The Full Text of “Exposure”
The Full Text of “Exposure”
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“Exposure” Introduction
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“Exposure” Summary
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“Exposure” Themes
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The Role of the Poet in Turbulent Times
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-16
- Line 21
- Lines 22-24
- Lines 29-32
- Lines 35-40
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Survival and Self-Doubt
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 17-20
- Lines 25-27
- Lines 32-35
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Exposure”
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Lines 1-4
It is December ...
... to look at. -
Lines 5-10
A comet that ...
... come on meteorite! -
Lines 11-16
Instead I walk ...
... for the desperate. -
Lines 17-22
How did I ...
... My responsible tristia. -
Lines 23-24
For what? For ...
... is said behind-backs? -
Lines 25-29
Rain comes down ...
... The diamond absolutes. -
Lines 30-36
I am neither ...
... wind that blows; -
Lines 37-40
Who, blowing up ...
... comet's pulsing rose.
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“Exposure” Symbols
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The Comet
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 5-9: “A comet that was lost / Should be visible at sunset, / Those million tons of light / Like a glimmer of haws and rose-hips, / And I sometimes see a falling star.”
- Lines 37-40: “Who, blowing up these sparks / For their meagre heat, have missed / The once-in-a-lifetime portent, / The comet's pulsing rose.”
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“Exposure” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Allusion
Where allusion appears in the poem:- Lines 21-22: “As I sit weighing and weighing / My responsible tristia.”
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Imagery
Where imagery appears in the poem:- Line 4: “The ash tree cold to look at.”
- Line 11: “damp leaves,”
- Line 14: “some muddy compound”
- Lines 18-19: “my friends' / Beautiful prismatic counselling”
- Line 26: “low conductive voices”
- Line 40: “The comet's pulsing rose.”
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Metaphor
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Lines 2-3: “birches / Inheriting the last light,”
- Lines 11-12: “damp leaves, / Husks, the spent flukes of autumn”
- Line 20: “the anvil brains of some who hate me”
- Lines 26-27: “Its low conductive voices / Mutter about let-downs and erosions”
- Lines 32-33: “a wood-kerne / Escaped from the massacre”
- Lines 34-40: “Taking protective colouring / From bole and bark, feeling / Every wind that blows; / Who, blowing up these sparks / For their meagre heat, have missed / The once-in-a-lifetime portent, / The comet's pulsing rose.”
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Rhetorical Question
Where rhetorical question appears in the poem:- Lines 23-24: “For what? For the ear? For the people? / For what is said behind-backs?”
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Parallelism
Where parallelism appears in the poem:- Lines 2-4: “Alders dripping, birches / Inheriting the last light, / The ash tree cold to look at.”
- Lines 11-12: “damp leaves, / Husks, the spent flukes”
- Lines 23-24: “For what? For the ear? For the people? / For what is said behind-backs?”
- Line 31: “An inner emigre”
- Line 32: “a wood-kerne”
- Lines 34-36: “Taking protective colouring / From bole and bark, feeling / Every wind that blows;”
- Lines 39-40: “The once-in-a-lifetime portent, / The comet's pulsing rose.”
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Simile
Where simile appears in the poem:- Lines 7-8: “Those million tons of light / Like a glimmer of haws and rose-hips,”
- Lines 15-16: “His gift like a slingstone / Whirled for the desperate.”
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“Exposure” 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.
- Wicklow
- Alders
- Inheriting
- Haws
- Rose-hips
- Meteorite
- Spent flukes
- Compound
- Slingstone
- Prismatic
- Anvil
- Tristia
- Conductive
- Erosions
- Diamond absolutes
- Internee
- Informer
- Inner emigre
- Wood-kerne
- Bole
- Meagre
- Pulsing rose
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(Location in poem: Line 1: “It is December in Wicklow:”)
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Exposure”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Exposure” Speaker
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“Exposure” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Exposure”
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More “Exposure” Resources
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External Resources
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An Introduction to the Troubles — Read an article explaining how the Troubles began.
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An Interview with Heaney — Read a Guardian interview with the poet in which he discusses his life, his influences, and his experience of living in the public eye.
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An Appreciation of Seamus Heaney — Read a Guardian article discussing Heaney's poetic achievements.
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Heaney's Life and Work — Read the Poetry Foundation's biography of Seamus Heaney.
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A Review of Heaney's "North" — Read a review of the poet's fourth poetry collection (in which "Exposure" was published).
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Seamus Heaney
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