NATURE Death Of A Naturalist Flashcards
Context
Heaney grew up on a farm in rural Ireland and was very alone and preferred animals and as a child he found solitude in the nature
As he grows up his view of nature becomes oppressive so you can relate his ideas to personal experiences
Flax is where linen is acquired and it was rot to get hte fibres and this industry thrived in northern island in the mid twentieth century
Structure
Written blank verse, unrhymed iambic pentameter,
Written in two stanzas the first larger to indicate a greater love the second shorter to show a lack of interest
Theres a Volta in between which indicates a change of tone
1st point
Displays the beauty of nature yet with as else of warning maybe referring to its power
1:1
“The flax-dam festered in the heart”
Repetition of F is heavy yet describes the niceties of nature
Flax-dam relates to the plants and how they grow to provide us with the resources however in the end the industry went low
1:2
“Bluebottles Wove a strong gauze of sound around the smell.”
Synaesthaisa joins senses that’s are not connected, these blue bottles are flies has a nice connotation to nice smells.
1:3
“Warm thick slobber of frogspawn”
Jusxtaposes adjectives of warm and thick to describe the odd relationship that Heaney has to nature
The frogspawn is symbolic of life and how it s good
2nd point
The clear abundance of life and how he sees nature in a positive and innocent way
2:1
“Fill jampots dull of the jellied specks to range on window sills”
Indivates how the child is obsessed with nature and views it in such a positive light and does not see the sexual nature of reproduction
2:2
“The fattening dots burst into nimble-Swimming tadpoles”
The egg becomes bigger, th idea of life and growth and the innocence without thinking of the wrong idea, also shows willingness to learn
2:3
“The mammy frog laid hundreds of little eggs”
The colloquial language is used to represent the kids and happiness
3rd point
As he gros older his ideology towards nature becomes cynical and aggressive, Heaney shows this negative ideology
3:1
Volta is used to signify a change to the tone of the poem whcih is a key structural term and this is shown from a change of younger Heaney to older Heaney
3:2
“Invaded the flax-dam,i ducked through hedges to a coarse croaking”
This has a direct opposition to the start of the poem “invaded the flax-dam” to symbolise how before the flax-dam provided them with helpful things but now it has been invaded ands exploited and the companies have gone to waste
“Ducked” nature is dangerous now and the child has become much more aware and scared of what is around them
3:3
“Their loose necks pulsed like sails. Some hopped: the slap and plop were obscen threats:
“Slap” and ‘plop” are onomatopoeic sounds to show the gross outlook on nature
“Loose necks pulsed” agressive imagery used to highlight a negative view on the nature that is here
3:4
“The great slime kings were gathered there”
By referring to the frogs as slime kinds it shows a little bit of immaturity and relation to his old childish mentality yet he is now scared of the frogs instead of accustomed towards them, the frogs could be symbolic for the normal things in life
