Personal Helicon
Personal Helicon
By Seamus Heaney
for Michael Longley
As a child, they could not keep me from wells
And old pumps with buckets and windlasses.
I loved the dark drop, the trapped sky, the smells
Of waterweed, fungus and dank moss.
One, in a brickyard, with a rotted board top.
I savoured the rich crash when a bucket
Plummeted down at the end of a rope.
So deep you saw no reflection in it.
A shallow one under a dry stone ditch
Fructified like any aquarium.
When you dragged out long roots from the soft mulch
A white face hovered over the bottom.
Others had echoes, gave back your own call
With a clean new music in it. And one
Was scaresome, for there, out of ferns and tall
Foxgloves, a rat slapped across my reflection.
Now, to pry into roots, to finger slime,
To stare, big-eyed Narcissus, into some spring
Is beneath all adult dignity. I rhyme
To see myself, to set the darkness echoing.
While reading the poem *"Personal Helicon"* , it feels that during the poem's composition, Heaney was pretty *nostalgic and quite honeyed with sweet memories* from his childhood as we often are. We can see that he probably wandered from well to well for his poetic Muse . Each detail of the poem is so minute and vivid that we can smell and feel each scenery that he poeticized.
ReplyDeleteSir, now coming to the *aquatic world inside the Well* , which you analysed so effectively during the class that I got goosebumps and felt instantly that it might be true that there maybe *worlds within worlds and gallaxies within galaxies in lil things* , even in the tip of our fingers. Although it is silly to imagine so, but human imagination knows no limit. 😁
The reference of the well in this poem also reminded us of Swamiji's Chicago speech where he mentioned some frogs in a Well and compared the same with religion. And his msg was so clear cut. I can't remember it all in details now .
And I enjoyed the poem a lot.
My respects to Heaney.
Thank you for reading.
~ Bikram Chowdhury 😊
To analyze a poem "Personal Helicon"written by Seamus Heaney.
ReplyDeleteHelicon is the name of a mountain in Greece.
Mount helicon was the site of the stream hippocrene which was sacred to the muses (the goddesses who presided over arts and poetry) The verse form is five quatrains.
The poem is written in iambic pentameter and is made up of an altering rhyme scheme ab ab.
In this verse form, Seamus Heaney with such elegance explains the universe to himself, and himself to the reader. It is no admiration he is considered one of the greatest life poets. Probably he was compelled by others every bit much as himself to revisit his journey of going poet. And of class this can merely be done through verse form. Using Wellss and springs as a manner of personal contemplation and apprehension of the natural universe.
To begin with we hear of the childhood experiences of the speaker as he explores and investigates the local springs/ wells which fascinate him. Poet wants to connects the views between the depth and darkness of the wells of his childhood with the development of his adulthood character.
Towards the end the speaker states an attitude to his former activities and relates them to his present occupation.
Seu Roy.
Thank you Bikram
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ReplyDeleteThank you so much Seu Roy
ReplyDeleteSeamus Heaney’s “Personal Helicon” reflects on the past, illuminating the clash between innocent curiosity of adolescence and wide-ranging moralities expected of adults. Although the poem lacks extreme, unnecessary sentiment, the speaker manages to personally connect himself with nature in order to create an enjoyable, wistful tone. The poet incorporates intense, powerful vocabulary in order to enhance the lines, which allows the reader to comprehend the recollections with greater illustrations and feel.
ReplyDeleteThese techniques indicate that Heaney would like the reader to enter into the world of the poem in order to picture and understand the images and themes he describes.
The final stanza strongly implies that the poet was able to enjoy, think and reflect on life and himself through playing with wells, now, as an adult he believes it to be below his dignity “to pry into roots, to finger slime.” As an adult, he takes refuge in writing poems to connect with himself and “to set the darkness echoing"
--------- Shubhankita Das
'Personal Helicon' is Poet's Own Inspiration From The Mysterious And Experience Of Life.This Poem Was First Published In 1966 In The Book"Death Of Naturalist".The Poem Is Dedicated To Michael Longley Who Is A Poet And Friend Of Seamus Heaney.
ReplyDeleteThis Poem Is Full Of Imagery.Seamus Heaney Used Images Of Wells,Water Bucket,Smell Of Water Weeds,Fungus, Foxgloves,Mulch Etc. Throughout The Poem The Poet Uses Vivid Descriptions Of The Nature Through His Childhood Experience.He Describes Various Types Of Wells He Liked To Play Around With Even Though It Was Forbidden And How They Made Him Feel And How They Awoke His Imagination.
In This Poem Seamus Heaney Used Musical Devices"Alliteration"(Repetition Of Similar Constant Sounds ,Like-Dark/Drop)And Assonance (Repetition Of Similar Vowel Sounds In A Line,Like- Rope/So/No)Etc.
