Analysing 'Death of a Naturalist' by Seamus Heaney

English

In 'Poetry anthology continued', pupils used a range of reading skills to aid in the supported decoding of challenging poems. In 'Unseen Poetry', pupils use these reading skills to decode texts with independence.

In 'Poetry anthology' pupils compared the language, form and structure of a variety of poems. in 'Poetry anthology continued', pupils work on making more nuanced comparisons between poems.

Poetry anthology: continued study

Subjects which particular individuals may be sensitive to, eg, adoption, migration, bereavement or death, divorce.

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Which of the following is an example of onomatopoeia? 

a pause or a break in a line of verse, often marked by punctuation

words that imitate the natural sound associated with their meaning 

comparing two things in order to show the difference between them

a set of words grouped by a common theme/meaning

Which of the following words from 'Death of a Naturalist' show the speaker's disgust with the adult frogs? 

What regal noun does Heaney use to refer to the adult frogs in 'Death of a Naturalist'?

Here is some analysis. Which word from 'Death of a Naturalist' could this analysis be attached to? 'The noise of the frogs has become an offensive sound for the speaker - he finds it ugly and vulgar.'

to show the beauty and tranquility of nature that he had always enjoyed

to show that if mankind interferes in nature, it may become dangerous

to show man's insignificance versus the magnitude of nature

to show his hope that man and nature will co-exist peacefully together

Which of the following might explain why Heaney wanted to portray the power of nature in 'Death of a Naturalist'?

Who wrote the poem 'Death of a Naturalist'?

The speaker describes the wildlife at the flax-dam.

The speaker describes their fascination with frogspawn.

The speaker recalls how their teacher taught them about the wonder of creation.

The speaker returns to the flax-dam to find it full of adult frogs.

The speaker is appalled and horrified by the adult frogs and runs away.

Starting with the first, put the events from 'Death of a Naturalist' in chronological order.

Which poem from the following in the Eduqas anthology explores the 'Sublime'?

a figure of speech that involves comparing two things using the verb 'to be'

intentionally repeating words, lines or stanzas

attribution of human characteristics to non-human things

the repetition of sounds at the start of close together words

the repetition of vowel sounds in words across stanzas in a poem

exaggeration or exaggerated statements, not meant to be taken literally 

the continuation of a sentence beyond the end of a line, stanza or couplet

a pause or a break in a line of verse, often marked by puntuation

Content guidance

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Adult supervision recommended

Starter Quiz