Death Of A Naturalist - Seamus Heaney

Question 1

Vivid imagery - DOAN

Answer 1

“strong gauze of sound” - speaker finds this strange beauty fascinating
“bubbles gargled delicately” - oxymoron. Speaker finds beauty in the unexpected parts of nature, the less than savoury aspects that others may be disgusted at.
“flax-dam”
through the eyes of a child. Sensory langauge used
onomatopoeic sounds of “gargled” “croaked” “slap” “plop”

Question 2

Childish - DOAN

Answer 2

“jellied specks” “mammy frog”
simplistic explanations
curious/inquisitive child. Childlike wonder of the natural world
“yellow in the sun”
positive feelings in the beginning. Even the simple things are celebrated - beauty in nature
-The boy is oblivious to the semantic field of decay around him (‘festered’) -emphasises innocence

Question 3

Negative view - DOAN

Answer 3

his positive view is warped - sours his perception of the frogs (frogs - wonder of nature)
semantic field of violence and war “grenades” “invaded” “obscene threats”
American soldiers training for normandy invasion when Heaney was a child.
Growing up/maturing - gains cynicism - matures with the frog spawn

Question 4

Discomfort - DOAN

Answer 4

“the air was thick with a bass chorus”
“one hot day when fields were rank”
creates an uncomfortable feeling/image of the once safe frogs
- represents the loss os innocence that comes with the passage of time. Nothing will ever be quite the same as it was
- clearly disgusted by the sight of the frogs

Question 5

Uncertainty - DOAN

Answer 5

positive vs negative 1st vs 2nd stanza
curiosity, wonder and innocence “wait and watch”
discomfort, uncertainty, unfamiliar, loss of innocence, out of depth/oppressive forces “angry frogs invaded the flax-dam”

Question 6

Oppression - DOAN

Answer 6

“the great slime kings” - totalitarian, dictator
“the spawn would clutch it” - something that once amazed him now terrifies him
“the air was thick” - hard to traverse, the frogs dont want him to be there

Question 7

Structure - DOAN

Answer 7

Begins abruptly with a slow and deliberate pace emphasised by the alliterative “flax” and “festered” and “heavy headed”
Speeds up with excitement evident as he learns about the frog - use of “and” in close proximity to express this sense of impatience
“Miss Walls” - her speech is mirrored in a rhythmic tone, perhaps showing how the speaker would tell his parents about his day at school

Question 8

Context - DOAN

Answer 8

• Heaney grew up in county Derry, a rural part of Northern Ireland
• As a young child he watched American soldiers on manoeuvres in the local fields to prepare for the normany inavsion of 1944
• Was born into a deeply divided society during the Troubles