Death of a Naturalist Flashcards
CONTEXT - Seamus Heaney
Irish poet - born 1939, died 2013
Won the Nobel prize in Literature in 1995
Grew up in rural Northern Ireland on his family’s farm
His younger brother died in 1953, aged 4 - profound effect on Heaney and his writing in which he often explored the loss of innocence
Heaney became a father for the first time in 1966, the same year his book Death of a Naturalist (which contained the poem of the same name) was published
Annotate the title: “Death of a Naturalist”
“Death” - no one dies in the poem so it can’t be about the literal death of someone - it is metaphorical, the death of someone’s passion or interest in nature
“Naturalist” - an expert or student of nature
A naturalist can still die if they lose their passion or interest in nature
What can we say about the words “festered” and “rotting”
Both language related to death and decay - could foreshadow the metaphorical death of the naturalist
What could you say about the line “Bubbles gargled delicately”
Oxymoron - childish perspective shows a fascination in the most unusual of things
“Gargled” is an uncomfortable, unpleasant verb
It’s an interesting contrast as it implies there is beauty in the disgust of the natural world
What can we say about the line “of frogspawn that grew like clotted water”
A grotesque, uncomfortable image is created from this simile
“Clotted” - blood usually clots - DARK
Why is the word “every” significant in “every spring”?
The determiner “every” suggests that the persona’s fascination with nature was long-lasting as they collected frogspawn repeatedly over a number of years - dedicated to their passion
What line is the ‘j’ sound repeated in?
“I would fill jampotfuls of the jellied”
What can we say about the line “I would fill jampotfuls of the jellied”
Alliteration of “jampotfuls of jellied” creates an image of a young child
Pluralisation of the made-up word “jampotfuls” suggests a large quantity and emphasises the childlsh innocence as they invent their own words
What image does “fattening dots burst” create?
Creates a lovely image, full of abundance - suggests that nature is alive, thriving and full of energy
What does the repetition of “and” show in the end of the first stanza?
Excitement and enthusiasm of this discovery - childish - out of breath
Mimics the speech patterns of young children
What do the language choices of “Miss Walls”, “daddy frog” and “mammy frog” show about the persona?
This childish dialect makes it clear that the persona is young and Irish - young children have a habit of retelling what their teachers have told them in great detail
Here, Heaney has used “mammy” - its a word commonly used in Ireland meaning ‘mummy’
Why might there be a shift in tone in the second stanza?
“Then” - marks a change in time
Volta
The shift in tone also shows a shift in age, more serious now - growing awareness of the world and discarded its youthful innocence
What links these words : “rank”, “angry”, “invaded”, “cocked”, “obscene threats”, “grenades”, “vengeance”
Violent language
Semantic field of war/ military
→ The frogs are fighting back
→ CONTEXT - Irish troubles - war - people taking vengeance
The persona feels scared by nature or that they are no longer comfortable within it
Shows how nature and man have gone from being allies to enemies
What words in the poem have a semantic field of war/ military?
“vengeance”
“Angry”
“Grenades”
“Cocked”
“Invaded”
“Obscene threats”
What can we say about “coarse croaking” and “bass chorus”
Lots of sounds - jarring, unsettling sounds
Alliteration of “coarse croaking” makes it stand out in order to reflect how the sound of the frogs stand out to the persona, making them feel unsettled, nervous or intimidated
