In this collection of critical responses to Nobel Prize winner Seamus Heaney’s poetry, Elmer Andrews presents the debates surrounding the poet’s work and popular appeal. The writings gathered in this Columbia Critical Guide clarify and explore issues of cultural identity and nationality, as well as debates on the power of language and the function of verse. Beginning with Heaney’s early collection, Death of a Naturalist, the guide reviews and contextualizes material on successive volumes (including 1996’s The Spirit Level ), so that students of Heaney’s verse will find an accessible pathway through the most important critical writings on this major poet.