Personal Helicon

Persona (who could very well be interpreted as Heaney himself) played with wells as a child.
He liked the mechanics of it and after interacting with it for a while he drags the mulch
out of the bottom of it. This allows him so see his own reflection and he uses the well to
think about life and reflect. Persona now reflects through poetry
Point 1 Childhood imagery and the effect on maturing justifying why he writes poetry
waterweed, fungus and dank moss
- Heavy use of earthy materials shows his childhood innocence and fascination with
nature (naturalist)
savoured the rich crash
- Enjoyable childhood experiences he has not yet become mature
- Buckets and windlasses enjoying playing and having new experiences
fructified fruit is ripe associated with growth and fertility (algae but in a good way)
could be seen as growth of maturity or generating inspiration
+ sensory experiences
finger slime is beneath him and all adult dignity DoaN
Point 2 Metaphor of the well
saw no reflection initially with poetry you dont see anything about yourself
dragged out the long roots tidy it up
white face see yourself looking back he used the wells to reflect on life and himself
echoes [] own call - all wells sound different he sees himself differently through all
poetry each poem is a new well
clean
reflection -highlights that the poem has become more reflective
Narcissus stared at his own reflection at helicon ended up killing him now the persona
can reflect through poetry starts with digging
He can see himself while writing poems can have a conversation with himself echoing
Wells are like poetry as he can see himself through them almost like a third person
observer
Point 3 - Structure & Title
Helicon
- Source of poetic inspiration in Greek mythology
 - Either a fountain or where the muses live
- He is setting out to explain his personal source of inspiration
All senses are present
- He is looking back and can see his personal development
- His memory of sensory experiences allows whim to remember the well look back
on source of inspiration
Unusual rhythm and rhyme
- Lots of assonance, pumps, buckets, bucket plummeted, drop, moss, hovered,
bottom
- ABAB with many half rhymes + iambic pentameter
- These changes to the conventional pattern of an ABAB poem indicate the poet
asserting his personal style and challenging the reader to reflect on this.
Ends the collection where he started explaining why he writes poetry
Conclusion
Its the last poem very important
Ties up the death of a naturalist loss of innocent enthusiasm
Explains why poetry
Explains how he will write his poetry and leave his mark