Death of a Naturalist S.H Flashcards
Quotes and analysis
Introduction points
The title refers to the metaphorical death of Heaney’s innocence and enthusiastic love for the natural world.
It refers to the end of one way of looking at the world, just like death, the speaker cannot see the world the same as he did when he was young.
“Daily it sweltered in the punishing sun”
Both the flax and the sun are personified – a childish version of nature. ‘Sweltering’ and ‘punishment’ having connotations of suffering and discomfort.
“Bluebottles wove a strong gauze of sound around the smell”
Synaesthesia – mixing of the senses. The sound of the flies is thick, enhancing the power of the sound. Gauze has medical connotations.
“Fill jampotfuls of jellied specks”
Alliteration draws attention to the childish vocabulary, enhancing the innocent and naïve experience.
“The fattening dots burst”
The speaker is fascinated by the life cycle of the frogs, ‘burst’ being dynamic and exciting language. Highlights the speakers age at the time.
“When the fields were rank”
Something has changed within the speaker, the smell of the fields and the outside world is now foul and offensive. He seems repulsed rather than fascinated.
“Gross bellied frogs were cocked”
Unpleasant connotations from ‘gross’, the frogs now seem to be fat and disgusting.
“Their loose necks pulsed like sails”
A repulsive image. The similie suggests a flotilla of ships, like an attacking armada, threatening and opposing language shows his newfound fear.
“I sickened, turned, and ran”
The Triadic structure (three verbs in quick succession after each other) conveying the intensity of his physical response. This leads to a fearful reaction and the short sentence contrasts with the rest of the poem. He now no longer has any interest in nature.
