Death of a Naturalist
In the poem “Death of a Naturalist”, Heaney explains a change in his attitude to the natural world with two parts separating before and after. The title is ironic because literally a naturalist means someone with great knowledge in nature, but Heaney suggests that the naturalist in this poem is someone who take direct observation from the nature. The poem starts off with an innocent and curious perspective as seen in the diction of childish language, “mommy”, “daddy”, but towards the ending Heaney presented a clear, striking contrast in the tone and mood of the poem. He does this by selecting negative and unpleasant words like “festered”, “rotted”, “slobber”, “clotted water”, “rank/With cowdung” and slime kings”.
Digging
In the poem “Digging”, a young man looks up to both his grandfather and father. Seeing his father (now old) “straining” to dig “flowerbeds”, the poet recalls him in his prime, digging “potato drills”. And even earlier, he remembers his grandfather, digging peat. He cannot match “men like them” with a spade, but he sees that the pen is mightier, and with it he will dig into his past and celebrate them. The pen is “snug as a gun” because it fits his hand and is powerful. There is a central extended metaphor of digging and roots, which shows how Heaney, in his writing, is getting back to his own roots, which means his identity, and where his family comes from.
Mid-Term Break
In the poem “Mid-Term Break”, Heaney speaks about the death of a person ironically comparing it to having a mid-term break. The poem's title suggests a holiday but this “break” does not happen for pleasant reasons. The boredom of waiting appears in the counting of bells but “knelling” suggests a funeral bell, rather than a bell for lessons. In the beginning scenes, the narrator has shown signs of nervousness of the person’s death, “sorry for my trouble”. Also, the narrator refers to the death person as “the corpse” rather than a person, which emphasizes the uneasiness the narrator must have faced. However, this depiction is soon contrasts with the portrayal of the scene towards the ending of the poem. First, the narrator refers to the person as “him”, “his”, and “he” as opposed to “the corpse”. The beautiful imagery of the scene contrasts the scene illustrated in the beginning “snowdrops/and candles soothed the bedside”. The flowers are a symbol in the poem, but also in reality for the family (a symbol of new life, after death). The reader can note the contrast between the embarrassing scenes earlier and the final section where, alone with the person, the narrator can be natural.
Follower
In the poem “Follower”, a child looks up upon his father and tries to follow his footsteps. The title of the poem is ambiguous because it shows how the child follows his father literally and metaphorically. The child sees farming as simply imitating his father's actions (“close one eye, stiffen my arm”), but later learns how skilled the work is. He recalls his admiration of his father then; but now his father walks behind. His father is not literally behind him, but the poet is troubled by his memory: perhaps he feels guilt at not carrying on the tradition of farming, or feels he cannot live up to his father's example.
The Play Way
The poem “The Play Way” presents a lesson in which children listen to classical music and write without any other direction. The tone of the poem is optimistic and positive. And also makes a connection between the sensual (but not primarily rational or intelligible) pleasure of listening to classical music and the more reflective activity of writing. The poem is ambiguous: the poet sees that the children are unsure what to do, yet sees that something has happened, “new looks”. The teacher is comfortable with the idea that the children “have forgotten” him.
