Bihar Board Class 11 English Poem 8 – Follower

Bihar Board Class 11 English Poem 8 Follower is a thoughtful poem by Seamus Heaney. The poem presents the relationship between a father and his son through the memory of farm work. The speaker remembers his father working skillfully in the fields and describes how he tried to follow him as a child.

The poem is not simply about farming. It explores father-son relationship, admiration, childhood memories, growing up, role reversal and the passage of time. The young boy once followed his father while learning from him, but in the final stanza the relationship appears to reverse: the father has grown old and now follows his son.

Bihar Board Class 11 English Poem 8 – Overview

Follower – About the Poet

Seamus Heaney was a renowned Irish poet whose poetry often draws upon rural life, family memories, nature and the cultural landscape of Ireland.

Heaney frequently transformed ordinary experiences into deeply personal poetry. In Follower, he recalls his father’s skill as a farmer and his own childhood desire to imitate him.

The poem uses the practical details of ploughing and farming to explore a much wider human experience: the admiration children have for their parents, the desire to grow up, and the changes that inevitably come with age.

Follower – Summary

The poem begins with the speaker remembering his father working in the field. His father is presented as an extremely skilled and experienced farmer. He handles the plough with great confidence and precision.

The speaker watches his father carefully while he works. The father’s body and movements are closely connected with the task. He appears completely in control of the horses and the plough. The speaker admires this ability.

As a young child, the speaker tries to follow his father while he is ploughing. However, the boy is unable to match his father’s skill. He sometimes stumbles and falls, which shows the difference between the experienced farmer and the inexperienced child.

The father continues his work while the child follows behind him. The boy’s desire to remain close to his father shows his admiration and affection. He wants to learn from the man he considers an expert.

The speaker remembers that his father was so skilled that even the horses seemed to respond naturally to his movements. The entire process of ploughing appears controlled, smooth and almost artistic.

The poem then moves from childhood memory to the present. The speaker says that although he once wanted to follow his father, now the situation has changed. His father has grown old and seems to be following him.

The final image is emotionally powerful because it reverses the relationship described at the beginning. Earlier, the son was the follower. Now, the ageing father follows the son.

Thus, the poem presents the passage of time and changing family roles. What begins as a childhood memory of admiration ends as a reflection on ageing and the inevitable changes in human relationships.

Central Idea of Follower

The central idea of Follower is the changing relationship between a father and his son as time passes.

As a child, the speaker follows his father because he admires his father’s strength, skill and confidence. The father is a role model whom the child wants to imitate.

However, time changes their positions. The father grows old, while the son becomes independent. The final reversal, in which the father follows the son, creates a touching reflection on ageing and the passage of time.

Father’s Character in Follower

The father is presented as a strong, skilled, disciplined and experienced farmer. He understands his work deeply and handles the plough and horses with confidence.

He is also an important figure in the child’s life. The speaker admires him so much that he tries to imitate his movements. The father therefore represents not only a skilled farmer but also a role model for his son.

The Son’s Character

The speaker is initially a young child who admires his father. He is curious and eager to learn, but he lacks the physical ability and experience required for farm work.

His repeated attempts to follow his father show his affection and admiration. As an adult, however, he recognises how much their relationship has changed. His memories reveal both love for his father and awareness of the effects of ageing.

Father-Son Relationship

The relationship between father and son is the emotional centre of the poem. In childhood, the son sees his father as a powerful and highly skilled person. He follows him because he wants to learn and become like him.

The relationship changes naturally with time. The son becomes an adult and the father becomes old. The final image suggests that the father now depends on the son in some way.

The poem therefore captures a universal experience: children first depend on their parents, but as parents age, the roles can gradually reverse.

Significance of the Title “Follower”

The title Follower has more than one meaning.

At the literal level, the young boy follows his father while he ploughs the field. He tries to keep up with his father’s movements.

At a deeper level, the son is also a follower because his father is his role model. He wants to imitate his father’s abilities and behaviour.

At the end of the poem, however, the meaning of the title changes. The father himself has become the follower. This reversal makes the title especially meaningful and contributes to the emotional power of the poem.

