Death of a Naturalist
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| Death of a Naturalist | |
| Author | Seamus Heaney |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Faber and Faber |
| Publication date | 1966 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 57 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-571-06665-8 |
Death of a Naturalist (1966) is a collection of poems written by Irish Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney. The collection was Heaney's first major published volume, and includes pieces which he had presented at meetings of The Belfast Group. It won the Cholmondeley Award, the Gregory Award, the Somerset Maugham Award, and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize.
The work consists of 34 short poems and is largely concerned with childhood experiences and the formulation of adult identities, family relationships, and rural life. The collection begins with one of Heaney's best-known poems, "Digging", and includes the acclaimed "Death of a Naturalist", "At a Potato Digging", "Mid-Term Break", and "Storm on the Island."
Contents |
[edit] Poems
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[edit] "Digging"
"Digging," the collection's first poem, is the reconciliatory expression of an artist who will not follow in his father and grandfather’s footsteps as a common laborer. It concerns his admiration for his father's and grandfather's skill at digging, and his determination to use his chosen tool - his squat pen, snug as a gun.
It is symbolical of the changing face of Ireland, from a rural and backward country to a modern industrial nation. The author is respectful of his traditional heritage and reflects on his childhood in rural Ireland, where he and his brothers used to help collect potatoes for his father, and tells of his wish to carry on that family tradition in his own way
This poem is also important for Heaney as the title signifies he is digging into his past. This is particularly evident in the line "comes up twenty years away", as it shows how the he has made the transition from the modern day into the past.
[edit] "Death of a Naturalist"
"Death of a Naturalist," the collection's second poem, details the exploits of a young boy (possibly Heaney himself) collecting frogspawn from the beautifully-described flax-dam. The narrator remembers everything he used to see and feel at these times. He then remembers his teacher telling him all about frogs in a section that speaks volumes about childhood innocence. Finally, we hear about a trip to the flax-dam that went wrong. He feels attacked by the frogs and flees. His interest in nature has gone - this is the death of a "naturalist" suggested in the poem's title.
The poem makes extensive use of onomatopoeia ("The slap and plop were obscene threats"), alliteration ("jampotfuls of the jellied Specks") and a simile that compares the behaviour of the amphibians to warfare ("Some sat Poised like mud grenades") amongst other techniques. The poem is about a coming of age, the first stanza containing words like 'mammy' gives it a childish feel. The second stanza shows the realisation of what he had done and finds the frogs intimidating.
[edit] "Mid-Term Break"
"Mid-Term Break" is a reflection on the death of Heaney's four-year-old brother, Christopher, while Heaney was at school.[1] He describes his discovery of his brother's death, visitors paying their respects, and his encounter of his brother's corpse in its coffin the next morning.[1] The poem focuses on concrete particulars of Heaney's experience and "captures a boy’s unfolding consciousness of death."[1] The final line ("A four foot box, a foot for every year.") emphasizes death's finality.[1]
