From The Frontier Of Writing

The poem From The Frontier Of Writing by Seamus Heaney is one of my favorite poems we have reviewed and analyzed all semester.
The entire poem is an extended metaphor. The speaker relates getting a work of literature published to someone passing a border check. The literal incident that is happening is that someone has approached a border check where they are checked by the guards and waiting to see if they are able to get to the other side. The figurative meaning of this poem is that if you’re a writer you have to go through editors and publishers who have the power to deny or approve your writing.
The troops or guards in the poem may represent the publishers who look over your work which in the poem may be the vehicle. They inspect the “make and number” of the vehicle. This make and number may refer to the title and content of the work. The guns that are prominently mentioned represent the power the publishers have. They can ‘kill’ your ideas or shoot it down.
In the poem what the speaker is trying to portray is that when writing you are never fully in charge of your writing. There is always someone looking and analyzing it from up-close or from afar which is symbolized in the poem by the marksman who constantly has his gun pointed at you. But after your work is approved you are able to go forward giving the feeling of freedom. Heaney uses the image of a waterfall to show how it feels when you are approved. You no longer have to deal with the soldiers or publishers as you see them fading away as you go forward.