The poems of Gwen Harwood and Seamus Heaney use "Barn Owl" and "The Early purges" to explore the idea of ​​loss of innocence and loss. of life. In Harwood's poem "Barn Owl", it is about a young child and the theme of the loss of innocence, which manifests itself when the child is faced with maturity and is also faced with death when he shoots a barn owl. This is also seen in Heaney's "The Early Purges" where the title itself explains and symbolizes the death of a young animal and the poet's loss of innocence as a child when he witnessed the brutality of death. “I was six years old when I saw kittens for the first time. walnut. "Both poets present similar themes of death and loss of innocence in their poem. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an essay original Each poem shows symbolism related to death and loss of innocence The symbolism of Heaney's poem correlates with the title "The Early Purges" meaning the loss of a young life. get rid of it and "Early" meaning something from a young age This title is linked to the symbol of young kittens who drowned, when the author, as a child, lost his innocence and was first witnessed. of the brutality of death The symbol shown in "Barn Owl" is also similarly linked to the title where the symbol is the "barn owl", which is a symbol of wisdom that was killed by the child who had. lost its innocence, before the child considered death "clean and final", but instead the owl "limped in its own blood". giving the audience a feeling of disgust when imagery is used to describe death in both poems. Imagery is used in both poems to explore the brutality of death. In Harwood's poem 'Barn Owl' shows the horror of death as the owl fights to stay alive and in 'The First Purges' he also uses imagery in the same way when Heaney writes imagery for describe the manner in which the kittens died: “their little noise was soon watered. They were hung from the snout of the pump and the water was pumped out. This gives the audience an understanding of the agony these kittens are feeling and they feel sympathy and sadness for it. The structure in Heaney and Harwood's poem is different, in Heaney's poem it shows him growing and becoming more mature in each stanza. The first stanza is when he witnesses death for the first time and "frightened, for days I trailed sadly in the yard" because he was terrified as a child and the last stanza is when he does not cares more and is now big when shrill puppies are pushed to do so. I'm drowning, I'm shrugging, "Bloody Pups." This makes sense, "it means he is used to this treatment and cruelty to animals. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert editors now Get a custom essay. Together, the two poems show themes of loss and how the experience of childhood progresses and changes as one matures and experiences death which causes themes of loss. innocence and symbols linked to death.