Death of a Naturalist Lesson Plan

What is the overarching literary significance of how the relationships between land (earth, island, shore, etc.) and water (waves, ocean, streams) are connected in "Lovers on Aran," "Honeymoon Flight," "Storm on the Island," and "Synge on Aran"?

Students may find different comparisons between these four poems help reveal different relationships between land and water as they think through each of the poems, so encourage students to make multiple (possibly contradictory) connections between poems. In "Lovers on Aran," the speaker explicitly explores how the land and sea are at odds with each other. Yet, at the same time, he notes that, despite the push and pull of their...