‘And Somewhere the Dove Rose’: Seamus Heaney y su Fase Aérea en la Crítica Literaria

• Main Author: Juan Ráez-Padilla
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Asociación Española de Estudios Irlandeses 2007-03-01
• Series: Estudios Irlandeses
• Subjects: Seamus Heaney; Airy phase; Heaneyian criticism; Poetic evolution; The Four elements; Tension; Balance
• Online Access: http://www.estudiosirlandeses.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/HeaneysFaseAereaJuan-Ráez-Padilla.pdf

This article concentrates on the different analyses made by critics regarding the beginning of the so-called airy phase in Seamus Heaney’s oeuvre. In contrast with the generalized critical acceptance of a new airy, visionary, escapist phase, which follows a first earthy, sensorial, more politically committed phase, the main objective of this article is to show the outstanding critical disagreement over the collection/s which introduce/s this poetic shift and, consequently, the fragility of such critical hypothesis. After providing evidence on this discrepancy among critics and claiming our own disagreement with this airy phase, we offer a re-examination of Heaney’s poetic evolution which detaches itself from the binary opposition earth vs. air in favour of emphasizing tension and balance between both of them  –as in many other Heaneyian dualities–  all throughout his literary career.