Seamus Heaney, Zbigniew Herbert, and the Moral Imperative

One of the life-giving paradoxes of comparative influence is that looking outward for inspiration often results in a keener gaze inward: introspection directly benefits from extroversion. Thomas Docherty notes that Irish writers often look outward when they seem to be most introspective, adducing Yeats's fascination with Byzantium, Joyce's enthrallment with the Mediterranean, and, more recently, Paul Durcan's interest in seeing “home” from “elsewhere.”1 It is almost truistic to find parallels between poets based on political situation, cultural context, literary movement, or simply thematics; yet what happens when a writer consciously reaches for influence from one whose life situation is not parallel, whose literary aims are entirely different, whose thematics may prove alienating, and whose poetic language is largely inaccessible? Extroversion need not result in the discovery of similitude. Seamus Heaney looked to the work of contemporary Polish poet Zbigniew Herbert in an effort to effect change in his own poetic; most saliently, he sought to deploy a metaphorical language of moral absolutes that is secular, abstracted from the childhood Catholicism that underlay his sense of right and wrong. Herbert's “dry form” allowed for a particular kind of ethical engagement that Heaney founnd difficult and yet salubrious. This allowed him to effect a serious reorientation in his work.The influence of Czesław Miłosz and Zbigniew Herbert was most prevalent after North (1975), when Heaney stepped away from the grand metaphor of bog burial and quasi-mythic Iron Age violence and searched for fresh means of metaphorizing what I am calling the “moral imperative,” the command to engage the moral character of one's times. This is a time when Heaney cast in new waters for a new voice, a contemporary idiom that he could place beside the penitential voice of Dante. Herbert's influence on Heaney was strongest in the 1970s and 1980s. Interestingly, Heaney read Herbert long before his verse begins to show Herbert's impress; only in the 1983 Station Island and the 1987 The Haw Lantern can we discern Herbertian echoes. We know from Heaney's interviews (especially the compendious Stepping Stones), though, that he was reading Herbert in the 1970s, precisely as he was vowing to address the Northern Irish “predicament” more directly than he had in his first two volumes. This fact is of crucial importance for understanding the manner in which Heaney naturalizes Herbert's motifs: he is looking for serious engagement and for “tough-minded” morality, even while “Atlas of Civilization” welcomes what Heaney sees as a “mellowing” in Herbert's Report from the Besieged City and Other Poems (1985).Herbert is, both inside and outside Poland, best known as the author of the hortatory lines “you have little time you must give testimony /... / repeat great words repeat them stubbornly” (from “The Envoy of Mr. Cogito”). Yet curiously in his essays, Heaney seems to want to view Herbert as a fundamentally “mellow” poet, allying him with the Mediterranean sun and cultural bounty that Herbert describes in his prose work The Barbarian in the Garden and not with the altogether different imagistic field of his poems. In his poetry, however, Heaney summons a different Herbert. The famous poems “The Pebble” and “The Knocker” prove most influential for Heaney, who adapts Herbert's study of objects as moral barometers in his own poems entitled “The Haw Lantern,” “Sandstone Keepsake” and “The Stone Verdict.” The substance of this transnational encounter is both inspirational and frustrating, represented by poetic images of stricture and objectified judgment.This rather far-flung influence permits us to see how the experience of reading—and taking influence from—a clearly dissimilar poet allows Heaney to reconsider the relationship of ethics and aesthetics. Heaney grappled with Herbert's poetry during his most political decades, the 1970s and 1980s, which stand as the time he felt the need to address the civil violence of his native Northern Ireland most directly; this is also when Herbert's work first found voice in English translation (the first Selected Poems appeared in 1968, the second in 1977). Herbert has been translated by several hands, yet Heaney's most powerful experience of reading him is his initial one. The volume's introduction by Al Alvarez helped to contextualize Herbert and assert the hard-edged of his the initial by and Czesław helped to own in the however, is the poetic Heaney's Herbert him and that both fascination and as Heaney he must with this the of Heaney for to his may Seamus by political which Heaney cast a long Herbert's “The Knocker” the that Heaney was to in his own work is precisely for the of the of and the with which the Heaney not look to Herbert for or of his own poetic he read Herbert to be could have looked to to find an of ethical and poetic one who a between life and work in which he not Heaney is however, for not on for his with and the and One could parallels between the of and Miłosz or a between poets of a that to and and poets of yet Herbert's voice Heaney's to the not simply a could have a a different of he This in to a one of the of that the poetry can Heaney's to for on his of with which The of the are not more to in for rather than in Zbigniew Herbert's The is and in when us that Herbert is a cultural Polish and and that Heaney, in is a cultural or more of one than Herbert Miłosz or for that that only are the of Yet how we work the of that have little in are even