Seamus Heaney's poetic evolution reveals a transition toward a more measured and wise voice, with longer, sentence-driven poems like 'Exposure' and his elegies exploring themes of struggle, memory, and loss.

His final poem, 'Banks of a Canal,' responds to a painting by C and showcases his mastery in controlling emotional undertones through subtle rhythms and calm cadences.

Colm Tóibín highlights Heaney’s technique of tactful circumspection, where his poems echo and influence each other, creating a layered poetic universe that navigates personal and political histories.

A comprehensive collection titled 'The Poems of Seamus Heaney,' edited by Bernard O’Donoghue, Dr Rosie Lavan, and Matthew Hollis, includes both published and unpublished poems, with the last poem completed shortly before Heaney’s death in August 2013.

This collection features unpublished poems chosen by Heaney’s family, showcasing his experimentation with different styles and poetic personas across various stages of his life.

His later work, including bog poems, 'Glanmore Sonnets,' and 'Clearances,' marks a shift from mere observation to a deeper understanding of life's pains and marvels, culminating in a voice that is both rueful and wise.

Heaney’s early poems, such as 'Victorian Guitar' and 'Twice Shy,' demonstrate his initial experimentation with style and persona, evolving from playful to reflective before becoming more complex.

Reading Heaney’s poetry involves noticing recurring images and themes like Irish landscapes, family, and history, which reveal an ongoing poetic evolution through echoes and associations.

The editors of the collection carefully organized the poems respecting the sequence of Heaney’s original volumes, maintaining the integrity of each, unlike other posthumous collections that include drafts or uncontextualized poems.