death of a naturalist Flashcards
who wrote the poem?
Seamus Heaney
what are the main themes of the poem?
- nature
- change and transformation
- sense of place
- loss of innocence
- childhood memories
- passing of time
what are the possible links?
- afternoons (loss of innocence)
- prelude (childhood memories, time, innocence/youth, nature)
- as imperceptibly as grief (time)
- to autumn (time and nature and change)
what are the main feelings and attitudes in the poem?
- fascination
- disgust
where did Heaney grow up?
in a farming community in Ireland
what is the poem about?
- follows the narrators memories of a science lesson about frogs and collecting frogspawn as a young child
- starts as being enthusiastic about nature
- then the speaker grows up and becomes disgusted by the frogs
- the shift in the narrator’s perception of nature highlights the way that people’s views change as they grow up
what perspective is the poem from?
first person
what is the form of the poem?
blank verse - unrhymed iambic pentameter - conversational. no rhyme scheme could suggest that change is not always predictable
what is the structure of the poem?
two stanzas, one 21-line stanza, one 12-line stanza
what is the narrator’s relationship with nature presented as in the first stanza?
it is presented as secure
how does the narrator’s relationship with nature change in the second stanza?
the relationship becomes more troubled - nature is presented as unfamiliar and threatening
what does the sensory imagery in the poem do?
it allows the reader to become immersed in the poem
why does Heaney use military language in the second stanza?
it creates a threatening atmosphere. it suggests the narrator’s innocence has been lost - they now see nature as something dark and potentially harmful
why is the title ‘death of a naturalist’?
- ‘death’ suggests a metaphorical death of the speaker’s innocence, could also represent that it is lost forever and they can’t get it back
- uses juxtaposition to show the poem is about both life and death
what are the first four lines of the first stanza?
All Year the flax-dam festered in the heart / Of the townland; green and heavy headed / Flax had rotted there, weighted down by huge sods. / Daily it sweltered in the punishing sun.
what does the language of decay in the first stanza foreshadow? (‘festered’, ‘rotted’)
it foreshadows the way the narrator will become repulsed by nature, could also suggest that his innocence is rotting/decaying
what are the annotations of ‘flax-dam festered in the heart’?
- fricatives - create a harsh sound, foreshadows narrator’s disgust
- ‘heart’ suggests that it is in a central place in the town and shows the importance of the flax-dam to the speaker
what are the annotations of ‘green and heavy headed’?
the personification of the flax-dam with ‘heavy headed’ brings the flax-dam to life and reflects the narrator’s fascination with nature
what are the annotations of ‘ punishing sun’?
the sun is personified which makes the heat seem oppressive and suggests that the summer is relentless and harsh
what are the next two lines of the first stanza?
Bubbles gargled delicately, bluebottles / Wove a strong gauze of sound around the smell.
what are the annotations of ‘gargled delicately’?
oxymoron to show the childhood enjoyment of something disgusting, shows the speaker’s appreciation
what are the annotations of ‘strong gauze of sound around the smell.’?
- sibilance to mimic the sound of the flies buzzing
- combined image of sound, touch, and smell shows its a rich and vivid memory
what are the next four lines of the first stanza (after the group of two)?
There were dragon-flies, spotted butterflies, / But best of all was the warm thick slobber / Of frogspawn that grew like clotted water / In the shade of the banks. Here, every spring
what are the annotations of ‘spotted butterflies, / But best of all was the warm thick slobber’?
- ‘best of all’ emphasises speaker’s youthful fascination
- juxtaposition of beautiful creatures with ‘slobber’
- ‘slobber’ shows the narrator is young
