DoaN

Question 1

“flax-dam festered”

Answer 1

“festered” - disgusting imagery of decay, but the speaker does not seem bothered by it, like a child exploring and finding new and possibly disgusting things in nature.

Question 2

“bubbles gargled delicately”

Answer 2

“gargled” - more decaying imagery juxtaposed with the elegant “delicately” shows the childlike wonder of the speaker at this point of the poem.

Question 3

“best of all was the warm, thick slobber”

Answer 3

Again, the unappealing imagery is found to be beautiful by the speaker, claiming the “thick slobber” was the “best of all”, perhaps demonstrating childhood innocence.

Question 4

“one hot day, when the fields were rank.”

Answer 4

“rank” - marks a tone change, a derogatory word. “hot day” feels oppressive, like the sun is constantly pounding down. Both juxtapose the tone and message of the first stanza of the poem.

Question 5

“angry frogs invaded the flax-dam”

Answer 5

The frogs have grown up from frog spawn and are now hostile and “angry”. - change in tone, negative outlook. “invaded” - semantic field of war and combat.

Question 6

“I sickened, turned and ran.”

Answer 6

What once brought the speaker delight, now “sickens” them, even to the point of running away. - makes the tone and attitude change very clear.

Question 7

Context

Answer 7

Based on Heaney’s childhood in rural Northern Ireland.
Younger brother died in a car accident, causing a bleaker outlook on life and likely on of the reasons of the tone change in the poem.