Death Of A Naturalist

Question 1

Death of a naturalist overview

Answer 1

Heaney uses death of a naturalist as a vehicle place focus on how a persons perception of nature changes over time. He uses his early experiences of nature as a child having lived in the countryside to successfully capture the essence of how time forces us to lose our innocence.

Question 2

DOAN para 1 quote 1

Answer 2

“Bubbles gargled delicately”

• this creates an innocent image for nature which is symbolic of how it is elegant when you are young
• this is shown through the juxtaposition “gargled delicately” as although “gargled” is quite disgusting the child still sees it as elegant and smooth

Question 3

DOAN para 1 quote 2

Answer 3

“But best of all was the warm thick slobber”
- demonstrates the childhood fascination by nature
+ the use of “slobber” shows how they see it in a positive light sprue to their innocence
- the use of “warm thick” demonstrates the protection and comfort given by nature to children

Question 4

DOAN para 2 quote 1

Answer 4

“Miss walls would tell us the Daddy frog croaked”

• the use of “Daddy frog croaked” demonstrates how the child’s innocence allows it to enjoy nature but in reality the teacher is describing the reproduction of the frogs, therefore demonstrating how the enjoyment of nature is lost along with your innocence,

Question 5

DOAN para 2 quote 2

Answer 5

“They were yellow in the sun and brown in the rain”

• demonstrates the innocence of children who are fascinated by nature through the simplicity of what is said
• he describes a complicated process with simple logic demonstrating how children don’t understand the hard bits so they are allowed to enjoy it.

Question 6

DOAN para 3 quote 1

Answer 6

“To a coarse croaking that I had not heard”

• the use of “coarse croaking” is a mating signal for frogs which is symbolic of how the once child has lost their innocence due to growing up because they understand the things they didn’t before
• use of the phrase “not heard before demonstrates how time forces you to learn new things and lose your innocence

Question 7

DOAN para 3 quote 2

Answer 7

“That if I dipped my hand the spawn would clutch it”

• “spawn” was once a fascination but now is a threat
• use of “if” connotes contemplation which wouldn’t occur is the child was still innocent as now they have less appreciation for nature because they understand danger

Question 8

DOAN structure

Answer 8

As the poem progresses he grows older and older