Seamus Heaney, "Punishment"

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Collected in Seamus Heaney’s fifth poetry collection entitled

North

, “Punishment” is one of its most moving and reflective pieces. Although Heaney has removed all trace of historical and geographical exactitude for the sake of universality and intimacy with the subject, the poem was in fact inspired by P. V. Glob’s book

The Bog People

(1970), an anthropological study of recently unearthed Iron Age bog bodies found in various parts of Northern Europe.

Published in 1975, “Punishment” responded to research surrounding the discovery of the mummy known as Windeby I, also called the Windeby Girl, disinterred from a peat bog in Northern Germany in 1952. The Windeby Girl was initially believed to have been punished as an adulteress because the body of a man was found not far from hers.

1748 words

Citation: Martiny, Erik. ""Punishment"". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 02 March 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=34893, accessed 19 March 2024.]

34893 "Punishment" 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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