A New Historical Analysis of Punishment

李子

Seamus Heaney （1929-2013） is one of the most important Irish poets， and also one of the best literature critics. As the Nobel committee described， he created “works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth， which exalt everyday miracles and the living past”. He was born in a village called Mossbawn in 1939， and he was the eldest in the nine children. His parents were both pious Catholics and farmers. The family background， to some extent， shaped his outlooks towards nature， traditional lifestyle and culture. Since his initial collected poems The Death of a Naturalist in 1965， Heaney had created thirteen collections， four collected proses and two translations.

New Criticism “combated empty formalism and by pulling historical considerations to the center stage of literary analysis” （Veesser， x）. New Historists highlight the un-continuity and rapture of history， and try to represent the sociocultural environment of the time and grasp the meaning of literary texts， and they emphasize the interrelated relationship between the author， the subject and the time. Textualiy of History proposes that history is recorded by text and history is not equal to historians documentary materials which simply collect historic events. As Popper says， there will be “no history of the past as it actually did happen； there can only be the historical interpretations” （Popper， 259）.

In Punishment， the poet depicted a female body discovered from bog， and told the details of her appearance through his imagination actually. Watching the body， the poet imagined what the young woman was like， her deeds before the sentence， and the torture she suffered from the crowd. “I can feel the tug of the halter at the nape of her neck， the wind on her naked front.” This is the beginning of the poets feeling into the victim with imagination based on the picture of the body. “her noose a ring/ to store the memories of love. Little adulteress，…”， the poet traced her love affair with a young man and called her a “poor scapegoat”. Readers can easily be put into the crowd watching the tribal punishment at the scene， and thus have sympathy on the punished girl. It is easier to remind them of the national conflict and violence which render many more civilians victims.

The archetype of the punished girl is a fourteen years old girl who was drowned in the bog and her hair was also shaved， which was a symbol of adultery in the iron age. Based on this case， Heaney created the punished girl aiming to indicate the violence occurring in Northern Ireland in modern time. At that time， the Irish girls who fell in love with British soldiers or were against the Irish republican army always suffered from punishment and were humiliated， just like the punished girl in the bog whose face was tar-black. The blending of the past tense and present tense also indicates that what happened in the past is happening at present. “My poor scapegoat， I almost love you but would have cast， I know the stones of silence.” From those lines on， the poet begins to repent. Thinking about the past， the poet can not ignore the present condition of Northern Ireland. However， what the poet does is just like the crowd， because he has no good way or ability to deal with it. The poet is so guilty for his behavior. “ I who have stood dumb when your betraying sisters， cauled in tar， wept by the railings， who could connive in civilized courage...” The self-condemnation of the poet indicates that he is opposed to the nationalist military action of Irish republican army. Meanwhile， the poet also lashes out at the literates who just stand aside and are indifferent to the current situation. They do not try actively to find a right and peaceful way for the regeneration of their nation， which results in such kind of punishment happens again and again. In this sense， the punished girl in the bog becomes the “scapegoat” of them.

“By the Historicity of Texts， I mean to suggest the cultural specificity， of all modes of writing only the texts that critics study but also the texts in which we study them” （Montrose， 20）. Historicity of Texts proposes that literary works are influenced by historical and social context in which they were produced while texts are literary events， constituting an indispensable part of history and having effects on the development of society and history. Literary texts not only are shaped in the historical and social contexts but also have the power of shaping history and society.

Heaney was confronted in the difficulty “poetically address the problems of a country whose political and cultural fissures have resulted in an apparently endless cycle of distrust， oppression， and violence”（Molino， 180）. Ireland was a land suffering from wars， famine and poverty. As neighbors， the Island of Britain and the Island of Ireland have been intertwined with each other since the twelfth century. For more than two hundred years， “voices of conquest and anti-conquest， colonization and decolonization， and unionism and nationalism have persistently haunted the land.”（Li， 18） Growing up in the North of Ireland， coming from a Catholic family and living in the troubles， Heaney has undoubtedly acquired a much complex cultural identity. Like Ulster his birth place which “belongs officially to the United Kingdom but which has always looked to the south and the Republic” （Morrison， 14）， and which has been divided into two with the establishment of the Republic of Ireland， most of Heaneys life has been dominated by this sense of dividedness. He notes the presence of conflicting influences or origins as “the voices of my education pull in two directions， back through the political and cultural traumas of Ireland， and out towards the urgencies and experience of the world beyond it” （Heaney， 35）.

Punishment is a bog poem， and the bog symbolizes the essence of national spirit of Ireland， for it has the special function that it can keep things undecayed for a long time. In this sense， it may conserve its ancient history. In Punishment， the dead female body represents Ireland. The female is always regarded as the oppressed， like the colonized Ireland. The Irish people， as the punished girl， are the “scapegoat” of political violence， and they are punished by religious conflicts and violence. “I can feel the tug of the halter at the nape of her neck， the wind on her naked front.” The poet， as a member of the nation， can feel the pain the people suffers. The ceremonial punishment of the young girl can also be regarded as the national revenge against English colonizers. The poet imagined himself as a by-stander both sympathizing the girl and following the crowd. It expressed the contradictory standpoint of the poet： he is in line with the protest against invaders and “connived the exact， tribal and intimate revenge”， yet he is against the violence that happened in the struggle of national independence. Heaney wants to find a peaceful way， not a violent way， and advocates the reconciliation between nations， and contributes to the ethnic fusion. He recalls the past and views the present with his poetry which also become the records of history. In his poetic thought， he makes a balance between different cultures without excluding those foreign cultures， and thinks positively of the hybridity of Irish culture.

Ⅳ Conclusion

In Punishment， Heaney reflects some current facts through the ancient case. The way the crowd punished the girl who committed adultery is like the way people punish the Irish girls who fall in love with British soldiers. The punishment results from the conflicts between Ireland and England， and the people become the victims. In this poem， Heaney also attacked the literates who do nothing for the present situation. Violence and conflicts overwhelm the land， and the helpless people become the scapegoat of political struggle. Meanwhile， this poem also has its historicity. Heaney is influenced by the situation he grows up and lives in， and so does his poetry. Heaney supports the reconciliation between nations. He can feel the pain Irish people suffer， and recorded it in the poem， so the poem also becomes a part of the records of historical facts.

Bibliography

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