The Full Text of “Bogland”
The Full Text of “Bogland”
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“Bogland” Introduction
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“Bogland” Summary
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“Bogland” Themes
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The Irish Landscape and National Identity
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-28
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Bogland”
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Lines 1-4
We have no ...
... Encroaching horizon, -
Lines 5-8
Is wooed into ...
... of the sun. -
Lines 9-12
They've taken the ...
... full of air. -
Lines 13-16
Butter sunk under ...
... kind, black butter -
Lines 17-22
Melting and opening ...
... soft as pulp. -
Lines 23-28
Our pioneers keep ...
... centre is bottomless.
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“Bogland” Symbols
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Bogs
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 6-28
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“Bogland” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Imagery
Where imagery appears in the poem:- Lines 1-2: “We have no prairies / To slice a big sun at evening—”
- Lines 6-7: “Our unfenced country / Is bog that keeps crusting”
- Lines 13-17: “Butter sunk under / More than a hundred years / Was recovered salty and white. / The ground itself is kind, black butter / Melting and opening underfoot,”
- Lines 21-22: “Only the waterlogged trunks / Of great firs, soft as pulp.”
- Lines 27-28: “The bogholes might be Atlantic seepage. / The wet centre is bottomless.”
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Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 2: “slice,” “sun”
- Line 6: “country”
- Line 7: “bog,” “keeps crusting”
- Line 8: “Between,” “sights,” “sun”
- Line 16: “black butter”
- Line 17: “Melting”
- Line 18: “Missing”
- Line 19: “millions”
- Line 22: “pulp”
- Line 23: “pioneers”
- Line 25: “strip”
- Line 26: “Seems,” “before”
- Line 27: “bogholes,” “be”
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Metaphor
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Lines 1-2: “We have no prairies / To slice a big sun at evening—”
- Lines 3-4: “Everywhere the eye concedes to / Encroaching horizon,”
- Lines 5-6: “Is wooed into the cyclops' eye / Of a tarn.”
- Line 8: “Between the sights of the sun.”
- Line 12: “An astounding crate full of air.”
- Lines 16-19: “The ground itself is kind, black butter / Melting and opening underfoot, / Missing its last definition / By millions of years.”
- Line 22: “Of great firs, soft as pulp.”
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Enjambment
Where enjambment appears in the poem:- Lines 1-2: “prairies / To”
- Lines 3-4: “to / Encroaching”
- Lines 5-6: “eye / Of”
- Lines 6-7: “country / Is”
- Lines 7-8: “crusting / Between”
- Lines 9-10: “skeleton / Of”
- Lines 10-11: “Elk / Out”
- Lines 13-14: “under / More”
- Lines 14-15: “years / Was”
- Lines 16-17: “butter / Melting”
- Lines 18-19: “definition / By”
- Lines 21-22: “trunks / Of”
- Lines 23-24: “striking / Inwards”
- Lines 25-26: “strip / Seems”
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Repetition
Where repetition appears in the poem:- Line 2: “sun”
- Line 3: “eye”
- Line 5: “eye”
- Line 6: “Our”
- Line 8: “sun”
- Line 13: “Butter”
- Line 16: “butter”
- Line 23: “Our”
- Line 27: “The”
- Line 28: “The”
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“Bogland” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Prairies
- Slice
- Concedes to
- Encroaching
- Wooed
- Cyclops' eye
- Tarn
- Unfenced
- Bog
- Crusting
- Sights
- Great Irish Elk
- Peat
- Crate
- Definition
- Waterlogged
- Firs
- Camped on
- Atlantic seepage
- Bogholes
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(Location in poem: Line 1: “We have no prairies”)
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Bogland”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Bogland” Speaker
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“Bogland” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Bogland”
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More “Bogland” Resources
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External Resources
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The Poem Aloud — Listen to Heaney read "Bogland" in a 2003 studio recording.
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Heaney Remembered — Watch the Irish national news service's tribute to Heaney following his death in 2013.
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An Interview with the Poet — Watch a 1980 interview with Seamus Heaney, covering his rural Irish roots and approach to poetry.
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The Poet's Life and Work — Learn more about the poet in his biography from the Poetry Foundation.
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Heaney, Nobel Laureate — Check out the Nobelprize.org exhibit on Seamus Heaney, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Seamus Heaney
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