Death of a Naturalist Flashcards
Death of a Naturalist (time) overview
Heaney uses ‘Death of Naturalist’ as a vehicle to bring attention to the ……….. ……….. of time which results in a ……….. from ……… to adulthood and the …….. loss of ……….. .
Heaney uses ‘Death of Naturalist’ as a vehicle to bring attention to the inevitable passing of time which results in a movement from childhood to adulthood and the eventual loss of innocence
Death of a Naturalist (time) context
Heaney’s own upbringing in …….. ……… would have most likely informed his own writing as a ………… poet.
Heaney’s own upbringing in rural Ireland would have most likely informed his own writing as a contemporary poet.
Death of a Naturalist (time) quotes
“……… gargled …….., bluebottles wove a strong ……… of sounds around the ………”
‘bubbles gargled delicately, bluebottles wove a strong gauze of sounds around the smell.
Use of auditory verb ‘gargling’ - increase in sensory language allows these memories to become immersive.
Juxtaposition of verb ‘gargle’ and adverb ‘delicately’ indicate the difference between childhood innocence and adulthood corruption where memories are not found fascinating.
‘Strong gauze of sound’ collapse senses together known as synaesthesia
Shows he is mixing memories together but shows the progression into a fully immersive memory.
Death of a Naturalist (time) quotes
“All year the flax-dam ………. in the ……. of …….. …….”
“All year the flax-dam festered in the heart of town land”
CONTEXT
Agricultural terms to show the rural landscape he was brought up in – contextual link.
· Verb ‘festered’ shows idea of decomposition and does not present as a picturesque/ appealing view and a negative idea of disintegration.
· The way his childhood began differs greatly from adulthood and innocence lost through passing of time.
Death of a Naturalist (time) quotes
“but …… of all was the …….. ……. …….. of frogspawn that grew like ……… water”
“but best of all was the warm thick slobber of frogspawn that grew like clotted water”
‘Best of all’ is infantile language choices wheee there is an ability to recognise priorities.
It is also described as ‘warm thick slobber’ whereby there is an inability to also recognise frogspawn and described in such adjectives that is amusing and fascinating to children.
Death of a Naturalist (time) quotes
‘I would fill ……… of ……… specks’
‘ I would fill jampotfuls of jellied specks’
Use of ‘jampotfuls’ show repeated use of infantile rhetoric.
No use of imperial or metric language but ‘jampots’ to indicate the heightened level of excitement.
Continuously uses enjambment in the lines to indicate a sense of breathlessness and excitement of retelling the story where the lines are not even able to fit the page similarly to the recount of memories.
Death of a Naturalist (time) quotes
“and wait and …… until the ………. ……. burst into …….. swimming tadpoles”
“and wait and watch until the fattening dots burst into nimble swimming tadpoles”
Alliterative phrase of ‘wait and watch’ signalling the anticipation and growing fascination. The child is also patient and eager to see the frogspawn.
The emotive verb ‘burst’ exemplifies exuberance and full of energy indicating the excitement and jovial nature of children in the presence of nature.
‘Tadpoles’ shows how the adult is now able to distinguish
Death of a Naturalist (time) quotes
“then one …… …… when fields were ………”
‘then one hot day when fields were rank’
Sudden change in the poems mood and topic as it moves back into the reality of adulthood through VOLTA.
The adjective ‘rank’ also reverts back to the dark and gloomy atmosphere.
The ‘hot day’ is mentioned once again continuing from the ‘sweltering sun’ whereby it not only creates a cyclical structure in the narrative but also textual cohesion.
Displaying the revert back into adulthood as we flash backed into the childhood memories and spots of time.
“……. …….. invaded the flax-dam; I ……. through ……. to a …….. croaking”
“angry frogs invaded the flax-dam; I ducked through hedges to a coarse croaking”
Frogs once adored have now become ‘angry which shows how the parents are frustrated at their children being taken by other children.
· Verbs of ‘invaded’ and ‘ducked’ shows the military like rhetoric, showing the idea of revenge.
· The frogs are seen as an enemy.
· Whereby they verb ‘ducked’ displays that they physically removed themselves from the situation as they find reproduction repulsive and ugly.
· Alliteration of ‘coarse croaking’ reinforces the auditory language but now used to scare and make children anxious as it becomes an unpleasant sound.
‘the …….. and ………. were ……….. threats’
‘the slap and plop were obscene threats’
Grotesque imagery showing the repulsive view of them now through lens of adult and physically not admired and attractive as they once were.
· The adult knowledge has seemingly ruined and tainted their view.
· Onomatopoeic diction would normally be childlike but still referred to knowledge as a child but fearful and wary of it to avoid.
