AQA Love and Relationships

Follower Quotes3 key quotes with full analysis.

A son recalls idolising his ploughman father as a child, before a poignant reversal of roles in old age.

by Seamus Heaney

Context

Published in 1966 by the Irish poet Heaney. Explores admiration, family legacy and the shifting relationship between father and son.

All Follower Quotes

“His shoulders globed like a full sail strung between the shafts and the furrow”
Familial LoveMemory

Context: The son admiringly describes his father ploughing.

Analysis

The simile "globed like a full sail" presents the father as powerful, skilful and almost heroic in the child's eyes. The nautical imagery makes ploughing seem like masterful navigation. Heaney conveys a son's deep admiration for his father's expertise.

Language Techniques:

SimileNautical imageryEnjambment

Exam Tip

Use for childhood admiration of a parent. Compare the idolised father with the later reversal at the poem's end.

“I wanted to grow up and plough, to close one eye, stiffen my arm”
Familial Love

Context: The son recalls wishing to emulate his father.

Analysis

The child's longing "to grow up and plough" shows his desire to follow in his father's footsteps and inherit his skill. The physical details ("close one eye, stiffen my arm") reveal close, admiring observation. Heaney explores family legacy and a child's hero-worship.

Language Techniques:

Physical imageryFirst personAspiration

Exam Tip

Use for family legacy and admiration. The son wants to inherit the father's mastery of the land.

“But today it is my father who keeps stumbling behind me, and will not go away”
Familial LoveLoss and Absence

Context: The final lines reverse the roles of father and son.

Analysis

The role reversal — the once-powerful father now "stumbling behind" — poignantly captures ageing and the shifting of dependence between generations. "Will not go away" is ambiguous: irritation, or the father's lasting presence in memory. Heaney shows how family relationships change over time.

Language Techniques:

Role reversalAmbiguityVolta

Exam Tip

Key closing quote on ageing and changing family roles. The "follower" of the title shifts from son to father.

Compare Follower With…

In the exam you compare two poems on a shared theme. These poems share themes with Follower:

When We Two PartedLord ByronPorphyria's LoverRobert BrowningNeutral TonesThomas HardyThe Farmer's BrideCharlotte Mew

Explore More Love and Relationships Poems

View key quotes and analysis for all 15 poems in the AQA anthology.

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