Death of a naturalist

• How does the speaker describe the flax dam?


  It festered in the heart of the townland
• Who are referred to as the "great slime kings" in the poem?


  The frogs gathered for vengeance
• How does Heaney depict the loss of childhood innocence in the poem?


  Through the passage of time and changing perceptions
• What does Heaney reveal about the impact of life experiences on perception?


  What was once innocent and fascinating becomes threatening and ugly
• How many siblings did Heaney have?


  Nine siblings
• What tragic event affected Heaney's childhood?


  The death of his four-year-old brother in a car accident
• How did the death of Heaney's brother influence his poetry?


  Many of his poems are about the loss of innocence
• How does the speaker's viewpoint of the frogs change throughout the poem?


  They go from fascinating to threatening
• What literary technique does Heaney use to reflect the change in the speaker's perception of the frogs?


  Radical changes in language to create tension
• How might the troubles in Ireland have influenced Heaney's poetry?


  They may have influenced his use of military imagery and mirrored loss of innocence
• What historical context does Heaney reference regarding children in Northern Ireland?


  Young children have been exposed to extreme violence and division
• Power of Nature


  Revealing the allure and intimidation of nature and the speaker's emotional response to it
• Inevitable Loss of Innocence


  Exploring the idea that innocence is lost as one experiences life and the tension between innocence and experience
• Complexity of Ageing


  Examining the speaker's transition from childhood to adulthood and the impact of ageing on one's perception of the world
• what is a naturalist 


  An expert in or student of natural history
• what does the metaphorical death in 'death of a naturalist'


  The death is symbolic of how as he grows older his love and intrest in nature dies
• what is the change in death of a naturalist 


  It shows the change from innocence and curiosity to disgust and fear
• how is the first stanza of 'death of a naturalist' juxtaposing and why is it significant 


  When describing the flax dam it change between grotesque and beautiful
• what does the superlative 'But best of all' highlight in death of a naturalist 


  The 'best' signifies a deep rooted passion and enthusiasm for nacture
• When describing the classroom lessons 'laid hundreds of little eggs and this was frogspawn'


  It shows not only his aging but also the changes of frogs as they grow up
• How does 'miss walls would tell us how' show childhood innocence


  It is spoken in a colloquial Childs voice a he is youthfully learning
• What does the Volta in the death of a naturalist symbolize 


  It shows how time has passed and represents maturity
• 'I ducked through hedges' symbolizes... 


  A growing fear but also how he is grown as he is having to duck
• 'That I had not heard'


  This shows how the key part of his childhood is no longer familiar as he has grown up
• How are the frogs described in the second stanza and why is this important


  They are called 'gross-bellied frogs' which emphasises the change from fascination
• What quote links death of a naturalist and the frogs to war

  'poised like mud grenades '
• What does 'poised like mud grenades' emphasise 


  It emphasises the frogs ability to commit violence
• How does 'slime kings' present the theme of power in death of a naturalist 


  They hold a superior power over others a they are in charge
• 'I sickened, turned and ran' shows a lost of...

  childhood innocence
• How is the fragility of Childhood shown

  Childhood's vulnerability and innocence is represented as fragile in the poem's exploration of the changing views of the frogs