Inheritance (AQA A-Level English Literature A): Revision Notes

Inheritance

Overview

Inheritance is one of Owen Sheers' most celebrated poems from his collection Skirrid Hill. The poem examines the physical, emotional and ideological characteristics that Sheers has received from his parents. Through three distinct sections, he explores his father's influence, his mother's impact, and how their partnership together has shaped who he has become. The poem is deeply rooted in Welsh identity and celebrates the enduring nature of family bonds whilst reflecting on how our heritage defines us.

Summary

The poem reflects on the ways different traits and mannerisms pass down through generations. Sheers structures his exploration around three focuses: his father's characteristics, his mother's qualities, and what both parents together have given him.

The first stanza presents physical traits and ideological perspectives inherited from his father, including a speech impediment and a profound connection to Welsh landscapes. The second stanza shifts to more emotional and creative qualities gained from his mother, such as sensitivity and storytelling ability. The final stanza celebrates his parents' enduring love for each other and recognises that his complete identity emerges from the balance of both their influences. Throughout the piece, Welsh heritage remains central, with several references to the land, traditions and character of Wales.

Context

Owen Sheers is a Welsh poet born in 1974, and his work demonstrates a deep immersion in Welsh traditions and landscape. The collection Skirrid Hill is designated 'After R.S. Thomas', which is a significant reference. R.S. Thomas was a renowned Welsh poet particularly known for his nationalism and his frequent use of Wales itself as a central element in his poetry. By positioning his work in this tradition, Sheers signals that he is following a path of Welsh literary heritage.

The importance of Welsh identity becomes immediately apparent in Inheritance, where the landscape, weather and rural life of Wales form essential aspects of what the poet has received from his father. This poem offers insight into the origins of Sheers' own preoccupation with Welsh identity that runs throughout his anthology.

Key themes

Family and lineage

The poem explores how we are products of our parents and, by extension, all the generations that came before them. Sheers recognises that his characteristics, both positive and challenging, originate from his mother and father. He understands that they too inherited traits from their own parents, creating an unbroken chain stretching back through time. This creates a moving connection and sense of belonging. For someone interested in family ancestry and heritage, this poem offers a personal meditation on what it means to be part of a lineage.

Time and identity

The way time reveals character traits forms another important thread in the poem. Sheers suggests that certain aspects of one's personality might initially remain hidden but emerge gradually. As he has grown older, he has recognised more of his parents within himself. Time becomes a mechanism through which inheritance manifests, showing how we grow to understand ourselves by understanding where we come from.

Welsh identity and place

The connection to Welsh land, weather and tradition represents a significant inheritance from Sheers' father. The desire to have his 'bones / near the hill's bare stone' expresses a profound physical and spiritual connection to Welsh geography. The appreciation for Wales' turbulent weather, the outdoor working life, and rural landscapes all contribute to a specifically Welsh identity that has been passed down. This theme connects the poem to the broader concerns of the Skirrid Hill collection.

Gender and relationships

The poem presents a dialogue about gender differences through the contrasting inheritances from each parent. The father represents the masculine through physicality, outdoor life, ancient tradition and a kind of rugged order. The mother embodies the feminine through emotional sensitivity, storytelling and creativity. Rather than presenting these as opposing forces, Sheers celebrates how they complement each other. The final stanza emphasises that his complete identity emerges from the balance and combination of both parents' qualities.

Enduring love

The third stanza focuses particularly on his parents' lasting relationship. The metaphor of metal forged 'red hot' that has 'cooled dark at its sides' suggests that whilst their relationship may appear weathered from the outside, the passion and love at its core remains as strong as ever. This celebration of enduring romance adds depth to the poem, showing that what Sheers inherits is not just individual traits but also a model of committed partnership.

Structure and form

Inheritance is composed of three stanzas with a carefully considered structure. The first stanza, focusing on Sheers' father, contains seven lines. The second stanza, exploring his mother's influence, also contains seven lines. The third and final stanza, which brings both parents together, is slightly shorter at six lines.

The poem is written in free verse with no consistent rhyme scheme. However, sporadic rhymes appear throughout, such as 'bones' and 'stone' in the first stanza, and 'stable' and 'fable' in the second. These occasional rhymes create subtle connections between ideas and suggest moments of harmony or coherence in the personalities of the parents. The lack of a rigid structure reflects the natural, organic way traits pass between generations.

Analysis

Title

The word Inheritance immediately signals the poem's central concern: what is passed down from one generation to another. In this case, the inheritance includes both physical features (such as blue eyes or a stammer) and ideological beliefs (such as valuing Welsh land or appreciating storytelling). The title establishes that Sheers will explore both the tangible and intangible legacies parents leave their children. There is a balance between physical characteristics and ways of thinking, creating a comprehensive picture of hereditary influence.

Stanza one: father's inheritance

From my father a stammer like a stick in the spokes of my speech. A tired blink, a need to have my bones near the hill's bare stone. An affection for the order of maps and the chaos of bad weather.

The opening stanza catalogues what Sheers has inherited from his father. The first characteristic is a stammer, a speech impediment that creates difficulty in verbal expression. Sheers uses sound to recreate the experience of stammering. Words beginning with the sibilant 's' sound quickly encounter plosive 'p' or 't' sounds, causing the reader's speech to trip and stumble when reading aloud. This mirrors the physical experience of a stammer, where words catch and block in the speaker's mouth.

