Poetry appreciation of Death of a naturalist Essay

Poetry appreciation of Death of a naturalist This poem ‘Death of a Naturalist’ by Seamus Heaney is about the lifecycle of frogs and a child’s interest in nature. As the child grows up he looses interest in all aspects of nature. It is as if ‘Death of a Naturalist’ was referring to the loss of innocence of the child and the love of nature he once had died inside him. Not only that, he now has respect for nature but not necessarily disliking it; nor loving it either. The atmosphere of the first stanza is quite positive. A phrase such as ‘There were dragon-flies, spotted butterflies,’ suggests a happy mood and refers to pleasant memories to Heaney as a child. Diction such as the ‘warm thick slobber’ indicates to me the†¦show more content†¦This is because they are no longer ‘jellied/specks’ but ‘angry frogs’ seeking ‘vengeance’. Perhaps he is portraying them to be evil and gruesome creatures because he has a guilty conscious; and has developed slight paranoia in thinking this. It is the guilt that attacks him after taking the frogspawn not the frogs. This is the reason he describes the frogs to be ugly and threatening. We know that this experience has caused the ‘death’ of a naturalist when he says ‘I sickened, turned, and ran.’ Throughout the poem Heaney makes excellent use of various imagery techniques such as metaphors and similes. An example of a powerful metaphor is ‘Wove a strong gauze of sound’. This is effective because ‘gauze’ is something we consider as being solid and in this case hits you hard. By referring to the sound to a ‘gauze’ it is as if we can’t get away from the sound, it surrounds you. Which I think is quite fitting for a bluebottle. Another thing is that Heaney makes use of many onomatopoeic words, which makes his style so unique. I think this poem concentrates on the sounds more than any other of the senses. For example thick ‘slobber’ and ‘ coarse croaking’ which is also an example of alliteration. Also I would like to comment on the use of oxymoron. The title ‘Death of a Naturalist’ is one example and ‘gargled delicately’ another. ‘gargled delicately’ being my favouriteShow MoreRelatedIntroduction to Rizal Course11998 Words   |  48 PagesBracken, he had a son by her but this baby boy died a few hours after birth. Rizal named hi â€Å"Franciscoâ€Å"after his father and buried him in Dapitan. 8. Concepcion Mercado Y Alonzo (Concha) born in 1862; she died of sickness at the age of 3 ; her death was Rizal’s first sorrow in life. 9. Josefa Mercado Y Alonzo (Panggoy) was an epileptic born in 1865 but with a strong personality who died as a spinster at the age of 80. 10. Trinidad Mercado Y Alonzo (Trining) was the one who inheritedRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Harold Pinter s The Room 9709 Words   |  39 Pagesgoing to subscribe to keeping it going. I said no†1(quoted in Esslin, Pinter The Playwright 3). In 1948 he was accepted at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and he received an LCC grant. Two years later, in August 1950, he published his first poems in Poetry London, No. 19. The following year, Pinter recommenced his training as an actor at the Central School of Speech and Drama. That very year, he joined the Anew McMaster s famous Irish staging company, well-known for its performances of Shakespeare