Death of a Naturalist: Which word at the start of stanza two signals a shift in focus?

• A. Then
• B. Yet
• C. So
• D. Now

Answer: (A)

The key idea is how a single word can mark a change in perspective. In Death of a Naturalist, the opening stanzas sit with a child’s eager, vivid wonder at nature. When the second stanza begins with Then, it signals a move forward in time and a shift in how the speaker views what’s around them. That little word pulls you from the earlier, innocent fascination into a later, more adult or uneasy understanding of nature. It’s the moment the poem moves from delight to a more conflicted or mature view, foreshadowing the title’s idea of the “death” of the naturalist in the speaker’s eyes. The other options wouldn’t signal that same concrete shift in time and perspective: they suggest continuation, contrast, or present reference, not a turning point.