Imagery In Death Of A Naturalist

Throughout Heaney’s poems, he explores nature to recall the loss of innocence he faced when he was young, describe Ireland’s past, and reflect upon the ongoing vicious political problems facing Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
Heaney explores nature to reflect his childhood upbringing and the loss of innocence he faced in his poem Death of a Naturalist. In the beginning of the poem, the speaker describes the environment surrounding him as, “Wove a strong gauze of sound around the smell. There were dragonflies, spotted butterflies, But best of all was the warm thick slobber”(Heaney). The child feels nurtured in an environment surrounded by nature which illustrates the child’s innocence. Through the visual imagery, Heaney explores his innocence in a preadolescent persona where he has a …show more content…
Death of a Naturalist dives deeper into his childhood innocence, of where he starts losing it. After having a traumatizing moment from stealing eggs from the frogs, it is described, “The great slime kings. Were gathered there for vengeance and I knew That if I dipped my hand the spawn would clutch it” (Heaney). In this traumatizing experience, the child’s intervention within nature ultimately leads to his transition from his childhood innocence to the confusion of adulthood. Heaney uses visual imagery to describe the kaleidoscopic beauty of nature, as well as it’s terrorizing side to emphasize that being nurtured by nature links this to personal growth through childhood and beyond. Heaney’s is trying to convey the idea of growing up as one day it is inevitable that we will reach the same turning point in our lives where we will change from