Seamus Heaney's Portrayal of the Loss of Innocence

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Heaney particually portrays the theme of 'loss of innocence' as a

child through his peoms, 'Death of a Natrualist', 'Blackberry

picking', 'Poem' and 'Personal Helicon'.

Death of a Naturalsit of the first of Heaneys poems to really express

this theme.

'All year round the flax-dam festered in the heart

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of the townland;green and heavey headed

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Flax rotted there.'

In the first stanza Heaney uses rich imagery and purposeful child-like

language such as 'festered' and 'warm thick slobber'. These create a

sense of the childlike adventure to be found in the surrounding area

and time that he had as a child. The language and images created by

Heaney help to engage the readers senses. These, although not always

pleaseant images portray the excitement to be found as a child. They

are also positive and fresah.

As the poem progresses into the following stanza there is a destinct

change in the mood of the peom.

'The air was thick with a bass chorus'

Agaijn Heaney uses rich imagery to explain his point. Phrases such as

'angry frogs' tell how his feeling towards them as a child has changed

and now they seem 'angry' rather then the 'nimble swimming tadpoles'

that thery were before. Heaney expresses this change in nature as the

change of season as wel for him as the actual changin from childhood

into adult life. Once innocent and stimulating images have changed

into aggressive and threatening things.

The title of this poem in itself holds the theme strongly. 'Death of a

Naturalist' suggests his interest in nature dying and being replaced

with more adult feelings.

'Death of a Naturalist' also liks closely to Heaney's poem 'Blackburry

picking'. The poem follows the similar two stanza approach, with the

first being full of childhood positives and the second folloing on to

more nagative images n nature.

This poem however focuses in more on nature itself and his perspecive.

'you ate that first one and its fleesh was sweet'

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