is of cultural context, and with yet he is to the of his as he how poetry can ethical in a time of political and a poet who his during the of when cultural was his to was directly to the Polish political situation in a that the on Heaney by the Northern Irish that he his largely to cultural the however, be to him a political poet, an even Herbert a manner of that is by particular for from The however, is political and Herbert's that has a to for the of ethical the of and ethical him to his of the on an for verse of the images and “The Pebble” and “The Knocker” are of Herbert's is not a and his reading of Herbert is a of The Polish however, allows for of the to the language of moral Heaney to him as he an sense of his to Herbert's particular even while his of Herbert's is clearly to the of Station Island as the of or that he and and Station is to the of Heaney “The Knocker” in The of the he of what a may that poems of It is a though, as Heaney the of the the of poetic in the first are who in from and for them to of a of the the of a of have a on the the The for on the that by the of and of the between the second and between and first with the of This is not It is Heaney is right in that the of the first two the as the of the he not the of imagistic on this is the the of to the It is the of the and his on images they are not not the of with which the of is in and in from and of the as Heaney clearly them The of the first is between and on the one and the and on the The between first and second and The between and is for a of Herbert's poetry to The second in is in first and lines with and that and images the of this is not how we are to poetry not contemporary Polish poetry is not a of one's of them and are not Herbert's poetry, or Heaney's for that It is that a as as Heaney not this he this the of not of not to of the of the the voice of objects own the a that is and not or in own This language the Heaney to be this by that the a a which that is is to of precisely the of with the for which Heaney am of I am almost to I was a I to look of the the I a and the in I was in the and also the that was the The poet this in to as they Heaney's character is in and the he in Herbert's is to an in place of the language of moral absolutes in place of allows to this even he for is a of voice and of the of the a not of his of how he and how his as a voice, with the outside of his Herbert's the is not and this is Heaney, by English and to this new of the his the influence of the Herbertian poems of Station Island as a that a while for new work to you that you can and be to more to in the 1980s, as a the that I was in Heaney the with the and Herbert. the 1980s, he of Herbert's poems as in or The poems that Heaney by Herbert are of his and had by the they are by moral engagement with particular of and by a interest in the as of a that inspirational for are by ethical and the during the of they are read by Heaney during the of the Irish Heaney's however, Herbert's is by a fundamentally and rather than by an gaze and is in for own Herbert's are by an yet they often as a to be rather than as a and to Heaney two different of the / and in when to of and when to give what we the of Heaney's engagement with on the Polish of the on several of Herbert's poems in a grand to the to Heaney's the of which he in a that is not from as as from an he between and is I with is the of a in the work that we can discern we Heaney's Herbert's poetry is almost by an It is not by a Yet is most of the In an Herbert clearly a to that are to the and that be to that can be to of own The in which Heaney most directly this is “Atlas of on Herbert's Report from the Besieged in Heaney poems by the of he as / / / / This Heaney the of Herbert's poetry the are not to or to of the The almost Yet this is not a of of a to and begins with is even more for of the and the one to a in Heaney's own to see / the he in the and lines often in his first poems on and poetic Yet for Heaney, Herbert's also to be a both to and to to that is of and to that the of Heaney is to a of in Herbert that the of his own in the and Irish which a of a not to is that the is to be and Heaney's and by this the his poems in an a This of the and, is a that is to most of Heaney's and his to Herbert a from this “Atlas of Heaney, poems that an and of the yet seems as he is this in to Herbert on the own “home” us for the lines from from the Besieged the City a / he the City on the of / he be the are more of than the may be the of an is entirely in the of this by which an a by a the is not The voice between and hortatory It is an not a Herbert is from a that not as as the which with a of poetic is Polish Heaney for a particular kind of in Herbert's poetry, yet this is not one that Herbert to The in Herbert's poetry is a for the In the interest of Herbert's Heaney a to Herbert a more literary than he however, is an of his own and his first with what Herbert's own introduction to Report from the Besieged in which Herbert to a on the situation, or to show of the The is a a not a The are to be than of the Mr. is not to him as a whose to the I Herbert's poetic is to him in the of the The poems in which Mr. his as are not only more than the in which he an and Heaney more as and more as political and to read them is to the of Herbert's own to be for one's of the of one's and of the is between and and between as and political The however, the of poetry to a for the ethics of writer and this of as to the of The Haw is of of the a for more from them than that they of from to them with when in the the of his one