SAMPLE INTRODUCTION


Derek Mahon is a very imaginative and perceptive poet. Throughout his poetry on the Leaving Certificate course, he proves himself to be a gifted observer of real places and real events. He is acutely aware of tensions and conflict in society and of the impact that the past has on the present. His personal observations are conveyed in imagery that is vivid, evocative and sometimes disturbing. These observations form the basis of the poet’s contemplation of universal truths; that people suffer, that history’s victims are often voiceless, that human beings, whatever their faults, require understanding and compassion. These observations can be found most clearly in the poems ‘A Disused Shed in Co. Wexford’, ‘Rathlin’, ‘Kinsale’, ‘The Chinese Restaurant in Portrush’ and ‘Day Trip to Donegal’.


SAMPLE PARAGRAPH


The poet wrote ‘Kinsale’ shortly after moving to that harbour town in Co. Cork. His personal observations of the town as it emerges into the sunshine after a bout of rain leads him to reflect on a mood of optimism pervading the country at the time. He observes ‘our yachts tinkling and dancing in the bay/ like racehorses’. This is a striking simile in which the yachts sailing in Kinsale Bay are compared to racehorses being proudly paraded around the paddock before a race. Both yachts and racehorses convey a sense of prosperity, indicating Mahon’s belief that Ireland in the 1980s was becoming economically more confident. The onomatopoeic ‘tinkling’ evokes both the glittering sunlight upon the water of the bay as well as the horses’ harnesses as they ‘dance’. This light and buoyant image is a stark contrast to the earlier description of the town beset by rain: ‘deep-delving, dark, deliberate.’ The alliterative, heavy ‘d’ sound emphasises the grim harshness of the past. The rain is used as pathetic fallacy to symbolise Ireland’s bleak history of conflict and intolerance. Mahon’s use of vivid language and imagery here demonstrates how his personal observations of Kinsale transform into a broader reflection on the mood of the nation.


SAMPLE CONCLUSION


Through a careful examination of the poems selected, it is clear that Derek Mahon is a particularly perceptive poet. His images are striking for their vividness; using language that is at times surreal, and disturbing, at other moments gentle and charming. This perceptive and intelligent poet then recasts his observations into his unique understanding of contemporary society and human nature.


LEAVING CERTIFICATE HIGHER LEVEL


375


Derek Mahon


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