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F/H

Death of a Naturalist

by Seamus Heaney

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The poem

• Themes/ideas

• Nature

• Growing up

• Military imagery

• First person

monologue

• Key Terms:

• Onomatopoeia

• Personification

• Simile

• Metaphor

• Blank Verse

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F/H

All year the flax-dam festered in the heart

Of the townland; green and heavy headed

Flax had rotted there, weighted down by huge sods.

Daily it sweltered in the punishing sun.

Bubbles gargled delicately, bluebottles

Wove a strong gauze of sound around the smell.

There were dragon-flies, spotted butterflies,

But best of all was the warm thick slobber

Of frogspawn that grew like clotted water

In the shade of the banks. Here, every spring

I would fill jampotfuls of the jellied

Specks to range on window-sills at home,

On shelves at school, and wait and watch until

The fattening dots burst into nimble-Swimming tadpoles. Miss Walls would tell us how

The daddy frog was called a bullfrog

And how he croaked and how the mammy frog

Laid hundreds of little eggs and this was

Frogspawn. You could tell the weather by frogs too

For they were yellow in the sun and brown

In rain.

Then one hot day when fields were rank

With cowdung in the grass the angry frogs

Invaded the flax-dam; I ducked through hedges

To a coarse croaking that I had not heard

Before. The air was thick with a bass chorus.

Right down the dam gross-bellied frogs were cocked

On sods; their loose necks pulsed like sails. Some hopped:

The slap and plop were obscene threats. Some sat

Poised like mud grenades, their blunt heads farting.

I sickened, turned, and ran. The great slime kings

Were gathered there for vengeance and I knewThat if I dipped my hand the spawn would clutch it.

 

Death of a NaturalistTwo stanzas

break this blank-verse poem up.

Read the poem

and suggest

reasons for the

change of

stanza

„flax-dam‟. A flax

dam is a pool

where bundles offlax are placed for

about three

weeks to soften

the stems

Flax  is an annualplant (it grows

from seed) some

one to two feet

high, with blue

flowers

Positive

 Adventurous

Full of

wonder

Negative

Frightened

Full of

disgust

Heaney explains

a change in his

attitude to the

natural world, a

sort of before

and after

5

10

15

20

25

30

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F/H

All year the flax-dam festered in the heart

Of the townland; green and heavy headed

Flax had rotted there, weighted down by huge sods.

Daily it sweltered in the punishing sun.

Bubbles gargled delicately, bluebottles

Wove a strong gauze of sound around the smell.

There were dragon-flies, spotted butterflies,

But best of all was the warm thick slobber

Of frogspawn that grew like clotted water

In the shade of the banks. Here, every spring

I would fill jampotfuls of the jellied

Specks to range on window-sills at home,

On shelves at school, and wait and watch untilThe fattening dots burst into nimble-

Swimming tadpoles. Miss Walls would tell us how

The daddy frog was called a bullfrog

And how he croaked and how the mammy frog

Laid hundreds of little eggs and this was

Frogspawn. You could tell the weather by frogs too

For they were yellow in the sun and brownIn rain.

Death of a

Naturalist

Then one hot day when fields were rank

With cowdung in the grass the angry frogs

Invaded the flax-dam; I ducked through hedges

To a coarse croaking that I had not heardBefore. The air was thick with a bass chorus.

Right down the dam gross-bellied frogs were cocked

On sods; their loose necks pulsed like sails. Some hopped:

The slap and plop were obscene threats. Some sat

Poised like mud grenades, their blunt heads farting.

I sickened, turned, and ran. The great slime kings

Were gathered there for vengeance and I knew

That if I dipped my hand the spawn would clutch it. 

Heaney describes the simple joy offinding frogspawn as a child in a poem

full of natural imagery both positive and

negative.

He talks of his teacher‟s

encouragement and of the volume of

frogspawn he‟d collect. 

The second stanza is full of negative

natural imagery as he describes his

horror at a near Biblical plague plague of

frogs who, he thinks, want revenge forthe stolen frogspawn

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F/H

All year the flax-dam festered in the heart

Of the townland; green and heavy headedFlax had rotted there, weighted down by huge sods.

Daily it sweltered in the punishing sun.

Bubbles gargled delicately, bluebottles

Wove a strong gauze of sound around the smell.

