Personal Helicon
Personal Helicon by Samuel Heaney is a descriptive poem of a child and his fascination of wells. The subject matter of wells is not very typical in poetry although the author, using stylistic devices, has developed the poem so that works on two levels. One level being of a very simple poem and on another level, the use of sounds and powerful images makes an instant impact on the reader’s senses. The five stanzas of poetry give a very personal and emotional insight into the author’s experiences on the farm. The diction and sentence structure used is typical of a child, and the simple language promotes the feeling of innocence and the sense of enjoyment. The poem contains vivid although often grotesque imagery and helps add to a childlike outlook on life.
In my opinion the purpose of this poem is to see how much enjoyment a child can have from such innate objects and therefore reflect on his innocence. The poem is very accessible to all readers since the language used is simple and symbolic of a child discovering a new toy. The child is portrayed as being very innocent, gaining enjoyment from wells and crashes ‘when a bucket plummets down the end of a rope.’ We find many amusing childish ideas in the opening paragraphs, like ‘trapped sky,’ because it seems as if he thinks that the sky is trapped within the well. In the latter part of the poem it seems as if the child has grown up, ‘is beneath all adult dignity.’ This last line suggests that this poem has him recollecting childhood memories. In one sense he is discovering an exciting game but in another he can be seen to be discovering who his identity, as he progresses from child to man. The change in age and pursuit of indentify can evidently be seen through his writing in the last paragraph.