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ReplyDeleteIn the poem , *"Personal Helicon"* Heaney memorizes his own childhood experiences about seeing wells in his country side . In his poem , he gives us a vivid picture of rural culture . He displays how an ordinary well became an object of passion and fantasy too. Sometimes he was curious about wells because of it deep dark inside . Sometimes he was fascinated by its outward beauty. He remembered that country people had found that their works depend on well to live their lives . While he was growing up , he saw that it is hard to find even a well . Nowadays people discarded this type of work and adopted new techniques . So the poet Heaney senses a lack of such beautiful memories of his childhood and its pleasure .
DeleteAloka Singha
According to me dear Sir the poem" Act of Union "The poem uses strong sexual metaphors, which try to compare the colonization of Ireland to that of a rape. The metaphors used through the poem describes what took place between England and Ireland as well as a sexual act taking place between a man and a woman. The poem’s title “Act of Union” shadows over the poem with its double meaning. One interpretation of the title can be the actual Act of Union in 1801.The rhyme scheme indicates loose Shakespearean sonnet. In Shakespeare's sonnets, the rhyme pattern is abab cdcd efef gg, with the final couplet used to summarize the previous 12 lines or present a surprise ending. The rhythmic pattern of the sonnets is the iambic pentameter. An iamb is a metrical foot consisting of one stressed syllable and one unstressed syllable. Heaney perfectly adopted this pattern into his two stanzas. The first stanza of the poem depicts Britain’s affection towards Ireland in a sexual way. Other than the beginning of the poem the first line also represents a strong sexual arousal between the ‘couple.
ReplyDeleteI read this poem to myself a few times, and, as I did, I heard a very nostalgic and wistful tone in the speaker's voice. I actually felt kind of bad for him. I think we all know what it's like to wish we could still be little kids again and get away with pretty much anything, and that's the point that I thought Heaney was making in his poem.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem there are references to reflections in almost every stanza: the lack of one due to the depth of the first well, the white face at the bottom of the second well, the rat slapping across his reflection in the third well, the reference to Narcissus, and the way he parallels his reflection in the wells to his reflection in his writing.
The first stanza tells us what the speaker enjoyed as a child: wells and old pumps, and all the messy things that came with them. This establishes the feeling of nostalgia in the poem. The second and third stanza describe two wells in particular which must have been important enough to catch in his memory. The first well, in a brickyard covered with rotting boards, was deep enough that he could not see his reflection, but apparently could still hear the water at the bottom. I thought this symbolized the mysteries we find as children, which are so fascinating to us. The second well was shallow and overgrown, so that he could pull out roots from the bottom. This seemed like the impelling curiosity which pushes children to discover the truths behind the things they don't understand. The last stanza seemed to hold a lot of meaning. Everything he had done in his childhood, everything that had made him happy and had been the essence of his innocent mind had been taken from him in his adulthood. He is forced to substitute a more mature activity, writing, for his childish adventures in order to fill the void within himself and to keep from losing his unique, inner spirit. It seems like a sad little story to me, but whether or not we like it, growing up is something we all have to accept eventually...to an extent.
Mahammad Samim Siddik
The poem "personal Helicon " written by seamus Heaney is highly symbolic poem. This is highly probably that this poem is the journey of poet's mind. There is no wonder that Heaney is famous for the presentation of memories of past. There is an element of myth, like helicon , Narcissus which are perfect paradigm.
ReplyDeleteFrom the wells ,the poet gets different smell of dark moss and fungus which are integral part of the wells. According to the poet, the depth of wells creates mystery in his mind. Through the lens of the poet ,we discover aquarium which is different world from the mundane world. We can't touch and feel the eco system. The poet finds different creatures ,smell in the wells .we notice sensitivities in Seamus Heaney like keats. At the bottom of the wells ,he finds the meaning behind the darkness which is elusive. For the poet ,the wells is the mount helicon where he gets inspiration. It provokes him to write more.
Sandipan Roy
The poem "Personal Helicon" by Seamus Heaney is a very interesting one.Here the poet seems to present his personal experiences so naturally that we can combine it with our own experiences.The images of every wells and his personal experiments with it present a vivid and lively image.When I go through the text, I found myself completely lost in the poet's world.It also compels me to admit Seamus Heaney as a great poet.The way he presents his experiences with Wells which in real life we don't give attention to it thinking an ordinary one.
ReplyDeleteIn this poem, the poet also seems to explain the world to himself, and himself to us.It is no wonder he is considered one of the greatest living poets.By the images of various wells, the poet seems to revisit his journey of becoming a poet.And of course, this can only be done through poem.Using wells and springs as a way of personal reflection and understanding of the natural world, Seamus Heaney begins the reader at his childhood.
