Seamus Heaneys Portrayal of the Loss of Innocence :: Poems, Poetry

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 -------------------------------------------------- of the townland;green and heavey headed --------------------------------------- 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'