Poetry: Death Of A Naturalist Flashcards
(17 cards)
Whys: 1
Heaney explores the inevitable transition from childhood to adulthood, where the loss of
childhood innocence is often tinged with a sense of sadness and loss.
Whys: 2
Heaney exposes how a tragic experience, like the sudden death of his younger brother
Christopher in a road traffic accident, can mar childhood memories and completely change
your outlook on life.
Which themes are present in this poem?
Passage of time
Change and transformation
Negative emotions
Nature
Sense of place
Which poems link to this poem?
Afternoons
Excerpt from the prelude
As imperceptibly as grief
To autumn
What is this poem about?
Seamus Heaney recounts a childhood fascination with nature—specifically frogs—and how that wonder turns into fear. It tracks the loss of innocence, disillusionment, and the moment a child begins to see the natural world as something more complex, even threatening.
Context 1
Seamus Heaney grew up in rural Northern Ireland, surrounded by farms and nature. His poetry often explores the natural world, childhood, and memory.
Context 2
The poem reflects post-war rural life and Heaney’s personal experiences, particularly how childhood curiosity can give way to adult fear and understanding
What is the form like in the poem?
The poem is written in blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter).
How does the form relate to the content of the poem?
The natural rhythm of blank verse mirrors storytelling or memory, making it feel personal and reflective.
It allows for variation in tone—moving from curious and excited to fearful and overwhelmed, just as the child’s emotions shift.
What is the structure like in the poem?
Stanza 1 (long): Childlike fascination with frogs and the flax-dam.
Stanza 2 (shorter): A shift to fear and disgust, marking the “death” of innocence.
The structure reflects the before-and-after transformation in the speaker’s view of nature.
Volta (turn) between stanzas signals emotional and thematic shift—from wonder to horror.
What is the rhyming like in the poem?
No fixed rhyme scheme – uses blank verse.
Occasional internal rhyme and sound devices (alliteration, onomatopoeia) to reflect nature’s rich textures and childlike sensory engagement.
The lack of rhyme adds to the realism and helps mimic a natural flow of memory.
All year the flax-dam festered in the heart / Of the townland
Nature, Decay, Transformation
Alliteration, Imagery, Personification
Sets a visceral, almost disgusting image of nature—”festered” shows how it’s both fascinating and grotesque.
Bubbles gargled delicately, bluebottles / Wove a strong gauze of sound around the smell
Sensory overload, Nature’s vibrancy
Onomatopoeia, Synaesthesia, Alliteration
Emphasizes how vivid and intense the child’s experience is. Nature is alive and buzzing, full of sound, smell, and movement
I would fill jam pots full of the jellied / Specks to range on windowsills at home
Innocence, Obsession, Childhood curiosity
Enjambment, Juxtaposition, Imagery
Reflects the naïve fascination with frogspawn—turning something slimy into a precious collection. Shows childlike wonder
Then one hot day when fields were rank / With cowdung in the grass
Turning point, Disgust
Setting shift, Sensory language
The volta—nature becomes unpleasant, “rank” with smell. The transition begins from wonder to fear.
The great slime kings / Were gathered there for vengeance
Fear, Loss of Innocence
Metaphor, Hyperbole, Personification
Frogs are now terrifying, imagined as powerful and threatening, showing how the speaker’s perception has completely changed
I sickened, turned, and ran.
Shock, Disillusionment
Tricolon, Abrupt tone shift
Conveys the raw emotional reaction—fear overtakes fascination. Marks the symbolic “death” of the naturalist inside the child
