Death of a Naturalist In this quote he parallels himself to Narcissus, a hunter in Greek Mythology who is cursed to fall in love with his own reflection by the goddess Nemesis after he shuns Echo, an Oread nymph. The reader can see that for a short time after his college experience, Heaney relies on only himself for inspiration. Eventually he realizes his mistake, and unlike Narcissus, is able to bring himself back to reality. Death of a Naturalist was received with mostly positive reviews and helped Heaney gain recognition on an international scale. Several of the poems had been published previously in pamphlets
Narcissus (plant) in the "Georgics". Virgil refers to the cup shaped corona of the narcissus flower, allegedly containing the tears of the self-loving youth Narcissus. Milton makes a similar analogy ""And Daffodillies fill their Cups with Tears"". Virgil also mentions narcissi three times in the "Eclogues". The poet Ovid also dealt with the mythology of the narcissus. In his "Metamorphoses", he recounts the story of the youth Narcissus who, after his death, is turned into the flower, and it is also mentioned in Book 5 of his poem "Fasti". This theme of metamorphosis was broader than just "Narcissus"; for instance see crocus,