The Strand at Lough Beg The part of this poem that needs to be examined first are the images in the title of the poem. Seamus Heaney begins us by giving us this image of the Strand in Lough Beg, which is the shore of a lake. The reader is already provided with the starting point of this story; the kind of person Colum McCartney is. Seamus Heamey begins the poem with an image of isolation, confusion, and loss of security. Heaney describes what happened the night his cousin was killed: Leaving the white glow of petrol stations and a few lonely street lamps in the fields, you climbed the hills towards Newtown Hamilton, past Fews Forest. Out under the stars- (lines 1-4) The first lines describe how his cousin started out in the glow of the gas station where he was, and he walked away into an open area in a city with the stars above him. The light here represented safety. Colum started from a situation where he was very close to this light: where there was, most likely, a shop and other people. After finishing at the gas station, he leaves. Heaney gives us the image of the street lamps passing by as he drove. This shows how the light was now outside of where he was but was still with him. He eventually drives to Netownhamilton, passing through some forests along the way and a place where the only light he is exposed to are the stars shining down on him from the sky. This now represents how the imminent safety he had at the public service station was now gone and he was isolated, in these hills lit only by the stars. Safety in the light is now far away: leave it exposed to anything "outside". The image of the first lines is of Colum now isolated, surrounded......the center of the card......urinated. The way Heaney describes this cleansing of the body and clothes was depicted in a very ritualistic and loving way. It showed how important it was to Heaney that his cousin was buried correctly and humanely. The Strand at Lough Beg by Seamus Heaney describes Colum McCartney's death in three different ways: the way he could have died, why he shouldn't have died, and the way he could have died. way it should have been put to rest. It is important to note that Heany does not mention, not even once, any vengeful hatred towards the murderers but instead focuses on love and an undying respect for the dead. The poem begins with a stormy vision, which connects all the reader's senses and introduces us to the scene of his death. However, the poem develops into an affectionate and heartbreaking eulogy to Colum McCartney, through Heaney's expression of light, mystery, change and way of life..