"And Somewhere the Dove Rose"Seamus Heaney y su Fase Aérea en la Crítica Literaria

Abstract

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.