Theme of Ageing and Passage of Time

Ageing is one of the most important themes of Follower. The poem moves from a vivid childhood memory to the present condition of the father.

The father was once physically strong and completely in control of his work. Years later, he has become old and follows his son.

This change reminds the reader that physical strength and social roles are not permanent. Time gradually changes everyone, including the people whom children once considered invincible.

Theme of Admiration

The young speaker deeply admires his father’s farming skills. He observes every movement and tries to imitate him.

The admiration is not expressed through elaborate praise. Instead, it is communicated through the detailed description of the father’s work and the child’s attempts to follow him.

Theme of Childhood

The poem contains a strong sense of childhood memory. The young boy wants to remain close to his father and participate in his work.

His inability to match his father’s movements is presented with affection rather than harsh criticism. The memory shows how children often see their parents as exceptionally capable and powerful.

Theme of Role Reversal

The most striking structural feature of the poem is the reversal of roles.

Farming as a Symbol

Farming is more than the physical setting of the poem. It becomes a way of showing the father’s strength, discipline and experience.

The father’s skill in controlling the plough and horses demonstrates his mastery. The son’s attempt to imitate him represents the natural process through which children learn from their parents.

The changing farming scene also reflects the passage of time. The memory of the father’s physical strength contrasts with his later old age.

Poetic Devices in Follower

Important Expressions Explained

• “His shoulders globed like a full sail strung”: The father’s broad and powerful shoulders are compared to a full sail.
• “Mapping the furrow exactly”: The father ploughs the field with great precision.
• “The sod rolled over without breaking”: The soil turns smoothly under the plough.
• “An expert”: The father is extremely skilled at his agricultural work.
• “I stumbled in his hob-nailed wake”: The child struggles to walk in the path left by his father.
• “I wanted to grow up and plough”: The child wants to become like his father and master his work.
• “Sometimes he rode me on his back”: This image recalls the affection and physical closeness between father and son.
• “But today it is my father who keeps stumbling behind me”: The roles have reversed because the father has grown old.

A. Work in Small Groups and Discuss

Question 1. How do people live in the countryside?

Answer: People in the countryside generally live close to nature and depend heavily on agriculture and related activities. They often work in fields, grow crops and maintain a relatively simple lifestyle.

Question 2. How is agriculture important for us?

Answer: Agriculture provides food such as cereals, pulses, vegetables and fruits. It also supplies raw materials for several industries and provides employment to a large number of people.

Question 3. Have you ever seen a farmer ploughing a field?

Answer: Yes. A farmer carefully controls the plough and animals while creating straight furrows in the field. The work requires strength, experience, patience and skill.

B.1 – Answer the Following Questions Briefly

Question 1. What was the father doing in the field?

Answer: The father was ploughing the field. He was working skillfully and confidently with the plough and horses.

Question 2. How did the father handle the plough?

Answer: He handled the plough with great skill and precision. He was able to control the movement of the plough and create accurate furrows.

Question 3. What did the child try to do?

Answer: The child tried to follow his father and imitate him while he was working in the field.

Question 4. Why did the child stumble?

Answer: The child was inexperienced and physically unable to match his father’s pace and movements. Therefore, he stumbled while trying to follow him.

Question 5. Why did the child want to grow up?

Answer: The child wanted to grow up so that he could become skilled like his father and perform the work of ploughing successfully.

Question 6. What does the poem reveal about the father’s skill?

Answer: It reveals that the father is an experienced and highly skilled farmer who can control the plough and horses with confidence and precision.

B.2 – Answer the Following Questions

Question 1. What does the boy remember about his father?

Answer: He remembers his father’s remarkable skill as a farmer, his physical strength, his confident handling of the plough and the way he worked with the horses.

Question 2. Why did the boy admire his father?

Answer: The boy admired his father because he was strong, experienced and extremely skilled at his work. The boy considered him a role model.

Question 3. What does the phrase “his hob-nailed wake” suggest?

Answer: It refers to the path or trail associated with the father’s heavy farming boots. The child tries to walk in his father’s footsteps but struggles to keep up.

Question 4. What is the significance of the final stanza?

Answer: The final stanza shows the reversal of roles. The son, who once followed his father, is now followed by his ageing father. It highlights the passage of time and the changing nature of family relationships.

