Starter quiz
- Who wrote the poem 'Death of a Naturalist'?
- Wilfred Owen
- Imtiaz Dharker
- Seamus Heaney ✓
- Philip Larkin
- Ted Hughes
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- 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.
- Which poem from the following in the Eduqas anthology explores the 'Sublime'?
- 'As Imerceptibly as Grief'
- 'Afternoons'
- 'To Autumn'
- 'The Prelude' ✓
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- What is imagery?
- a figure of speech that involves comparing two things using the verb 'to be'
- intentionally repeating words, lines or stanzas
- the use of words or figurative language to create vivid pictures ✓
- attribution of human characteristics to non-human things
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- What is alliteration?
- 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
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- What is enjambment?
- 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
- the use of words or figurative language to create vivid pictures
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Exit quiz
- Which of the following is an example of onomatopoeia?
- plop ✓
- sweet
- crash ✓
- funny
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- 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
- a set of words grouped by a common theme/meaning ✓
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- Which of the following words from 'Death of a Naturalist' show the speaker's disgust with the adult frogs?
- "gathered"
- "obscene" ✓
- "plop" ✓
- "poised"
- "dipped"
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- What regal noun does Heaney use to refer to the adult frogs in 'Death of a Naturalist'?
- 'kings' ✓
- 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"
- "farting" ✓
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- 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
- 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
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Worksheet
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Presentation
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Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- 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.
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.
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
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