‘Death of a Naturalist’ by Seamus Heaney
Questions and tasks
The poem focuses on a child’s memory of collecting frogspawn from the
flax-dam. It describes in vivid detail the smells, sights and sounds of the
place. However, the child’s sense of intrigue and innocence is destroyed
when he finds the place overrun with ‘gross-bellied’, ‘angry frogs’. The
poem pinpoints the exact moment when the ‘naturalist’ within the child
dies.
Note: flax-dam is a pool where flax (a plant used to make cloth or linen) was placed to
soften before the fibres were extracted, cleaned and spun.
Task 1
Which line or phrase from the poem would you match to each picture? Circle or
underline any words that are particularly noticeable or effective.
Task 2
In the poem, Heaney uses lots of words to recreate the sounds around the pond - some
are pleasant sounds and some, in the second stanza, are frightening or unpleasant.
Copy and complete the following sounds table. Underline any words which are
onomatopoeic.
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‘Death of a Naturalist’ by Seamus Heaney
Pleasant sounds
Unpleasant or frightening sounds
Task 3
Find and explain three examples where the actual sounds of the words used enhance the
atmospheric effect of the poem.
Task 4
What does Heaney learn about frogs at school? How has he used language to highlight a
feeling of naivety and youth?
Task 5
In the first stanza, find and write down three phrases that tell you Heaney really
enjoyed collecting frogspawn and watching it grow into tadpoles. Analyse the effect of
the language used.
Task 6
In the second stanza, the frogs become frightening. Write down three phrases that
Heaney has used to show how unpleasant and scary they were. Again, analyse the effect
of the language used – especially in contrast to the language in the previous task.
Task 7
Analyse and explore why each of these phrases recreates how horrifying Heaney found
the frogs in the last verse.
a) ‘the angry frogs invaded the flax-dam’
b) ‘The slap and pop were obscene threats’
c) ‘Some sat poised like mud grenades’
d) ‘The great slime kings were gathered there for vengeance’
e) ‘if I dipped my hand the spawn would clutch it’
Task 8
Who might Heaney be talking about in the title, ‘Death of a Naturalist’?
Do you think the word ‘death’ is a bit of an overstatement of the poet’s feelings, or
would you argue that a negative childhood experience could permanently affect an
adult’s view of something?
Task 9
Comment on how the structure of the poem adds to the depiction of the experience.
‘Death of a Naturalist’ copyright © Seamus Heaney
© 2007 www.teachit.co.uk
7189.doc
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