Themes in the Poetry of Eavan Boland

The relentless passage of time and the loss of human lives are in no doubt hugely apparent themes in Boland’s poetry. In fact I believe them to be probably the most profound issues which she deals with, and I find her means of exploring them, through a juxtaposition of personal exposure and political address to be highly impressive. Although her poetry is extensive in its subjects, her clear consideration of inevitability itself and the tragedy and loss which can be associated with it is explicitly prevalent within it all. We can see it when she opens up her own heart to us in ‘Love’ and ‘The Shadow Doll’ and when she explores the relationship between her parents in ‘The Black Lace Fan’, when she illustrates the cyclical nature of violence and the effects of profound human suffering in ‘The War Horse’ and ‘The Famine Road’ and when she cleverly alludes to the loss of childhood and innocence in ‘This Moment’. Her overall examining of these issues and her vivid concern relating to them left me feeling mesmerized and I truly believe them to be highly thought-provoking and unforgettable as   major issues within her poetry.
After reading 'The famine Road' I was struck by her utterly affecting interpretation of the dehumanizing effect of appalling suffering, such as was experienced during the Irish famine, and at the same time mesmerized by her hugely clever, intertwining of stories to create an ultimately striking metaphor. She tells through several voices, the almost indescribably harrowing story of the Irish Famine victims and how the loss of human lives can result in dehumanization. The first voice is that of Sir Charles Trevelyan who was the official in charge of relief work .His voice is one of condemnation; the Irish are 'idle as trout in light. This being a dramatic poem, and as allowed by poetic license, Boland speaks for the characters and through her he decides to give out no money to the starving; he will 'give them no coins at all’. Instead he will make them...