s head. From the nudity processed within the first two stanzas of the female in which the entire poem talks about, to the aftermath of the damage done to this female in the third through sixth stanza, to the sheer beauty she possessed in the seventh stanza, Heaney make it realistic as a poet and adds a storyline, not only to this poem, but to the likes of most of his plays in general. With the usage of the similes and metaphors also helps enhances the image that Heaney tries to portray.
This poem does not include a rhyme scheme whatsoever. Reasons for which I feel there is no rhyme scheme are because without one, it makes one focus on the poem as a whole. Most times rhythm and rhyme schemes puts emphasis on certain sections and brings to light some aspects of the poem in which the author may find more valuable than the rest of the text, but since Heaney chose not to incorporate any rhyme at all, I believe he wants us to gear our focus on the entire poem. This would mean that no one point in the poem is more important than the other.
Overall, this poem shows the death, or murder for that matter, of a beautiful young woman that happened to be an adulteress and sought pleasure by doing what others felt was not right. Her death could have aroused as a result of jealousy from the women in which tortured this young lady, or simply by the means of her wrong doings. This, I feel Heaney left to the reader’s interpretation. But, the fact that the speaker has grave affection for the lost of this woman and that he calls her a ‘scapegoat’ in the seventh stanzas stimulates the question of whether or not the young woman was guilty.