Death of a Naturalist Flashcards
Who wrote ‘Death of a Naturalist’?
Seamus Heaney
When was ‘Death of a Naturalist’ written?
1966
What does the speaker in ‘Death of a Naturalist’ give?
retrospective account of childhood
What is a naturalist?
someone who loves nature
When did Seamus Heaney win a nobel prize for literature?
1995
Where is Seamus Heaney from?
Northern Ireland
How do we know that ‘Death of a Naturalist’ might be autobiographical?
Seamus Heaney grew up in the countryside
What is the structure of ‘Death of a Naturalist’ like?
2 contrasting stanza
free verse
enjambment
How does Seamus Heaney present childhood through structure?
free verse
enjambment
How does Seamus Heaney present childhood through language?
juvenile language
How does Seamus Heaney present the end of childhood through imagery?
militaristic imagery
How does Seamus Heaney present the end of childhood through mood and tone?
dark tone at end of poem
How does Seamus Heaney present childhood through imagery?
sensory imagery
How does Seamus Heaney present the end of childhood through language?
semantic field of disgust and revenge
How does Seamus Heaney present the end of childhood through structrue?
2 contrasting stanzas
What does the use of free verse suggest about change in ‘Death of a Naturalist’?
unpredictable
What are the two contrasting attitudes in ‘Death of a Naturalist’?
fascination then
disgust
How is nature presented in ‘Death of a Naturalist’?
joyous then
threatening
finish the quote : ‘all year the..
…flax-dam festered’
finish the quote : ‘green and..
…heavy headed flax’
finish the quote : ‘flax had…
…rotted there’
What are the key semantic fields in ‘Death of a Naturalist’?
heaviness
decay
growth
threat
finish the quote : ‘weighted..
…down by huge sods’
finish the quote : ‘daily it…
…sweltered’
finish the quote : ‘in the…
…punishing sun’
finish the quote : ‘bubbles…
…gargled delicately’