Symbol Analysis
Heaney is so successful in letting the reader know that the speaker adores his father without even having to tell us. Through the speaker's almost obsessed attention, we get it. We're introduced to every element of the father's work, and the details of every phase. His dad seems physically larger than life, and more capable than the average man. Here are a few places where the son's point of view really elevates the father from normal guy to hero status:
- Line 2: Right at the beginning of the poem, we're shown that the father is larger than life. His shoulders are so big and strong that they look like wind-filled sails.
- Line 4: It seems like even a huge and muscular animal like a horse has to strain to keep up with this man.
- Line 5: The son doesn't disguise the fact that he thinks his dad is awesome and the best at what he does.
- Line 7: Dad's got the Michael Jordan finger roll touch. He's silky smooth.
- Lines 8–9: His team responds to his commands without him even having to raise his voice.
- Line 12: X-ray vision? Well, not maybe not exactly, but he seems to have quite the eye for the job.
- Line15: This is the only instance in the poem where the speaker gets to be on an even level with his father. His dad seems way out of reach, until he lifts the kid onto his strong back and pulls him along, which has got to be super rad for the speaker.
- Lines 19–20: You get the sense that, for the boy, it seems like the father's shadow encompasses the entire farm. He can't leave his father's shadow because his father is much more powerful than him.