The poems Blackberry Picking by Seamus Heaney and In the Park by Gwen Harwood explore themes of loss and innocence. Heaney and Harwood both focus on the idea and themes of youth moving into adulthood, from an innocent child or a time in their youth when they perceived life with hope and high expectations to adulthood showing its harsh reality and disappointment. Both poets use symbolism to explore themes of the loss of innocence, showing the contrast between youth and growing up from being happy and young to being disappointed. Both poets use a negative tone in their poems and use imagery and similes to describe and explore the passage of time. Heaney uses imagery and negative changes in tone to describe how the black berries over time became a "fur, mouse-gray mushroom" to show the audience the change in mood and sight that Heaney saw. While the first stanza Heaney uses sensual imagery and a more positive tone to describe this type of stanza, he uses techniques such as similes to explore taste and smell ""sweet as thickened wine" Heaney describes blackberries before they turn rotten Harwood uses time passes for his poetry, uses images such as ". flickering lights" to describe the passage of time. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get the original "In The Park" essay covering themes of young motherhood used by Harwood. symbolism to show the reader how the man's life and the woman's life are represented. When the woman goes to the park she meets her ex and realizes how different their lives have become and the opposite paths they have taken. Harwood describes how the woman has no time to take care of herself “her clothes are old fashioned” symbolically means she wears the same old clothes and her life is extremely focused on her children she has no time to buy something new It is said that the man has a "tidy head", which means he has a neat and stylish haircut and symbolically shows that he has all the time and money to take care of him Harwood describes how he is so happy to be gone forward and not to be with women and his three children, otherwise he would have ended up like her. In picking blackberries, Heaney uses the symbolism of blackberries, fresh blackberries are a symbol mentioned in the first stanza where the berries are beautiful, sweet and fresh which can contrast with youth, hope and high expectations in life. Then in the next stanza there is the symbolism of rotten blackberries where the blackberries become "a fur, a gray rat mushroom, filling itself with our supply" and the blackberries become fermented and gross, it can symbolize and contrast with aging, the harsh reality and beauty is fading making the mother a more empathetic character for the audience. All in all both poets use symbols and themes to connect with the idea of ​​youth and high expectations dealing with aging, growth and disappointment and themes of loss are shown when hopes, happiness and dreams are crushed.