Comparing Death Of A Naturalist And Blackberry-Picking

In Heaney’s poetry, he portrays ‘getting older’ as a dark and brutal incident that would remain for the rest of one’s life. He emphasizes this by the struggles and ups and downs growing up contains. This is transmitted by the variation of tone, violent and complex language, excitement, the structure and the transition from a childish voice to a more mature one. Therefore, “Death of a Naturalist and “Blackberry-Picking” are great examples to exhibit this claims.

“Death of a Naturalist” presents a vivid sense of childish voice through the employment of childish terms. The speaker seems to indicate how “The daddy frog was called a bullfrog, / and he croaked, [and] mommy frog laid hundreds of little eggs”(Heaney, lines 16-18). This seems to highlight

Both display a drastic change through the narration with a notable large space. Heaney might have done this intentionally to emphasize that there has been a real change in the inner part of the person and that his experiences and way of thinking has transformed since childhood. In the second stanza of “Blackberry-Picking” holds the sense of disenchantment because the berries fermented and fungus was growing in it, besides thy torn sour. This can be linked to the fact that to growing up and be a mature and strong figure is not the best thing that could happen in one’s life. Therefore, films, series or TV portray a fictional life that make younger individuals create an unreal life that at the end it won’t be true, and that’s when the disappointment begins. Nevertheless, “Death of Naturalist” is based on a metaphorical death, which instead of Death of a Naturalist could be Death of innocence; were the narrator, in the last stanza acquires knowledge of what is reproduction and realizes that it’s something disgusting and awful, from the other hand, it’s evident that being small and young is better than growing up and facing different struggles and problems which will cause more problems in the

This is seen on the way he lists things in “Death of Naturalist”, for example: “There were dragon-flies, spotted butterflies, / But best of all was the warm thick slobber” (Heaney, lines 7-8). This holds connotations that kids are happier before they grow and after they’re less excited about happenings. All of this more notable when it’s compared to “Right down the dam, gross-bellied frogs were croaked” (Heaney, line 27) It is recognizable in the other half of the poem demonstrates seriousness and serenity on respect to the feeling of joy. Unlike “Blackberry-Picking”, the emotion is carried mostly by the experience. The enjoyable and gratifying tell us how perfect and beautiful is the action of searching and recollecting berries, as well as the appreciation of them. Reiterating that at the end excitement fades away, it’s captable that the enthusiasm that was from the berries now is gone. Likewise, “Blackberry- Picking” enlist some nouns like “Round hayfields, cornfields and potato-drills” (Heaney, line