blackberry picking seamus heaney analysis

These references signify the theme that life is replete with pain. The poem makes several references to blood and gore, comparing the blackberries to “summer blood,” “purple clot,” and even “a plate of eyes.” At first, these allusions are subtle, but the poem takes on an increasingly more morbid tone as it progresses.

Heaney uses excessive metaphors in the piece, many of which embody a common motif. Some may argue that Heaney is simply depicting a childhood memory or even alluding to the ubiquitous cycle of life, but other clues in the poem contend that it holds a quite different meaning. The blackberry-picking was not a simple childhood event, but one that remained close to the speaker’s memory and heart years after it took place. These devices serve to show once again the extent of the impact that the event has made on the speaker. “Rain and run,” “trekked and picked,” and “big blobs burned” are just a few of the several sound devices that the author uses to create interest within his anecdote. Additionally, stories are intended to be read aloud, and this poem’s abundance of alliteration and sound devices beg to be spoken. Evidently, these events have made a lasting impact on the speaker. These comparisons convey the extent to which the experience of picking blackberries has affected the speaker because his memory of the event is so strong.

The author uses extensive descriptive language in order to narrate the anecdote, comparing juicy blackberries to “thickened wine” and skillfully inserting visual adjectives like “peppered” to describe the appearance of their hands after the ordeal. “Blackberry-Picking” is a poetic piece that tells a story about picking blackberries in the summer as a child.

Blackberry picking seamus heaney analysis