There were dragon-flies, spotted butterflies,

But best of all was the warm thick slobberOf frogspawn that grew like clotted water

In the shade of the banks. Here, every spring

I would fill jampotfuls of the jellied

Specks to range on window-sills at home,

On shelves at school, and wait and watch until

The fattening dots burst into nimble-Swimming tadpoles. Miss Walls would tell us how

The daddy frog was called a bullfrog

And how he croaked and how the mammy frog

Laid hundreds of little eggs and this was

Frogspawn. You could tell the weather by frogs too

For they were yellow in the sun and brownIn rain.

Death of a Naturalist

5

10

15

20

What is a naturalist? In what

sense is one dead?

 A metaphorical

death of ametaphorical

naturalist.

 A naturalist is a

natural scientist

(like David Attenborough)

not a little boy.

The death is the

enthusiasm he

had for nature

and the naturalist

he may have

become.

It‟s a joke (of

sorts)

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F/H

All year the flax-dam festered in the heart

Of the townland; green and heavy headed

Flax had rotted there, weighted down by huge sods.

Daily it sweltered in the punishing sun.Bubbles gargled delicately, bluebottles

Wove a strong gauze of sound around the smell.

There were dragon-flies, spotted butterflies,

But best of all was the warm thick slobber

Of frogspawn that grew like clotted water

In the shade of the banks. Here, every springI would fill jampotfuls of the jellied

Specks to range on window-sills at home,

On shelves at school, and wait and watch until

The fattening dots burst into nimble-

Swimming tadpoles. Miss Walls would tell us how

The daddy frog was called a bullfrogAnd how he croaked and how the mammy frog

Laid hundreds of little eggs and this was

Frogspawn. You could tell the weather by frogs too

For they were yellow in the sun and brown

In rain.

5

10

15

20

The stanza is about

childish glee over

frogspawn. How is

it positive?

The stanza is about

childish glee. Why

all the negatives?

Does the child

Heaney revel in the

disgusting parts of

nature?

His childish curiosity

making him blind to

the horrible smells

and sights.

He does this every

year. What does this

tell us about the

speaker

He is comfortable in

his routine and these

sights and sounds

are familiar to him,not disgusting

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F/H

All year the flax-dam festered in the heart

Of the townland; green and heavy headed

Flax had rotted there, weighted down by huge sods.

Daily it sweltered in the punishing sun.Bubbles gargled delicately, bluebottles

Wove a strong gauze of sound around the smell.

There were dragon-flies, spotted butterflies,

But best of all was the warm thick slobber

Of frogspawn that grew like clotted water

In the shade of the banks. Here, every springI would fill jampotfuls of the jellied

Specks to range on window-sills at home,

On shelves at school, and wait and watch until

The fattening dots burst into nimble-

Swimming tadpoles. Miss Walls would tell us how

The daddy frog was called a bullfrogAnd how he croaked and how the mammy frog

Laid hundreds of little eggs and this was

Frogspawn. You could tell the weather by frogs too

For they were yellow in the sun and brown

In rain.

5

10

15

20

What makes us

think this is a child?

Childish

word/phrase

We are presented

with images that

older people wouldfind unpleasant but

here Heaney

seems to enjoy

them

He goes to

school

Does he reallybelieve this

was a useful

tool for „telling‟

the weather?

Clear change of

voice from more

sophisticated

language to that of

a child suggesting

Heaney is relivinghis memories

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F/H

All year the flax-dam festered in the heart

Of the townland; green and heavy headed

Flax had rotted there, weighted down by huge sods.

Daily it sweltered in the punishing sun.Bubbles gargled delicately, bluebottles

Wove a strong gauze of sound around the smell.

There were dragon-flies, spotted butterflies,

But best of all was the warm thick slobber

Of frogspawn that grew like clotted water

In the shade of the banks. Here, every springI would fill jampotfuls of the jellied

Specks to range on window-sills at home,

On shelves at school, and wait and watch until

The fattening dots burst into nimble-

Swimming tadpoles. Miss Walls would tell us how

The daddy frog was called a bullfrogAnd how he croaked and how the mammy frog

Laid hundreds of little eggs and this was

Frogspawn. You could tell the weather by frogs too

For they were yellow in the sun and brown

In rain.