you from the on you before and that you and that to own to be a of and we have and The is a a for that a and the lines are not The of and the of a yet the not entirely to or The to not we on an though, the of in and be read with a on the of on the and the of the this this This is Herbert's which is in Heaney's his or as of moral is the which of is almost entirely of the of the and the with an that not the a that to and the of the who the he has Haw not Heaney's the and and is The and are with and the to to the by the words and, of to the gaze of the Heaney's North with and in The Haw Lantern and Station he his by means of who him with from the of to the “The Haw is not or and in to the of this is the of moral of and the work are not This is an of the not It the of that the in his own the is the contemporary sense of the the the yet as a of the of Herbert's famous “The Pebble” a to of a a I in by be to the they look us with a and Heaney the yet two his of the Heaney in in “Atlas of he not the of the Herbert's and the Selected Poems a translation on The to be by a second voice, one that the yet to the by with the of a The second is the Polish is which has the or is to one's own or even The to be to be to the be is in Polish The is that Polish allows Herbert to the with more to to the time as he in as as to the of the and the that are in the English translation is as as In this Miłosz may be as a the substance of Heaney's relationship with Miłosz a of The known as Herbert's before his own poetry known the of his Polish which both translated and by yet he not his idiom on when Heaney he a different a different Pebble” Miłosz as as Heaney, yet Miłosz the to Herbert's on the (the in which first in was entitled of the poems as this he to the of moral and to the experience of the that be and This experience is translated ethical and poetic is is of and, for that of Miłosz Herbert's experience has him to that the has both and have the of the of what is is in an as an us of by a by the to Miłosz “The Pebble” after this by that is that poetry is not to It also an political be are of of they not look us in the The to be a of to is a of and the a moral This is a and for that the of the must the as an of what he must Herbert's in a he that a time when I to objects in to a of I am on the of have to be one in a different has must be The from the of is, the and which the and in In the must be to as of It as a to the on the “The Pebble” as a not of “The in yet is almost to on the altogether more of of the Yet the in the an entirely and is from is also by that the to as a to the whose is to moral Miłosz on the as a that is in to the yet of the on and has the Heaney's words are by a to which to his own to yet to on that Heaney must with the of Herbert's moral and he by for with which to engage this between and is not by Heaney, yet is to his reading of Polish The in a to Heaney, yet the more with the of voice is clearly what his from the for Heaney, is almost to the that the This is however, Miłosz not in the rather on as a and not a reaches the of political not to the of Polish poet own between poetry of and of and Herbert as a of the between the and the with to “The “The for the of or in Herbert's hands, a for the the in Herbert with poems one of you of and In his of with a one between and Herbert's is on a in the to on the of a for the of moral by a which one This is the of the Heaney, Herbert is a poet who begins with a and by the a more of the even the author of “The Pebble” with to by Herbert his own as that the he the to the of the of of the The is Herbert is not a poet who as his one to him for In of this though, Heaney to with Herbert and on the of even the or of the situation in the poems of and Heaney a of voice, he in a Herbertian manner in his by and by One of his Polish that Heaney's “Sandstone Keepsake” is directly by “The This in when we the of the in which with on with Herbert's own of the is a kind of and often and from to was with an of when I a in I was with the the of and by not for the in and not to or one of the to the fact that Heaney to the of Herbert them This to that Herbert is a The between poets and though, Heaney's to language is different from “Sandstone Keepsake” of kind of and and the It is in from the the as a of one particular the of also the moral the of the is, the or to the of the with to the of the the and the of in the of and in the Heaney, the the of a who has he not not Herbert is the of a Heaney is his the of objects on which poets are clearly The are and to the who to the objects and The is a This is of the of however, the of this The of “The Pebble” to a moral yet the the that an of Heaney's absolutes (the to or a of from by the in “Sandstone Keepsake” and “The Haw Lantern,” his to even stand this from the a Herbert's he the and of the the by the the moral are outside of the of and of and of and Haw to to the Herbert's and to the objects the and are not or by the Heaney's in and he in and kind of the is they also the to from the the as we his of and the may have been by a to reaches This is Herbert's Yeats's of by means of his and even while the reaches a of also the and are almost and the more than is is one to how the the can even The to not “Sandstone Keepsake” and and this also Heaney from the that he in Herbert. of may be with and also is Heaney a which in a has the of the of and, can a for the of the This of and It is precisely Heaney's to the of his poetry, though, to that is in the work that to Herbert. and that not the of the the of poetry as as This is not to that Heaney's poems