Essay on Seamus Heaneys Background and Poetry - 3041 Words

Seamus Heaneys Background and Poetry Seamus Heaney had a Roman Catholic upbringing in a rural area of Northern Ireland. How does his poetry reflect his background? Heaneys poetry is able to reflect his background by his use of language and the technique he expresses his experiences. I will cover his background into three sections: his childhood, the community and his reflections. I will start by looking at his feelings and experiences in the poem Death of a Naturalist. The poet remembers the time when he was a young child. He saw the reality of what frogs were really like in the outdoors compared to what was taught in school. In school, the frogs are described like a typical teacher talking to young pupils. It is very†¦show more content†¦The finish illustrated how he feared for what was in the pond. He delivers his message very effectively. He says an unequivocal word in the sentence; and I knew that if I dipped my hand the spawn would clutch it. He knew that it would clutch his hand showing how positive and definite he was feeling. The experience had so much impact on Heaney altering his emotions before the incident occurred. The title is very striking and ironic. The definition of a naturalist is someone who is an expert in natural history. Heaney was learning nature from direct observation but this stopped him from ever becoming a naturalist due to the fact that he found it a nightmare. Hence the word Death The poem is done with unrhymed iambic pentameter lines. The use of onomatopoeia is very frequent such as: slap and plop, farting and gargled. The continuous, repulsive words help bring the poem to life and show how terrifying his experience was. E.g. rotted, festered, slobber and slime kings. In the first section, the poet shows that he has a scientific interest. This is shown by the way he uses the technical names to call the frogs e.g. bullfrog and frogspawn rather than the patronizing words daddy and mammy from the teacher. The second section is like vengeance and a punishment in the eyes of the young poet. Heaney possibly never got past the simple idea that the frogs were not just mammy or daddy frogs. TheShow MoreRelated How is Seamus Heaneys Irish Rural Heritage Reflected In his Poetry.850 Words   |  4 PagesHow is Seamus Heaneys Irish Rural Heritage Reflected In his Poetry. Seamus Heaney was born and grew up in the Irish countryside on his fathers farm. His father was still using the traditional farming methods, which had been handed down for generations, even though technology had developed greatly in the early twentieth century. Heaney learns a lot from his father about farming and how generations of his family have done it. 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Born and raised in Ireland he was the eldest of nine children, and grew up on a family farm. The landscape gave him reason and background for many of his poems. He attended St. Columb’s College in Londonderry. After that he went to Queen’s