Most Najela khatun
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ReplyDelete"Personal Helicon" by Seamus Heaney is a symbolic as well as an autobiographical poem. We can say that his poetry is a journey from his childhood to adulthood. Though it is the journey of the poet, it may be the journey for every person. Through the poem the poet wanted to refresh his own memories as well as memories of his readers.
DeleteIn his childhood, the poet wondered about the wells. They always attracted to him and he was curious to see what was inside them. In the first stanza, he used the imagery of dark drop, trapped sky, the smell of water weed, funds, and dank moss. Here we find a touch of nature. In the 2nd stanza, the poet imagined the bucket plummeted deep down in the well. Nowadays, wells are very rare but in Heaney's childhood it was the source of water for people. However, the poet presented here about the past memories of his childhood. In the last stanza, we find in his childhood the poet saw his reflection in the well, whereas in adulthood, he sees only darkness.
Personal Helicon is taken from Death of Naturalistic by Seamus Heaney. Helicon means mountain in Greek Mythology. Through this poem Heaney shows us his childhood fondness with wells and pumps. In simple and short Personal Helicon is the poet's journey from childhood to adulthood. It may be the journey of every person.
ReplyDeleteThe first stanza of the poem is about poet's curiosity and wonder about wells and pumps. He was curious to see what was inside them. Though he was forbidden to go near wells but it could not keep him away from Wells.
Seamus Heaney differentiates his childhood from the maturity. A child is more accurately close to nature than person. When he was child, he often saw his own reflection in the well which he compared with Narcissus in this poem. He even loved to listen the echo of his own voice from the well as it came with a clean new music in it. But in his adulthood , he sees only darkness in the well instead of his own reflection. Now being an adult he is not that much cheerful as he was used to be in his childhood days.
The poem is not about the journey of the poet's own life but also the journey of every person in this world. We all loose the power of deep thinking , innocence, cheerfulness by the time.
__________Priya Saha
In Personal Helicon the speaker describes the sense of wonder and discovery he experienced while exploring old wells as a child. The poem celebrates the adventurous joy of childhood while also suggesting that for many people, growing older entails a loss of innocence and curiosity about the world.
ReplyDeleteHere in this poem the poet says about the well. Though it is a normal and when we hear it we think it is impossible to write a normal things. But the poet gives us a great example about the well like John keats' poems. Here he says he loved the waterwood, mold, mashroom, and also the moss.Here he says he felt happy when he saw the bucket dropped to the end of the well and hit the water and also happy to see his own reflection there.
In this poem we find a great thinking of the poet's which is delightful.
Arpita Saha.
BlackBerry Picking "
ReplyDelete-Seamus Heaney
"Blackberry-Picking" was written by the Irish poet Seamus Heaney and first published in 1966, in the collection Death of a Naturalist. The poem depicts a seemingly innocent childhood memory of picking blackberries in August. Written from an adult's point of view, the poem uses this experience of picking blackberries and watching them spoil as an extended metaphor for the painful process of growing up and losing childhood innocence.
The speaker, looking back in time, describes a period in late August when, if there was enough heavy rain and sunshine, blackberries would ripen over a single one-week period. One would ripen first, before the others, resembling a shiny purple clump, contrasting with those that weren't yet ripe and still remained red, green, and very firm. The speaker addresses "you" (this could be the reader, the speaker, or an unspecified individual from the speaker's life). This "you" ate that first blackberry and it was sweet like wine that has started to ferment and thicken. The blackberry juice was like the essence of summer. The dark juice left stains on the tongues of those who ate the berries and the taste inspired a strong urge to pick more berries. The previously unripe red berries then also became ripe, gaining a dark color like ink. The blackberry pickers, eager for more, went outside with their various containers for picking and into the prickly blackberry bushes, which scratched them while the wet grass left marks on their boots. The pickers crossed hayfields, cornfields, and potato drills (shallow ditches for growing potatoes). Throughout this journey, they picked berries until their containers were full and the bottom of each can, which made a tinkling sound when the blackberries dropped into it at first, was covered. They first picked the green, unripe blackberries, which sat at the bottom, and then the darker, riper berries. These darker ones remained on top and the speaker compares them to a plate of staring eyes. When they were done, the blackberry pickers' hands would be sprinkled with pricks of thorns from the blackberry bush briars and their palms would be sticky with blackberry juice. The speaker compares their sticky hands to those of Bluebeard (a fictional character known for murdering his wives).
The pickers stockpiled and saved the fresh berries in a barn, inside a bathtub, which they filled to the brim with berries. But then they discovered fuzzy gray mold taking over their valuable collection of blackberries. The blackberry juice would stink with the odor of fermentation and rot. After they had been picked, the berries would spoil and become sour. The loss of the berries always made the speaker want to cry, because it seemed unfair that the containers full of juicy, ripe berries ended up stinking and rotting. Every year, the speaker hoped the blackberries would stay fresh, even though they knew this was not possible.
Sk Siraj Ali