What is the meaning of Death of a Naturalist?

“Death of a Naturalist” is a poem about growing up—specifically, the fraught transition between childhood and adolescence. In the first stanza of the poem, the speaker reflects on what it was like to be a child. The speaker felt joy exploring the swampy “flax-dam” at the heart of town.

What is the theme of the poem Death of a Naturalist?

Death of a Naturalist is a blank verse poem that focuses on the loss of childhood innocence. Heaney looks back to a time when he was a boy initially enthralled by the local flax-dam, an area of boggy water in his native County Derry, Northern Ireland.

What is the tone of the poem Death of a Naturalist?

The title is metaphorical – the “death” symbolises the speaker’s loss of innocence as he grows up. The tone of the poem at the beginning is almost enthusiastic – the verbs “sweltered”, “festered” and “gargled” suggest the speaker is almost relishing the vile smells of the dam.

How is the theme of change presented in Death of a Naturalist?

Heaney sets the poem during springtime, when many changes in nature are underway, in order to highlight the changes the speaker is going through at the same time. The speaker is completely unaware of the personal changes he is undergoing, and that’s why he feels so shocked and afraid by the end of the poem.

How does Seamus Heaney present the power of nature in Death of a Naturalist?

In this poem, ‘Death of a Naturalist’, Heaney conjures a richly evocative image of the countryside, focusing on this flax dam where all the action takes place. But the poem also depicts a loss of innocence as the poet/speaker sees the harsher side of nature and feels threatened and frightened by the end.

Why is Seamus Heaney important?

Seamus Heaney is widely recognized as one of the major poets of the 20th century. A native of Northern Ireland, Heaney was raised in County Derry, and later lived for many years in Dublin. He was the author of over 20 volumes of poetry and criticism, and edited several widely used anthologies.

How does Seamus Heaney portray the loss of innocence in the poem Death of a Naturalist?

What did Seamus Heaney believe in?

Born in Northern Ireland, he was a Catholic and nationalist who chose to live in the South.

What was Seamus Heaney’s biggest influences?

‘ Heaney’s literary influences, however, are quite diverse, and include the classics of both English and Irish poetry (Wordsworth and Hughes; Yeats and Kavanagh, among others), as well as an increasingly international influence.

What is Seamus Heaney known for?

What inspired Seamus Heaney?

Heaney was greatly influenced by the historical events in his lifetime. The violence in Northern Ireland affected him deeply and he expressed it in his poetry. Contemporary Irish poets such as John Hewitt, Thomas Kinsella and John Montague were among those who inspired Heaney.

What is the poem Death of a naturalist by Seamus Heaney about?

In this poem, ‘Death of a Naturalist’, Seamus Heaney gives a brilliant description of the local flax-hole. It is a memory poem, one of the many poems written about his childhood and early school days.

Who is Seamus Heaney?

Born in 1939 County Londonderry (or Derry as it is more often referred to by Nationalists) Seamus Heaney is often known as a ‘farmer poet’ since many of his earliest poems are based on and around the farm and neighborhood where he was raised.

What is the poem Death of a Naturalist about?

“Death of a Naturalist” is a poem about growing up—specifically, the fraught transition between childhood and adolescence. It describes childhood as a state of innocence and curiosity: the speaker gleefully explores the swampy “flax-dam” and thrills in the creatures that live there—butterflies, dragonflies, and tadpoles.

What is the flax-hole in death of a naturalist?

Commentary: In the title poem of his first ever collection, Death of a Naturalist, Seamus Heaney gives a very sensuous and sumptuous description of the goings on at his local flax-hole. This hole or ‘flax-dam’ contained the flax which had been harvested and was now being soaked in a man-made hole in the corner…