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 (mythology) word." The word narcissus has come to be used for the daffodil, but there is no clarity on whether the flower is named for the myth, or the myth for the flower, or if there is any true connection at all. Pliny the Elder wrote that the plant was named for its fragrance ("ναρκάω" narkao, "I grow numb") not the youth. Narcissus was the son of the river god Cephissus and nymph Liriope. Several versions of the myth have survived from ancient sources. The classic version is by Ovid, found in book 3 of his "Metamorphoses" (completed 8 AD); this