Death of a naturalist

Authors Avatar
Death of a naturalist “Death of a Naturalist” is concerned with growing up and loss of innocence. The poet vividly describes a childhood experience that precipitates a change in the boy from the receptive and protected innocence of childhood to the fear and uncertainty of adolescence. Heaney organises his poem in two sections, corresponding to the change in the boy. By showing that this change is linked with education and learning, Heaney is concerned with the inevitability of the progression from innocence to experience, concerned with the transformation from the unquestioning child to the reflective adult. The poem opens with an evocation of a summer landscape which has the immediacy of an actual childhood experience. There is also a sense of exploration in “in the heart/Of the townland;” which is consistent with the idea of learning and exploration inevitably leading to discovery and the troubled awareness of experience. To achieve this Heaney not only
Join now!
recreates the atmosphere of the flax-dam with accuracy and authenticity, but the diction is carefully chosen to create the effect of childlike innocence and naivety. The child’s natural speaking voice comes across in line 8; “But best of all”. The vividness of his description is achieved through Heaney’s use of images loaded with words that lengthen the vowels and have a certain weightiness in their consonants; “green and heavy-headed Flax had rotted there, weighted down by huge sods.” The sound of the insects which, “Wove a strong gauze of sound around the smell” is conveyed by the ‘s’ and ‘z’ ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Here's what a star student thought of this essay

The quality of writing is generally excellent. Spelling, punctuation and grammar are very accurate. Communication is aided through complex and varied sentences, along with a rich vocabulary. Though a minor criticism, it is generally bad practice to ask questions in academic essays; remember, the examiner wants to you answer questions, not ask them! Technical terminology is used to good effect, though the writer sometimes shows a tendency to list features, such as imagery, without fully describing their uses or effects. To further improve, the writer may include a higher level of terminology; for example the “weightiness” described in the first stanza is better referred to as being ‘spondaic’, the stressed syllables (‘spondees’) creating the weighty effect noted by the writer.

The writer’s analysis is proficient and shows a sensitive awareness of the subtext of the poem, though on occasion the writer needs to refer to the text more often to support their comments. The significance of the sharp change in tone between stanzas is explored well, though again reference to the text, (perhaps to the initiation of a semantic field of violence/battle and fear with “rank” and “angry”, or the harshness conveyed through the alliteration of “coarse croaking”) would have helped to support the writer’s claims and show a deeper understanding of the text. Though interesting, the writer’s comments occasionally perhaps stray too far from the text into personal speculation, which is unlikely to gain many marks in an exam, but will waste valuable time. Adherence to a clear “Point-Evidence-Explain” structure will help all but the most able of candidates (to whom this may still be advisable, but may choose to otherwise express their ideas) to convey their thoughts clearly and with adequate textual reference. The writer’s structure is generally good however, with a clear and concise introduction and a strong conclusion.

Though working without a prompt to focus the response, the writer competently explores the general use of language and primary themes of ‘Death of a Naturalist’. The writer perceptively describes the author’s transition from the playful innocence of youth to the burdensome awareness of maturity, as represented through the metaphorical “Death” referred to in the title (a point sadly not included in the essay!).