Requiem For Croppies

Context
Croppies: refers to cropped hair of the Irish rebels in opposition to the long-haired aristocrats.

'''Vinegar Hill:''' refers to a famous battle of the Irish rebellion of 12th June 1798. The war was fought between Irish rebels and subjects loyal to the Crown of England.

Barley: The Rebels would keep barley in their pocket as a snack. When the men died the barley, literally nourished by the flesh of the men grew out of the graves. This became a symbol of Irish nationalism and pride.

'''Easter Rising of 1916:''' The poem was written to mark the 50 year anniversary of Irish independence. Heaney references the seed of rebellion in the croppies and alludes to the impact and inspiration the croppies represent.

''The 1916 uprising is described as being inspired by the seed of 1798, when revolutionary republican ideals and national feeling coalesced in the doctrines of an Irish consciousness.''

Setting or Subject
The poem is set on the Vinegar Hill. The final resting place for hundreds of rebels and a contemporary memorial for Irish nationalism, hope and courage. The poem speaks of how the croppies died and how the barley now grows out off their unmarked graves. The setting is described with a rawness, yet a solemn reverence.

Action
The speaker describes the last  stand of the Irish rebellion of  1798. The action then moves through time describing how the memory and dignity of the croppies lives on through the perpetual growth of barley from the grain in their pockets.

Symbolism
'''‘The priest lay behind the ditches with the tramp’'''- of Heaney refers to the ‘priest (held in the highest esteem) being in the same ditch as the ‘tramp.’ This is symbolic of the removal of social classes, within the poem social class is removed, the people were persecuted and subjugated because they were Irish, irrespective of class.

'''The hillside blushed, soaked in our broken wave.''' This example of personification eludes to the immense bloodshed, romanticises the death and sacrifice of the rebels. Is central to the myth of romantic Irish identity.

'''They buried us without shroud or coffin And in August the barley grew up out of the grave. . '''The triumphant conclusion, the final words after death is not in spite of the thousands who died, but a consequence of it. The two images are linked by the word ‘and’ despite the anonymous and seemingly ineffectual nature of their deaths, the spirit and hope lives on to nourish (both literally and symbolically) the lives of future generations.

Tone and Mood
•The tone is extremely solemn. Speaking to the morbid nature of the poem and its themes

•There is a slow sad mood. The reader seems to be filled with regret and sympathy. There is an enlightened mood eluded to in the last line.