Converting to Things Foreknown: Heaney’s Marvelous Imagination in “Station Island”
This essay explores Seamus Heaney’s “Station Island” series in its procession of visions during a pilgrimage to the island of Lough Derg. I argue that Heaney works out in this series a picture of the meeting of worlds, of the worldliness of the present and the in-breaking of the otherworldly, and in...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Asociación Española de Estudios Irlandeses
2016-03-01
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| Series: | Estudios Irlandeses |
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| Online Access: | http://www.estudiosirlandeses.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ryan-L.-Womack_EI11.pdf |
| _version_ | 1819261867874320384 |
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| author | Ryan L. Womack |
| author_facet | Ryan L. Womack |
| author_sort | Ryan L. Womack |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This essay explores Seamus Heaney’s “Station Island” series in its procession of visions during a pilgrimage to the island of Lough Derg. I argue that Heaney works out in this series a picture of the meeting of worlds, of the worldliness of the present and the in-breaking of the otherworldly, and in this poem we see the “deep Catholicism” of Heaney’s redemptive, cathartic poetry. This feature is important to understanding the significance of Heaney’s marriage of the sacred and secular; these poems, examined in the context of Heaney’s larger vision, show the evolution of Heaney’s poetry and put forth the possibility of a poetry that can work as purgation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T19:48:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ce97659145bd48c29b72d72e1c3500e4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1699-311X 1699-311X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T19:48:38Z |
| publishDate | 2016-03-01 |
| publisher | Asociación Española de Estudios Irlandeses |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Estudios Irlandeses |
| spelling | doaj.art-ce97659145bd48c29b72d72e1c3500e42022-12-21T17:33:27ZengAsociación Española de Estudios IrlandesesEstudios Irlandeses1699-311X1699-311X2016-03-0111112202316210Converting to Things Foreknown: Heaney’s Marvelous Imagination in “Station Island”Ryan L. Womack0 Baylor University in Waco, TX, USA This essay explores Seamus Heaney’s “Station Island” series in its procession of visions during a pilgrimage to the island of Lough Derg. I argue that Heaney works out in this series a picture of the meeting of worlds, of the worldliness of the present and the in-breaking of the otherworldly, and in this poem we see the “deep Catholicism” of Heaney’s redemptive, cathartic poetry. This feature is important to understanding the significance of Heaney’s marriage of the sacred and secular; these poems, examined in the context of Heaney’s larger vision, show the evolution of Heaney’s poetry and put forth the possibility of a poetry that can work as purgation.http://www.estudiosirlandeses.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ryan-L.-Womack_EI11.pdfSeamus HeaneyStation IslandPilgrimageCatholicismSacredPurgatory. |
| spellingShingle | Ryan L. Womack Converting to Things Foreknown: Heaney’s Marvelous Imagination in “Station Island” Estudios Irlandeses Seamus Heaney Station Island Pilgrimage Catholicism Sacred Purgatory. |
| title | Converting to Things Foreknown: Heaney’s Marvelous Imagination in “Station Island” |
| title_full | Converting to Things Foreknown: Heaney’s Marvelous Imagination in “Station Island” |
| title_fullStr | Converting to Things Foreknown: Heaney’s Marvelous Imagination in “Station Island” |
| title_full_unstemmed | Converting to Things Foreknown: Heaney’s Marvelous Imagination in “Station Island” |
| title_short | Converting to Things Foreknown: Heaney’s Marvelous Imagination in “Station Island” |
| title_sort | converting to things foreknown heaney s marvelous imagination in station island |
| topic | Seamus Heaney Station Island Pilgrimage Catholicism Sacred Purgatory. |
| url | http://www.estudiosirlandeses.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ryan-L.-Womack_EI11.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ryanlwomack convertingtothingsforeknownheaneysmarvelousimaginationinstationisland |