''The Haw Lantern'' (1987) is a collection of poems written by Irish poet

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

, the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995. Several of the poems—including the sonnet cycle "Clearances"—explore themes of mortality and loss inspired by the death of his mother, Margaret Kathleen Heaney (the "M.K.H." referenced in the dedication to "Clearances"), who died in 1984 and of his father two years later. The title of the collection refers to the haw fruit. The fruit is an important symbol of defiance against winter, a symbol of, the dignity of the

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

in the face of violence and trouble, and offering a small piece of light and hope in the darkness. The image of the lantern evoked by the title is a reference to the traditional account of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

cynic philosopher

Diogenes of Sinope Diogenes ( ; grc, Διογένης, Diogénēs ), also known as Diogenes the Cynic (, ) or Diogenes of Sinope, was a Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Cynicism (philosophy). He was born in Sinope, an Ionian colony on the Black Sea ...

. According to the story, Diogenes carried a lantern through the streets in search of an honest man in the light.

* Alphabets * Terminus * From the Frontier of Writing * The Haw Lantern * The Stone Grinder * A Daylight Art * Parable Island * From the Republic of Conscience * Hailstones * Two Quick Notes * The Stone Verdict * From the Land of the Unspoken * A Ship of Death * The Spoonbait * In Memoriam: Robert Fitzgerald * The Old Team * Clearances: In Memoriam M.K.H. * Clearances 1 * Clearances 2 * Clearances 3 * Clearances 4 * Clearances 5 * Clearances 6 * Clearances 7 * Clearances 8 * The Milk Factory * The Summer of Lost Rachel * The Wishing Tree * A Postcard from Iceland * A Peacock's Feather * Grotus and Coventina * Holding Course * The Song of the Bullets * Wolfe Tone * A Shooting Script * From the Canton of Expectation * The Mud Vision * The Disappearing Island * The Riddle *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haw Lantern, The 1987 poetry books Irish poetry collections Poetry by Seamus Heaney Faber and Faber books

Contents

See also

References