Certain types of literature have the power to have an influence that can have a huge impact on others. It is often said that literature is a voice for social commentary. ‘The First Kingdom’ is a poem written by Seamus Heaney, a Northern Irish poet who wrote about the struggles against oppression that have occurred throughout Irish history and the 12th century onward. “ I See The Promise Land” is a speech given by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a black Civil Rights Activist who helped change the history for black people everywhere. Both Heaney and Dr.King used different types of literature and types of writing techniques to convey the harsh struggles their people went through in their time. Both influenced thousands if not millions of people to change the way they think.
Poetry is the use of figurative and literal constructs in order to create an intense unity in which human beings give rhythmic expressions to the most intense perceptions of the world or themselves. Heaney uses poems to tell his personal view on the struggles against oppression that have occurred throughout Irish History. The way Heaney uses imagery, metaphors, and parallelism in his poems causes a huge impact on the reader. He gives vivid images and comparisons of ireland and britain to agriculture and animals. A poem that show Ireland’s struggle against Britain is ‘The First Kingdom’. ‘The First Kingdom’ is from the 1984 collection Station Islands, poems from this collection are focused on his relationships, politics, and the violence of “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland. In this poem Heaney writes his beliefs and hierarchy using imagery and analogy in the first 2 lines “The royal roads were cow paths. The queen mother hunkered on a stool”. As the “queen” represents Britain and the “cows” represented Ireland. Heaney uses the analogies to connect farming and the colonial era of political domination and the way Britain treated Ireland. Later in the poem in the last few lines he states, “ They were two-faced and accommodating. And seed, breed and generation still they are holding, on every bit as pious and exacting and demeaned”. He sees Britain as negative and hypocritical, the line “ seed, breed and generation” is a parallelism to the passage of life. In the last line he says, “ pious and exacting and demeaned” He is stating that the British thinking that they are better than the Irish only hurt the British as human beings. Heaney’s message for the poem is people in control may live richer but it hurts the oppressor as human beings to live a lie. Social status defined self worth.
A speech is used to inform, persuade, entertain, stimulate action, or further interest in a topic of community/social concern. Dr.King use speeches to convey his point of observations about the way African Americans were treated. He’d had given hundreds of speeches in his lifetime to inform and persuade people that change has to happen. One speech that had a huge impact on others was “ I See The Promise Land” or often called “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” this speech was given on April 3rd, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, on the eve before he was assassinated. This was his last and most apocalyptic, sermon. He gave this speech to support a strike among sanitation workers in memphis. He wanted African Americans to band together to help these workers. He encouraged the crowd not to give up the fight, he insured that he wouldn’t always be around and they need to continue to keep fighting once he was gone. He used many language devices to create this powerful speech that’d have an impact on many people’s lives. He often repeats the phrases “ But I wouldn’t stop there” which he says 6 times and “ If I had sneezed” leaves an impact because death which is a common occurance gets people to think. Even without realizing he uses foreshadowing and irony when he says, “ Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead of us. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop” He’s saying that he doesn’t care what happens to him, he just wants them to keep on fighting for justice. Throughout his speech he makes constant references to the past such as Abe Lincoln, Birmingham Alabama, and Jesus Christ. He says it was and is possible to create change. All these real life examples leave a long lasting impression on the audience. Dr. King was able to grab the audience’s attention by using everyday scenarios and in depth metaphors to get his point across, these powerful words lead to the increase of freedom for African Americans.
Both Heaney and Dr.King were great men who had helped changed history with their powerful literature, both having an impact on the world today. Dr.King had a vision that race would no longer be an issue. His numerous of powerful speeches, non-violent marches and boycotts helped him win a nobel peace prize and help further the process of the Civil Rights movement. They way he spoke with such passion and heart touched thousands of people causing them to view and see things differently. If not for Dr.King African Americans wouldn’t have the rights and privileges they have today such as the whole month of February to celebrate the heritage and history of African AMericans. Heaney’s poetry was often down to earth and painted a gray and damp landscape of Ireland. He often connected his poems to daily life experiences. He thinks they’ve hardly undergo any apparent transition from the colonial to postcolonial time era. Heaney’s substantial creative output, from his earliest poetry to his interpretations of classical texts, reveals a writer who remained engaged with Northern Ireland and its politics throughout his entire literary career. Both Heaney and Dr. Kings unexpected deaths had a huge impact on the nation. Thousands of people attended Dr. Kings funeral and he was honored with a holiday after his passing as Heaney had such an impact that his death evoked a level of public reactions that had not been seen in a long time. His funeral was broadcasted on TV and on the radio plus the day before his funeral 80,000 fans at a sporting event had a moment of silence followed by 3 minutes of applause. His passing was an event of national significance to the Republic of Ireland.