Functions of Irish Famine Poetry: Speaking the Unspeakable through the Written Word
Open Access
- Author:
- Owen, Alexa
- Area of Honors:
- English
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Janet Wynne Lyon, Thesis Supervisor
Janet Wynne Lyon, Thesis Supervisor
Mark Stewart Morrisson, Faculty Reader
Janet Wynne Lyon, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Irish Famine
contemporary poetry - Abstract:
- The Irish Famine was one of the most unimaginable and unethical events in the history of the modern world. An estimated one million Irish died and another two million emigrated during the years of 1845-1849, and the Famine remains a critical event in Irish history: it altered the course of literature, religion, landscape, and various other aspects of Irish life. One of the aspects of life that shifted, but whose presence has remained constant throughout Ireland’s history, is poetry. Poetry’s role in the course of Irish history has taken various turns over the centuries leading up to the Famine; it is in the post-Famine years, however, that poetry takes on an increasingly important role in accounting for its nation’s history and continuing to build a national literary identity. Poetry itself is a medium that speaks the unspeakable: elements such as metaphor, rhythm, form, and sound work to complement content while simultaneously evoking emotional aspects that are crucial to fully capturing certain events. Contemporary Famine poetry, specifically, breaches the silence of the Famine through its reimagining of people, places, and events. This thesis will demonstrate how the compositions of Irish Famine poets Patrick Kavanagh, Seamus Heaney, Tony Curtis and Eavan Boland capture elements of Famine history that present authentic portrayals of the national trauma. I will argue that Famine poetry speaks for those who could not speak – for the victims in Ireland during the Famine, for those forced to leave their homes and families behind, for the entire nation in the present day that can draw upon these compositions of witness to better understand the complexity and tragedy of the Famine.