“The Whole Vexed Question”: Seamus Heaney, Old English, and Language Troubles
Location
Science Center, A254
Document Type
Presentation
Start Date
4-24-2015 4:00 PM
End Date
4-24-2015 5:30 PM
Abstract
As an Irish poet writing during the 20th century, Seamus Heaney is constantly aware of the politics and problems of operating in the English language. My project locates Heaney in a context of writers and theorists who are similarly interested in the politics of language-ownership and the logistics of communication and expression in a major language. I argue that Heaney’s North presents a unique solution to these common language questions, and that the poet’s focus on etymologies and language history makes his escape into linguistic nonaffiliation more feasible than other, more abstract attempts at a borderless, liberated language.
Recommended Citation
Creedon-Carey, Una, "“The Whole Vexed Question”: Seamus Heaney, Old English, and Language Troubles" (04/24/15). Senior Symposium. 54.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/seniorsymp/2015/presentations/54
Major
English
Advisor(s)
Natasha Tessone, English
Project Mentor(s)
Natasha Tessone, English
April 2015
“The Whole Vexed Question”: Seamus Heaney, Old English, and Language Troubles
Science Center, A254
As an Irish poet writing during the 20th century, Seamus Heaney is constantly aware of the politics and problems of operating in the English language. My project locates Heaney in a context of writers and theorists who are similarly interested in the politics of language-ownership and the logistics of communication and expression in a major language. I argue that Heaney’s North presents a unique solution to these common language questions, and that the poet’s focus on etymologies and language history makes his escape into linguistic nonaffiliation more feasible than other, more abstract attempts at a borderless, liberated language.
Notes
Session 3, Panel 17 - From Whence the Word: Studies of Sound and Etymology
Moderator: Marcelo Vinces, Director of Center for Learning, Education and Research in the Sciences (CLEAR)
Full text thesis available here.