outstaring+axe

To see a picture of an axe click [|here].

This poem by Seamus Heaney shows much of the racism which occured in Ireland. In Ireland many blacks were behaded and hung in the trees. This is where the line, "Beheaded girl, outstaring axe." comes from. The slaves in Ireland were found lynched in many trees throughout the country. This is where Seamus Heaney gets the title, //Strange Fruit.// In other lines throughout the poem, such as, "Hey eyeholes blank as pools" come from the grotesque fact that white men often tore the slaves eye balls out before they killed them. Also, "Her broken nose is as dark as turf cold," shows that these slaves were brutally abused and beaten before they were mudered by the white men. The poets higher purpose for writing this poem was to raise awareness for the racism which occured in Ireland. A point to take away from this poem is that racism did not only occur in the U.S., it was also a large problem throughout the world. The message that Seamus Heaney was trying to give by writing this poem was to raise awareness about racism in Ireland.