Blackberry Picking

 By Séamus Heaney (1939-2013)

Séamus Heaney – Fact File

An Irish poet, born in Derry.

Lectured in Belfast.

Won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1995.

Moved with his wife and three children to Wicklow in 1972.

He won many awards throughout his life.

Has been described as “the most important Irish poet since Yeats.” and “the greatest poet of our age”.

Blackberry Picking

       It is late August There has been heavy rain and sunshine.

The blackberries are ripening.

From the first bite they are addictive.

The children gather them in containers.

However, they can’t eat them all, and so, the fruit ferments/rots.

This happens every year, when they gather too much.

Structure

 1 st half of the poem deals with the gathering and the eating of the blackberries.

 2 nd half of the poem deals with the ruin of what’s left.

Language

   Heaney uses rich language.

Lots of verbs and adjectives.

He seems to use very rich language on purpose. As you read the poem, the words fill your mouth, just like the blackberries.

 The use of language is intense and hypnotic.

Tone

     The children are suffering from the pain of wanting to satisfy their “hunger” “Like a plate of eyes” – Simile Their palms are stained with juice – “Bluebeards” stained with blood In the final part, the children “hoard” the blackberries, but they begin to grow a “rat-grey fungus…gluts” “It wasn’t fair/That all the lovely canfuls smelt of rot” – Even the children knew the berries would not “keep”.

Mood

    The desire for the blackberries is half-sickening.

The children become greedy – they even pick unripe “green ones”, filling a “bath”.

They are disgusted when they see “rat-grey fungus” They want more each year – but they know what will happen to them.

Alliteration

   “first……flesh” “berries……byre” “fruit fermented……flesh” Can you find any other examples?

The poem is like eating blackberries – “like thickened wine”

Imagery

        Child blackberry-pickers Carrying “milk-cans, pea-tins, jam-pots” “fur” that steals the treasure.

The blackberries themselves.

The children are an image for desire – They can’t resist picking them.

They crave them.

It’s not fair that what they desired, is snatched away by time.

They know they will not last, but they don’t want to recognise this.