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 31 October 2024.]
