The Revolutionary Chora in Seamus Heaney’s Kite Poetry

This paper examines the presence and impact of the Kristevan chora in the kite poetry of Seamus Heaney, demonstrating how the presence of the chora in his final kite poem “A Kite for Aibhín” is used to alter the discursive representation of fatherhood that was handed down to Heaney through symbolic language. The views of Heaney and Kristeva on the revolutionary potential of poetry is analysed alongside Heaney’s poetry to glean an understanding of how poetry has a profound impact on identity and representation. This paper proves that for Heaney poetry afforded weighty individual change, acting as a technological medium through which he could alter language.