I dTaobh an Áir atá le Teacht

Publication Instance Details #263

Publication Overview

Translation	Is Multilingual	Explicit Irish Context?	Ekphrasis	Has Paratext?	Reference to News, Media or Technology
No	No	Yes	No	No	No

Details

Human Rights Issues	HR & Weapons of Mass Destruction (incl. nuclear) HR & Environment
Irish Context	Great Famine (Ireland)
Languages	Irish
Genre	Short Lyric
Medium	Print Collection
Notes	This poem describes a hypothetical apocalyptic world in which humanity cowers before the coming of death. Cities are falling, plants fail to grow, and waterfalls and rivers have dried up. A 'dark stranger' - a harbinger of death - is associated with potato blight. This is likely a reference to the blight of the mid-nineteenth century Great Famine. An eight-pointed stag appears to be the bringer of apocalypse, however. In the penultimate verse of the poem, his arrival brings a 'poison mushroom' from the sky - a likely reference to nuclear weapons and bombs.