’s ‘Trout’ And ‘Death Of A Naturalist’ Essay, Research Paper
The
poems ?Trout? and ?Death of a Naturalist? are both written by the Irish poet,
Seamus Heaney. In this piece of coursework I aim to analyse the two poems and
compare them. The
subject of the poem ?trout? is a fairly basic one ? the trout itself and the way
it moves. ?Trout? is a descriptive poem that follows the actions of the fish as
it ?darts? and ?slips? down the ?throat of the river?. The
subject of ?Death of a Naturalist? is more complex. The obvious subject is
nature: ?spotted butterflies?, ?frogspawn? and ?frogs?. Childhood memory is
also a key feature in the poem, illustrated by words such as ?daddy? and
?mammy?. Childhood could come under the heading of a subject or a theme as it
is relevant to both and raises childhood issues. Both
the subjects are connected with nature and both describe a particular creature,
the trout in ?trout? and frogs in ?death of Naturalist?. However, the subjects
differ apart from this point. ?Death
of a Naturalist? has the subject of childhood, specifically childhood memory.
The poet is reminiscing about his past and it is much more emotionally written
than trout, which has no emotion and uses visual images. The title ?Death of a
Naturalist? explains another part of the poem because it is literally about the
little boy loving ?the warm thick slobber of frogspawn?. Then he grows older
and loses some of the innocence that was present in the first stanzas. He is
sickened by the ?gross bellied frogs? and the naturalist in him is dead. ?Trout?
has two main themes: the first being the power of nature. This theme is present
in the images of guns, such as the comparison of the trout to a ?fat gun
barrel?. Then the second theme, movement, becomes linked with power and
guns.? The movement theme is present in
images like ?slips like butter down the throat of the river?. The two themes
are shown together in phrases such as ?fired from the shallows? and ?darts like
a tracer bullet?. These themes bring out the speed and? power of the trout, and help to convey a
sense of brutality. The
theme of ?Death of a Naturalist is also the power of nature. This is
illustrated by the frogs having power over the author as a child. This powerful
theme is conveyed in the second stanza, with phrases like ?angry?, ?threats?
and ?vengeance?. The frogs are described as being ?poised like mud grenades?
which brings out images of guns and strength. Another
central theme is childhood and growing up. The poet is describing his happy
attitude towards nature, saying the frogspawn was ?best of all?. The teacher,
Miss Walls, uses childish language, such as ?daddy? and ?mammy?. The poet uses
this language to convey his innocence at that age. In the second stanza, it is
obvious by the change of tone and language, such as ?gross?. ?slime? and
?angry?, that the child is perhaps moving into adolescence and has become less
oblivious and innocent to the world around him. The
themes of ?Trout? and ?Death of a Naturalist? are similar in that they both use
the creatures in them to convey the power of nature to the reader. However,
?Trout? uses the theme of movement to show the powerful image, while ?Death of
a Naturalist? shows how the frogs had power to the author when he was younger. The
poem ?Trout? focuses heavily on visual imagery. There is no emotion in the
poem, it simply describes the trout and its behaviour. Heaney uses the metaphor
?a fat gun barrel? to describe the trout?s shape and its power. Then, the poet
goes on to use the simile ?slips like butter? to show the ease with which the
trout moves. Heaney uses the simile ?smooth skinned as plums? to convey an
image of the trout to the reader. The poet uses phrases such as ?bull?s eye?,
torpedoed?, ?fired?, and ?tracer bullet? to shoe the trout?s speed and might.
The trout is said to ?pick off grass seed and moths?. This illustrates his
dominance over other creatures and helps us create a mental image of him. In
the last stanza, Heaney describes the trout as ?never burnt out? and a ?a
volley of cold blood?. He does this to illustrate the trout?s determination and
ruthless nature. The last line ?ramrodding the current? is apart from the rest.
This adds to the effect and reflects the whole poem?s theme of power and
unemotional images. ?Death
of? a Naturalist?, in contrast to
?Trout?, has emotional images, because it is the poet?s memory and he is
reminiscing. Heaney uses a number of poetic devices to create images. Firstly,
he uses the metaphor ?in the heart of the town land? to add interest to the
poem. He uses language such as ?sweltered? and ?punishing sun? to create an image
of the hot summer that he remembered. The poet brings nature into the poem with
the metaphor ?bluebottles wove a strong gauze of sound?. This creates a visual
image of the day he went to collect frogspawn in the reader?s mind and engages
their interest. He uses alliteration in the line ?on shelves at school, and
wait and watch?, to make the tone calm and happy with soft sounds. There is
childish language like ?mammy? used to convey an image of innocence in the
first stanza. In
the second stanza, the mood changes dramatically from one of nostalgia and
innocence to vulgarity and almost horror, although there are hints to this tone
in the preceding stanza. The poet uses words like ?rotted?, ?slobber?, and
?festered? as a hint that all is not well. In
this stanza, the mood is dark, and vile, conveyed by language like ?rank?,
?gross? and ?vengeance?. Heaney creates a tense image with the ?bass chorus of
the frogs. He describes the frogs? necks as ?pulsing like sails? and ?their
blunt heads farting? to convey his terror that his once loved frogs would wreak
?vengeance? on him. The frogs are described as ?slime kings?, once again
bringing out the dominance of nature. Heaney uses onomatopoeia in the words
?slap? and ?pop? to create an image in the reader?s mind. The poem concludes
with the poet saying that ?the spawn would clutch? his hand. This communicates
his terror and reflects the poem?s central theme of the power of nature. Both
poems utilise powerful imagery and also gun imagery to convey their main theme:
the power of nature. Both rely upon the use of metaphors and similes to create
images in the mind of the reader. However, ?Trout? shows no emotion and uses
only visual imagery, which ?Death of a Naturalist? is emotional and uses human
reactions to nature to create images.?Trout?
and ?Death of a Naturalist? are both written in free verse, as a rhyme pattern
would probably detract from the powerful imagery used. Both the poems contain
enjambment, which is more apparent in ?Trout? because of the short sentences.
An example this enjambment in ?Trout? is a ?a volley of cold blood ramrodding
the current?. The enjambment helps the poem to flow easily when read. In
?Death of a Naturalist? sentences are longer, but still use enjambment, such as
?Green and heavy headed flax had rotted there?. ?Trout?
is displayed in a long thin form, like the shape of the trout itself. This
makes the sentences appear even shorter than they are and thus the poem is read
more quickly to reflect the trout?s movement. ?Death of a Naturalist? has no
specific layout. The sentences are longer because it tells a story and is meant
to be read more slowly than ?Trout?. Overall,
I think that the two poems are very similar in that they both depict the
sovereignty of nature. However, the style in which they are written is what
really sets them apart, such as the form, sentence structure and imagery.