5

10

15

20

Describing, in

detail, the

frogspawn

becoming tadpoles

suggests his

wonder at the

experience

Could this suggest

the explosive

excitement he feelseach time he sees

this happen

This stanza is very

descriptive, the

poet wants you to

see and feel(share) in his

childish joy

Think of Digging , is

Heaney using his

pen to re-live parts

of his, presumablyhappy, childhood?

What is the tone, mood of this stanza? How should it be read?

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F/H

Then one hot day when fields were rank

With cowdung in the grass the angry frogs

Invaded the flax-dam; I ducked through hedges

To a coarse croaking that I had not heard

Before. The air was thick with a bass chorus.Right down the dam gross-bellied frogs were cocked

On sods; their loose necks pulsed like sails. Some hopped:

The slap and plop were obscene threats. Some sat

Poised like mud grenades, their blunt heads farting.

I sickened, turned, and ran. The great slime kings

Were gathered there for vengeance and I knewThat if I dipped my hand the spawn would clutch it. 

We have moved forward from

spring to a „hot‟ possibly summer‟s

day.

Is this the same summer or is he

older?

Is this the end of part of his

childhood?

The mood is very

different to the

first stanza.

Look at thelanguage used

25

30

The familiar,

friendly,

comfortable

childhood

routine hasbecome a

nightmare

Heaney imagines the frogs have gathered to claim revenge

on him for stealing the frogspawn (their young) and if he tries

to take more it would grip his hand

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F/H

Then one hot day when fields were rank

With cowdung in the grass the angry frogs

Invaded the flax-dam; I ducked through hedges

To a coarse croaking that I had not heard

Before. The air was thick with a bass chorus.Right down the dam gross-bellied frogs were cocked

On sods; their loose necks pulsed like sails. Some hopped:

The slap and plop were obscene threats. Some sat

Poised like mud grenades, their blunt heads farting.

I sickened, turned, and ran. The great slime kings

Were gathered there for vengeance and I knewThat if I dipped my hand the spawn would clutch it. 

25

30

The frogs were personified as „mammy‟ and „daddy‟ by the

teacher and the young Heaney continues this theme.

They‟re „angry‟ „kings‟ who are gathered for „vengeance‟ 

The fear and discomfort may also come from this unusual

invasion of a regular childhood haunt; could he be indignant

at the intrusion of a „nature‟ he is not used to? 

In the first

stanza Heaney

impresses

upon the

reader the

images of hisidyllic summer

Heaney uses

onomatopoeia

to give thereader a real

sense of the

horror he felt.

He attempts to

immerse thereader in the

sounds.

Military

imagery is

used to

evoke a

feeling of fearin the reader

but also to

suggest the

young

Heaney‟s

fear

The moment that the

“Death of a

Naturalist” occured 

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F/H

Comparisons

Death of a Naturalist

Sonnet: Clare What themes/ideas and

structural points could lead

to comparison?

Patroling BarnegatCatrin

The field mouse

The Eagle A Difficult Birth

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F/H

Comparisons

• Sonnet (Clare) – This poem shares the childish delightthat is seen in nature in the first part of „D of a N‟, but inClare‟s poem, this in not misplaced. 

• Patrolling Barnegat – The power of nature comesacross very clearly in this poem by Whitman and it wouldalso link to another Heaney poem – „Storm on theIsland‟. 

• The Field Mouse – Clarke‟s poem involves the children

coming to understand the violent side to the naturalworld and there is an even clearer link to the worldbeyond.

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F/H

Review

• How would you react (as a young adult or as a child) to the sight of a hordeof frogs invading a familiar place?

• How far does this poem tell the truth about frogs and how far does it tell thereader about the power of imagination?

• Is this poem comic, serious or both? How should it be read? Amused,horrified, embarrassed? Find quotations for each interpretation.

• Heaney describes the frogs' heads as “farting”. As a boy he might have saidthis word to friends, but would not repeat it at home or write it in school work.How does it work in the poem?

• Is it a good idea for teachers of the young to explain how animals live bydescribing them in human terms, like “mammy” (mum or mummy) and“daddy”?

• How truthful is the title? Did Heaney really lose his interest in, and love of,nature. Or does the poem record only a dramatic change of attitude, orsomething else? Does this poem have anything in common with otherpoems by Heaney?

• How far does it fit into a pattern of poems that show him not to be a realcountry person (like his father and grandfather) - because he can't dig. What

else suggests this?