Poetry in motion with Heaney on the double in Leaving Cert English

For higher-level Leaving Certificate English students, Seamus Heaney appeared for a second day running — but it was an unseen poem of his that made yesterday’s long Paper 2.

The exam included questions on the prescribed poetry of WB Yeats, Emily Dickinson, Philip Larkin and Sylvia Plath.

Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) English spokesman Ollie Power said Heaney’s absence may have limited many students who expected him in the prescribed poetry section. While the nature of questions on the other poets was in line with previous ones about them, he thought the language in those questions was unnecessarily difficult in places.