The metaphor 'like a stick in the spokes' powerfully captures the jarring interruption a stammer causes. Just as a stick thrust into bicycle wheel spokes would bring forward motion to an abrupt, jolting halt, the stammer disrupts the smooth flow of speech. The image is mechanical and slightly violent, suggesting both the frustration and the physical nature of the impediment.

The phrase 'a need to have my bones / near the hill's bare stone' expresses a profound connection to Welsh landscape. This is not merely a preference but a 'need', something fundamental to Sheers' sense of wellbeing. The rhyme linking 'bones' and 'stone' reinforces how deeply this connection runs - it is as though Sheers' physical body and the Welsh earth are made of the same substance. The 'hill' likely refers to the Skirrid itself, the Welsh mountain that gives the collection its name. This inheritance of place and belonging represents a specifically Welsh identity passed from father to son.

The final characteristics presented are 'an affection for the order of maps / and the chaos of bad weather'. These two traits are juxtaposed against each other - order versus chaos - yet both are valued equally. The appreciation for maps reflects the Welsh character's love of knowing the land, of understanding geography and rural spaces. Maps impose human order on natural landscape. Meanwhile, Wales is famous for its turbulent, harsh weather and strong winds. Rather than resenting this, there is an 'affection' for it. The chaotic weather becomes something to embrace and even take pride in. Both traits together - the desire for order and the acceptance of chaos - create a complete picture of the father's character and the Welsh temperament Sheers has inherited.

Stanza two: mother's inheritance

From my mother (...) turning fact into fable.

The second stanza shifts focus to Sheers' mother, and the contrast with the first stanza is immediately striking. Where his father gave him physical attributes and connection to external landscape, his mother has given him emotional and creative capacities. This division reflects traditional gender associations - the masculine with physicality and the outdoors, the feminine with sensitivity and creativity.

The reference to 'the eye's blue ore' mentions the inheritance of his mother's blue eyes, a direct physical trait. However, 'ore' is an interesting word choice - ore is valuable material extracted from earth. This suggests purity and worth, connecting the blue eyes with something precious. The association of purity with a feminine image reinforces the gendered division between the two parents. Where the father is rugged and weathered, the mother represents something pure and refined.

The ability to create stories, 'turning fact into fable', represents perhaps the most valuable inheritance from his mother. This creative capacity to transform reality into narrative is the foundation of Sheers' own work as a poet. The rhyme of 'stable' and 'fable' (referenced in the full poem) creates a sense of stability and calm, contrasting with the jarring sounds of the first stanza. The image of 'quiet moments beside a wet horse' evokes rural Welsh life but in a peaceful, contemplative way. Listening to rain whilst standing with a horse presents a tranquil scene of connection to rural existence. This differs from the father's more active, physical engagement with the landscape.

Stanza three: both parents together

And from them both — (...) cooled dark at its sides.

The final stanza celebrates what both parents have given Sheers together, focusing particularly on their relationship with each other. The word 'forged' introduces metalworking imagery that continues throughout the stanza. Forging requires intense heat, a 'hard hammer', and physical labour. This manual, working-class imagery reflects the hard life Sheers' parents have lived together. The repetition of hard consonant sounds - 'hard', 'hammer' - emphasises the toughness and difficulty of their journey.

The central metaphor contrasts heat with cooling. The parents' love has been 'red hot', suggesting passion, intensity and enduring warmth. However, from the outside, their relationship appears to have 'cooled dark at its sides'. This metaphor suggests that whilst the surface of their long relationship may seem weathered or diminished to external observers, the core remains as passionate as ever. Like metal forged in fire, the exterior may darken and oxidise, but the heat at its centre persists. This is a moving tribute to enduring love and committed partnership.

The phrase 'a life together' emphasises duration and shared experience. The use of 'forg[ing]' (the insertion of '[ing]' suggests this word appears in the full poem) connects back to the manual labour imagery. They have worked together to create their life, hammering it into shape through years of effort and dedication.

This stanza reveals that Sheers' inheritance is not just individual traits from each parent but the model of their relationship itself. He has learned about commitment, enduring love and partnership from witnessing their lives together. The balance of masculine and feminine qualities, represented structurally through the poem, creates Sheers' complete identity. He is not entirely his father, nor entirely his mother, but the best of both - 'from them both'.

Key language features and techniques

Sound patterns

Sheers employs sibilance (repeated 's' sounds) and plosive consonants ('p', 't', 'b', 'd') particularly in the first stanza to recreate the physical sensation of stammering. When words like 'stick', 'spokes' and 'speech' follow each other, the reader's mouth must work hard to articulate them, mirroring the effort required by someone with a stammer.

Metaphor

The poem contains several powerful metaphors:

• The 'stick in the spokes' captures the jarring interruption of stammered speech
• The metalworking imagery of the final stanza represents both the creation of Sheers' identity and the enduring strength of his parents' relationship
• The description of blue eyes as 'ore' suggests precious material extracted from earth

Juxtaposition

Sheers frequently places contrasting ideas alongside each other. The 'order of maps' sits beside the 'chaos of bad weather', showing how apparently opposing qualities can coexist. The masculine and feminine characteristics of each parent are juxtaposed through the structure, with physical traits contrasting with emotional ones.

Rhyme and rhythm

The sporadic rhymes ('bones'/'stone', 'stable'/'fable') create moments of connection and harmony without imposing rigid structure. This reflects how inheritance works - patterns emerge naturally rather than being forced.

Imagery

Natural imagery dominates, particularly the Welsh landscape. Hills, stones, weather, horses and rural life create a strong sense of place. This grounds the abstract concept of inheritance in concrete, sensory detail.

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