Throughout the poem, Heaney uses multi-sensory descriptions to create vivid imagery.
Heaney creates a grotesque description of the flax-dam, perhaps to foreshadow its capability to be threatening.
Heaney uses onomatopoeia in the poem to convey the speaker's enthusiasm for, and then later fear of, nature.
Heaney presents the power of nature by portraying the frogs as an army through the use of a semantic field.
Heaney perhaps aimed to show man's insignificance vs nature and discourage us from interfering in natural processes.

Keywords

Imagery - the use of words or figurative language to create vivid pictures
Vulgar - rude, offensive or indecent
Multi-sensory - when something appeals to more than one sense at the same time

Common misconception

When analysing this poem, students might not use terminology as well as they could.

Heaney uses a lot of onomatopoeia in his descriptions within this poem, as well as semantic fields and figurative language.

A good starter activity could be to take words from the poem and ask students to sort them into different senses, so that they can see how Heaney plays with multi-sensory language to create his descriptions.

Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need access to a copy of the Eduqas poetry anthology for this lesson.

Content guidance

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Worksheet

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.

Who wrote the poem 'Death of a Naturalist'?

Wilfred Owen

Imtiaz Dharker

Correct answer: Seamus Heaney

Philip Larkin

Ted Hughes

Q2.

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

1 - The speaker describes the flax-dam.

2 - The speaker describes the wildlife at the flax-dam.

3 - The speaker describes their fascination with frogspawn.

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

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

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

Q3.

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

'As Imerceptibly as Grief'

'Afternoons'

'To Autumn'

Correct answer: 'The Prelude'

Q4.

What is imagery?

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

intentionally repeating words, lines or stanzas

Correct answer: the use of words or figurative language to create vivid pictures

attribution of human characteristics to non-human things

Q5.

What is alliteration?

Correct answer: the repetition of sounds at the start of close together words

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

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

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

Q6.

What is enjambment?

exaggeration or exaggerated statements, not meant to be taken literally

Correct answer: 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

the use of words or figurative language to create vivid pictures

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.

Which of the following is an example of onomatopoeia?

Correct answer: plop

sweet

Correct answer: crash

funny

Q2.

What is a semantic field?

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

Correct answer: a set of words grouped by a common theme/meaning

Q3.

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

"gathered"

Correct answer: "obscene"

Correct answer: "plop"

"poised"

"dipped"

Q4.

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

Correct Answer: kings, king, a king

Q5.

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.'

"poised"

"sickened"

"vengeance"

"pulsed"

Correct answer: "farting"

Q6.

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

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

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

Correct answer: to show man's insignificance versus the magnitude of nature

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