my oedipus complex
ANCESTRAL PHOTOGRAPH by Seamus Heaney
1. The man in the paragraph is portrayed to be a man with a rather strong build, suggested through the solidness of his ‘puffed jaw’. He is described to be standing in such a way showing no emotion or care, suggesting it is merely an emotionless glare at the camera, as his chain on his wrist somewhat strangles his large arms.
2.
‘solid as a turnip’ this suggests that he is very masculine and strong.
‘girds him like a hoop’ suggesting that it is really tight amongst his arms- supporting the idea of him being strong and masculine.
3. ‘whose look is two parts scorn’ portrays that he does not care, suggesting that he has a blank expression on his face. ‘Two parts dead man’ foreshadows the oldness of the photograph and how the uncle is now dead.
4. His father has now come to pass, so it is time to remove his father’s memories from the wall and replace them with his own memories of his father.
5. ‘As if a bandage had been ripped from skin, empty plaque to a house’s rise and fall’. The simile of a bandage being ripped from skin is used to describe the patch in which has been left behind the photo frame which has just been taken down from the wall in his household. The metaphor of ‘a house’s rise and fall’ suggests a new loss in which has overcome the family, forming need for a reflection of the memories of that person- replacing the old memories they had with their family members.
6. A change in family circumstances is portrayed throughout the suggesting of a new job/career being picked up in the family rather than following what other family members tended to do. This can be seen in the quote ‘Long fixed in sepia tints, begins to fade’. This quotation suggests that the continuity of the family tradition of being a trade worker has come to an end.
7. The uncle's job was a farmer, linking to the family in which the poet is a part of, as they grew up as kids working on farms and herding cattle. This is suggested to be
1. The man in the paragraph is portrayed to be a man with a rather strong build, suggested through the solidness of his ‘puffed jaw’. He is described to be standing in such a way showing no emotion or care, suggesting it is merely an emotionless glare at the camera, as his chain on his wrist somewhat strangles his large arms.
2.
‘solid as a turnip’ this suggests that he is very masculine and strong.
‘girds him like a hoop’ suggesting that it is really tight amongst his arms- supporting the idea of him being strong and masculine.
3. ‘whose look is two parts scorn’ portrays that he does not care, suggesting that he has a blank expression on his face. ‘Two parts dead man’ foreshadows the oldness of the photograph and how the uncle is now dead.
4. His father has now come to pass, so it is time to remove his father’s memories from the wall and replace them with his own memories of his father.
5. ‘As if a bandage had been ripped from skin, empty plaque to a house’s rise and fall’. The simile of a bandage being ripped from skin is used to describe the patch in which has been left behind the photo frame which has just been taken down from the wall in his household. The metaphor of ‘a house’s rise and fall’ suggests a new loss in which has overcome the family, forming need for a reflection of the memories of that person- replacing the old memories they had with their family members.
6. A change in family circumstances is portrayed throughout the suggesting of a new job/career being picked up in the family rather than following what other family members tended to do. This can be seen in the quote ‘Long fixed in sepia tints, begins to fade’. This quotation suggests that the continuity of the family tradition of being a trade worker has come to an end.
7. The uncle's job was a farmer, linking to the family in which the poet is a part of, as they grew up as kids working on farms and herding cattle. This is suggested to be