Death of a Naturalist Themes

The title of "Death of a Naturalist" gives it away: nature is going to be a big part of this poem. And the poem delivers. Heaney loads this one up with natural description (albeit, sometimes unsavo...

"Death of a Naturalist" isn't the sexiest poem we've ever read. Let's face it: rotting flax, sod stench, and slimy frogspawn isn't all that hot. But this poem is dealing with sex nonetheless, in a...

The speaker in "Death of a Naturalist" is at the age where he still has a lot of childlike wonderment, but he's starting to learn how the world works. This can be a shocking and exciting time. On t...

The young speaker of "Death of a Naturalist" is going through a personal transformation. He's growing up, and changing the way he sees his surroundings. Alas, we can't be young forever! The flax is...