death of a naturalist

Question 1

overview

Answer 1

Death of a naturalist is based on Seamus Heaney’s own personal experience with nature from when he was living in the Irish countryside. In the beginning, he likes all of nature and especially the parts that others would find disgusting. The use of blank verse in the poem makes it sound like someone is talking to the reader and retelling the story which makes it seem more personal. By the end of the poem, his opinion has changed and he is now scared of frogs. His fear and horror towards the end shows how he may have lost his childlike innocence. This could link to the loss of the author’s brother which would’ve caused a change in him too.

Question 2

stanza 1

Answer 2

• Heaney starts by describing how the ‘flax-dam festered.’ He is describing the disgusting bubbling of the flax-dam. The word ‘festered’ suggests how the flax-dam is growing and rotting and is therefore beginning to smell. However, the casual and light-hearted tone the poet uses suggests how he loves it despite the awful smell.
• Next, he describes how the ‘bubbles gargled delicately.’ Through the oxymoron of the bubbles gargling delicately the impression is created that the child really enjoys and loves nature. This is because he sees the gargling, which most people would find disgusting, as something delicate. This suggests how he finds it beautiful. The contrast of the harsh gargling sounds compared to the softer sounds suggests how the child likes both the gross and nice parts of nature.
• He continues to describe his love of nature by saying that the ‘best of all was the warm thick slobber of frogspawn.’ Through the use of descriptive language, the poet creates an impression of how slimy and disgusting the frogspawn looks. However, the phrase ‘best of all’ suggests that the frogspawn is his favourite thing. This suggests how enthusiastic Heaney was about nature when he was a child because he loved it all even the gross parts.

Question 3

stanza 2

Answer 3

• By the final stanza, his view has changed as he describes how in the summer ‘angry frogs invaded.’ The poet uses personification as the frogs are ‘angry’ which makes them seem more human and therefore more of a threat. This creates fear in the boy which sparks his change to dislike nature because he no longer sees it as something peaceful and his safe space. The word ‘invaded’ suggests how he thinks the frogs are unwanted and that they don’t belong. This could also link to how armies invade land during war. By comparing the frogs to an army it suggests how the boys fear is heightened because he is imagining all the horrible things the frogs can do.
• Finally, he describes the frogs as ‘gross-bellied’ which suggests a complete change from before. He is no longer fascinated by the frogs as he is now revolted by them.

Question 4

form & structure

Answer 4

• The first stanza has an innocent and adventurous tone which could suggest his love for nature whereas the second stanza has a more disgusted tone which emphasises the change in the boy.
• The first stanza uses lots of enjambment and all his words are spilling onto other lines which suggests how he can’t control his excitement so all his words are coming out in a rush. This shows how he wants to share all his knowledge about nature with everyone.
• The poem is written in blank verse which makes the poem sound natural and similar to a story. This could reflect how Heaney is writing about his own personal experience and telling his own story.