Death of a naturalist

Question 1

aliteration used at the beginning of the poem, introduces the childish dirtiness and uncleanliness

Answer 1

flax-dam festered

Question 2

the plants are sweating in the sun

Answer 2

green and heavy headed

Question 3

decay and death introduced

Answer 3

rotted

Question 4

heat/hell imagery of the sun

Answer 4

Daily it sweltered/ punishing sun

Question 5

use of sibilance and 2 senses explicitly mentioned

Answer 5

strong…sound…smell

Question 6

juxtaposition of what the frogs do to water

Answer 6

gargled delicately

Question 7

frogspawn is cool, enjambment used to show overflowing interest

Answer 7

best of all…warm thick slobber/Of frogspawn

Question 8

the water is stagnant, illness hinted to

Answer 8

grew like clotted water

Question 9

the quantity of the frogspawn is so large, like the narrators past interest in them

Answer 9

fill jampotfuls

Question 10

the tadpoles spill across lines, showing their overflowing, numerous nature

Answer 10

jellied/ Specks

Question 11

the narrator is captivated by the frogspawn

Answer 11

wait and watch

Question 12

the narrator has childish interest in wildlife

Answer 12

fattening dots burst into nimble/ Swimming tadpoles

Question 13

very childish language, reflecting narrators age

Answer 13

daddy…mammy

Question 14

the narrator shows fascination by mention all the things you could do with frogs

Answer 14

tell the weather by the frogs too

Question 15

after volta, the narrator is more disgusted by the frogs

Answer 15

fields were rank/With cowdung

Question 16

the frogs mood perhaps reflects how Heaney grew up during the troubles in NI

Answer 16

angry frogs

Question 17

the frogs are colonising

Answer 17

Invaded the flax dam

Question 18

consonance used to emphasise the narrators disgust at the frogs after the volta

Answer 18

coarse croacking

Question 18

the frogs sound in stanza 2 reflects growing up

Answer 18

air was thick with a bass chorus

Question 19

same setting as the beginning of the poem but the mood has changed

Answer 19

cocked/ On sods

Question 20

plosive and onomatopoeia used to show how disgusted the narrator is, creates vivid imagery

Answer 20

slap and plop

Question 21

the frogs seem menacing

Answer 21

obscene threats

Question 22

simile used to compare frogs to violent imagery

Answer 22

poised like mud grenades

Question 23

the narrator has grown up and is now scared of what once intrigued them

Answer 23

I sickened, turned and ran

Question 24

the frogs are childish due to this, yet also threatening

Answer 24

vengeance…clutch it

Question 25

Why are there lots of references to violent imagery

Answer 25

Heaney grew up during the troubles

Question 26

What are some of the poets other works

Answer 26

Blackberry picking where they go mouldy, reflecting his childhood

Question 27

What does the poem symbolise

Answer 27

growing up yet it is also an extended metaphor for the troubles potentially

Question 28

what is the meter of the poem

Answer 28

rough iambic pentameter

Question 29

where is the volta

Answer 29

where the line is metrically complete, shows transition from childhood to adulthood

Question 30

the narrator has the frogspawn in multiple locations, showing the extent of their interest

Answer 30

at home/ at school