The Full Text of “Punishment”
The Full Text of “Punishment”
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“Punishment” Introduction
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“Punishment” Summary
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“Punishment” Themes
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The Permanence of Violence and Vengeance
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-44
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Voyeurism vs. Activism
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-12
- Lines 23-44
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Art and Preservation
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-36
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Misogyny
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-44
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Punishment”
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Lines 1-4
I can feel ...
... her naked front. -
Lines 5-10
It blows her ...
... in the bog, -
Lines 11-16
the weighing stone, ...
... oak-bone, brain-firkin: -
Lines 17-22
her shaved head ...
... memories of love. -
Lines 23-27
Little adulteress, ...
... face was beautiful. -
Lines 28-31
My poor scapegoat, ...
... stones of silence. -
Lines 32-36
I am the ...
... your numbered bones: -
Lines 37-40
I who have ...
... by the railings, -
Lines 41-44
who would connive ...
... tribal, intimate revenge.
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“Punishment” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Imagery
Where imagery appears in the poem:- Lines 1-19
- Lines 25-27
- Lines 33-36
- Lines 38-40
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Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 2: “nape”
- Line 3: “neck”
- Line 4: “naked”
- Line 5: “blows,” “nipples”
- Line 6: “beads”
- Line 7: “rigging”
- Line 8: “ribs”
- Line 10: “body,” “bog”
- Line 16: “bone,” “brain”
- Line 18: “stubble,” “black”
- Line 19: “blindfold,” “soiled,” “bandage”
- Line 27: “black,” “beautiful”
- Line 31: “stones,” “silence”
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Metaphor
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Lines 5-6: “It blows her nipples / to amber beads,”
- Lines 7-8: “it shakes the frail rigging / of her ribs.”
- Lines 13-16: “Under which at first / she was a barked sapling / that is dug up / oak-bone, brain-firkin:”
- Lines 17-18: “her shaved head / like a stubble of black corn,”
- Lines 20-22: “her noose a ring / to store / the memories of love.”
- Lines 30-31: “but would have cast, I know, / the stones of silence.”
- Lines 33-34: “of your brain's exposed / and darkened combs,”
- Line 39: “cauled in tar,”
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Juxtaposition
Where juxtaposition appears in the poem:- Lines 1-44
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Allusion
Where allusion appears in the poem:- Lines 23-27: “Little adulteress, / before they punished you / you were flaxen-haired, / undernourished, and your / tar-black face was beautiful.”
- Lines 28-31: “My poor scapegoat, / I almost love you / but would have cast, I know, / the stones of silence.”
- Lines 37-44: “I who have stood dumb / when your betraying sisters, / cauled in tar, / wept by the railings, / who would connive / in civilized outrage / yet understand the exact / and tribal, intimate revenge.”
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“Punishment” 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.
- Nape
- Halter
- Rigging
- Weighing stone
- Bog
- Rods
- Barked sapling
- Oak-bone
- Brain-firkin
- Shaved head
- Stubble
- Adulteress
- Flaxen-haired
- Tar-black face
- Scapegoat
- Voyeur
- Combs
- Webbing
- Your betraying sisters
- Cauled
- Connive
- Tribal
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(Location in poem: Lines 1-3: “I can feel the tug / of the halter at the nape / of her neck,”)
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Punishment”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Punishment” Speaker
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“Punishment” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Punishment”
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More “Punishment” Resources
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External Resources
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The Poem Aloud — Listen to Seamus Heaney read "Punishment."
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The Poet's Life and Work — A biography of Heaney at the Poetry Foundation.
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Heaney, Nobel Laureate — Read Heaney's citation and lecture as the winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.
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Heaney Talks Poetry — Watch a late-life conversation with the poet.
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Tarring and Feathering During the Troubles — Historical context on tarring and feathering during the Northern Ireland conflict, a.k.a. the Troubles.
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The Bogs of Ireland — More on Ireland's peat bogs and their storied history.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Seamus Heaney
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