Death of a Naturalist

Lines 1-7
A mix of positive and negative language is used; positive language include green, delicately and wove. The descriptions of the insects and the area are positive. There are also negative words such as festered, rotted, sweltered, punishing. These contrast well. Metaphors are also used, 'wove a strong gauze of sound'. Heaney uses an oxymoron in the form of 'gargled delicately', as gargling is a harsh action, and cannot be done gently.

Lines 8-16
The words 'school' and 'jampotfuls' suggest that a child is describing this scene. 'Warm thick slobber' and 'fattening dots burst' is imagery that would appeal to a child. The word 'slobber' is an example of onomatopoeia. 'Grew like clotted water' is a simile, as the frogspawn looks like jellied-water, but it is not. These techniques make the poet seem very naive and innocent, unaware of what the frogspawn would become. More words and phrases used to describe the frogspawn include 'clotted water', 'warm thick slobber', 'jellied specks', 'the fattening dots burst.

Lines 17-23
The poet then explains how his interest in frogspawn and nature was sparked by a primary school lesson. This is shown by 'Miss Walls told us...' and the way frogs mating us explained in a way children could understand 'The daddy frog was called a bullfrog'. These lines conclude the first stanza. On the whole, the language is very childish, innocent and naive, this shows that Heaney is writing this from a child's perspective, from when he was a child.

Lines 24-39
The second stanza describes a situation later on, in which the tadpoles become adult frogs. Heaney describes walking down to the pond, and he describes how the frogs have developed. The frogs are described as being ugly and threatening. 'Obscene threats'. 'Mud grenades'. Heaney was horrified and sickened, and all of his excitement of the frogspawn and tadpoles vanish. This is why the poem is called 'Death of a Naturalist' The tone of this section is completely different from the first, positive language replaced by negative language.