C. Long Answer Questions

Question 1. Describe the father’s skill as a farmer.

Answer: The father is presented as an expert farmer who has complete control over his work. He handles the plough with confidence and creates accurate furrows in the field.

His movements are coordinated and purposeful. Even the horses appear to respond to him naturally. His broad physical build and controlled movements show years of experience.

The son’s admiration makes the father’s skill appear even more impressive. To the child, the father is almost perfect at his work and therefore becomes a natural role model.

Question 2. Describe the relationship between the father and son.

Answer: The relationship is based on admiration, affection and learning. As a child, the son watches his father working and tries to follow him. He wants to imitate his father’s skills and become like him.

The father represents strength and experience, while the son represents childhood curiosity and dependence. As time passes, however, the relationship changes. The father grows old and the son becomes independent.

The final image of the father following the son suggests that the roles have reversed. This makes the relationship deeply moving because it reflects the natural cycle of life.

Question 3. Explain the significance of the title “Follower”.

Answer: The title refers directly to the young boy who follows his father while he ploughs the field. At a deeper level, the boy also follows his father as a role model.

The title gains additional meaning at the end of the poem. The father, who was once the strong leader, now follows his son because age has weakened him.

Thus, “Follower” represents childhood admiration, learning, dependence and finally the reversal of roles between generations.

Question 4. How does the poem deal with the passage of time?

Answer: The poem moves between two stages of life. In the first stage, the father is young, strong and highly skilled, while the son is a small child trying to keep up with him.

In the present, the father has become old and the son has become an adult. The father now follows his son. This change demonstrates that time transforms physical strength and family roles.

The poem therefore presents ageing not as an abstract idea but through a deeply personal father-son relationship.

Question 5. What does the poem teach us about parents and children?

Answer: The poem shows that children naturally learn from and admire their parents. Parents often appear powerful and capable to young children.

However, life is a cycle. Parents grow older while children become adults. Eventually, children may have to support and care for their ageing parents. The poem therefore encourages us to value family relationships and respect the sacrifices and guidance of our parents.

Follower – Important Word Meanings

Important Questions from Follower

• Who wrote the poem Follower?
• What is the poem Follower about?
• What was the father doing in the field?
• How did the father handle the plough?
• Why did the son admire his father?
• Why did the child stumble?
• What does “his hob-nailed wake” mean?
• What does the child want to become?
• What does the poem reveal about the father’s skill?
• Describe the father as a farmer.
• Describe the relationship between the father and son.
• Why is the title Follower appropriate?
• What is the significance of the final stanza?
• How does the poem present ageing?
• How does the poem show the passage of time?
• Explain the role reversal between father and son.
• What does the poem teach us about parents and children?
• Discuss the theme of admiration in Follower.
• Discuss the importance of farming imagery in the poem.
• Write the summary of Follower.
• Explain the central idea of Follower.

Exam-Oriented Points – Follower

How to Prepare Bihar Board Class 11 English Poem 8

1. Read the poem carefully and understand the father-son relationship.
2. Remember the father’s skills as a farmer.
3. Understand why the child tries to follow his father.
4. Learn the meaning of the important farming images.
5. Understand the significance of the title Follower.
6. Focus on the role reversal in the final stanza.
7. Prepare the themes of admiration, childhood, ageing and family relationships.
8. Revise important word meanings and expressions.
9. Practise the short-answer and long-answer questions.
10. Pay special attention to the poem’s ending because it contains the central emotional idea.

Class 11 English Poem 8 – FAQs

Important Links

Conclusion

Bihar Board Class 11 English Poem 8 Follower by Seamus Heaney is a moving poem about a son’s admiration for his father and the inevitable changes brought by time.

The father is first shown as a powerful and highly skilled farmer. The young son follows him, watches him and tries to imitate his movements. This childhood admiration gradually becomes a memory of the changing relationship between them.

The final reversal, where the ageing father follows his son, gives the poem its deepest emotional meaning. For examination preparation, students should focus on the summary, central idea, father-son relationship, significance of the title, role reversal, ageing, farming imagery, poetic devices, word meanings and important questions.