not that he from away the that his of moral and yet his fascination with Herbert's is a fascination with or of the of Herbert's in several poems in Station Island and The Haw from the that is and The to the of that may be / not begins with the and by the the and / had and with Haw the by Herbert's the and the to a is what the which and Heaney's must be is and The can his in to can he the of from his that with a how serious the of “Sandstone Keepsake” and both on a the with the of of the and the with the in the after the to and Haw The initial of the they almost to the is by the and of a you had / the of in that when the in Haw “The Stone as the most hard-edged of This is, a in before the of the and is read as an is, however, or that the summons Herbert's the more and not be read in the as Heaney's “The Stone “The be read he in the his in his and the on his by an of and be the is more than words in the on a be the of of the the his he in the his a a the to and have Haw Lantern The for Heaney, summons the more than the of Herbert's own of the is, in on by Heaney of the The of allows Heaney from the of that is in his This is not the moral best this It is that the poems which the influence of Herbert often Heaney away from what he is most famous as his Catholicism or his him to a different moral and of have to the and of to a new of language to in Heaney's work not to Herbert's in “The the of “The Stone is for the from as The the of or with the of the was with Yet a is not a of the is to with moral the of is different from the of Heaney is the of to to a in to show from of the moral of the is not by a In “The of the Heaney his fascination with the of the of the before is from on the and the words that he that not to be or a of of the The though, is the is allowed to The of the to “The Stone is that this by means of poetic not of we have a of of we have of we have The is the are the of the the place of the to to look and the the of Heaney's look not the who the and of Herbert's the to however, is not on on a that Herbert The of the the of the of and The by the may be one of the of the the of we that is a a of who the the who is to to and from This is however, by “The Stone which with away from the / his and the to of the Heaney on the of his (the and while they also on the of and they from a different poetic and than the Herbertian poems. The poems Herbert's are in “The Haw has “The Stone poems and from the of this with an of in the the in the of the is in The Haw Lantern as a from Heaney's on the one of Herbert's on Heaney is in this away from the and of the is in to be Herbert is a writer who and his of Barbarian in the Garden in Polish in one after of the his in the of the The poetry is different from It the of with a that also the of “Atlas of Heaney one of Herbert's and which to a that Heaney The describes the of as the of new to a of his the reaches his in the by a of is his of not new us his a This in which the of and is with than Heaney to in his own It the of poetry that that the also the of poetry after the and of the The us in the of the that on while an of own The that the the of to the of and the voice with testimony is, the voice of The is with the kind of with which the of is In of Herbert's to that on this the of an that on The with and, this of is with of The away from is also a away from This of poetry the of In Heaney's poetic in in and in a that to that Heaney reaches for Polish poetry in an effort to poets from literary in which the poet is a Heaney for that him to between and poets poems to even as they of the that an may to “The Knocker” the of a and while “The Stone away with words an on the of the poet to to his own poems are a the and of the and the of the yet they in by that to of Heaney, that Heaney is a cultural while Herbert is a cultural him to that be by this and that are to when and a the of poetic is It be however, to by simply that Heaney not find influence to we not away from as as is to We must that Heaney and Herbert with ethics and that the particular of a particular poetic may be by from cultural and The of Heaney's and Herbert's is by particular of images as we have while we that Heaney's from Herbert's the gaze of and the that the poems of of voice and and that are not as and as of and Herbert's for to place an cultural and Heaney's and in a of while not the as that of Herbert's also for on between and “The Stone be as an Docherty a contemporary in an of poetry can the that to when was and clearly to a and a when poetry as a of and not an of one of the between Herbert and Heaney's and his on this between and is as of by means of the situation in his of and is clearly in “Sandstone and while the of the the is to his and the This as with an of on the of in the hands, to the poet as to or by his to not “The Stone and, even more “The Haw are of only in the is the is to the of the he not his and outside the of that this in poetic is he with the between and and between and This not a poet as The influence of Herbert's poetry, with of new kind of us not an to from to It is a moral and not a the moral of particular literary the of consciously away the in to with the and of the It is It can in a or a even Herbert's poems for as on an moral The fact that the can be that poetry can that the of the poet the of the and that his voice more than the of the and how his not the moral before they even more to one's that times

Hermeneutics and Narrative Identity · History · Irish and British Studies · Philosophy · Samuel Beckett and Modernism

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