Blackberry-Picking

Blackberry-Picking
by Seamus Heaney

Late August, given heavy rain and sun
For a full week, the blackberries would ripen.
At first, just one, a glossy purple clot
Among others, red, green, hard as a knot.
You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet
Like thickened wine: summer’s blood was in it
Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust for
Picking. Then red ones inked up and that hunger
Sent us out with milk cans, pea tins, jam-pots
Where briars scratched and wet grass bleached our boots.
Round hayfields, cornfields and potato-drills
We trekked and picked until the cans were full,
Until the tinkling bottom had been covered
With green ones, and on top big dark blobs burned
Like a plate of eyes. Our hands were peppered
With thorn pricks, our palms sticky as Bluebeard’s.

We hoarded the fresh berries in the byre.
But when the bath was filled we found a fur,
A rat-grey fungus, glutting on our cache.
The juice was stinking too. Once off the bush
The fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour.
I always felt like crying. It wasn’t fair
That all the lovely canfuls smelt of rot.
Each year I hoped they’d keep, knew they would not.

Summary of Blackberry Picking
Popularity of “Blackberry Picking”: Seamus Heaney, a great Irish poet and playwright, wrote 'Blackberry Picking'. It's a thought-provoking poem about disappointment and joy. It was first published in his book Death of the Naturalist in 1966. The poem is about a boy who goes to the blackberry field to pick them. It also explains the speaker's ideas about life.
“Picking blackberries” as a representative of life: The poem is about a simple event of picking blackberries on a late summer's day. The speaker immerses himself in the enthusiastic world of late summer, a time to pick juicy blackberries. It provides an enchanting picture of the field where purple, green, and red berries grab his attention. After tasting the purple berries crave more. His friends urged him to pick as many blackberries as possible. Full of childlike nature and innocence, the speaker begins to pick the berries using various containers such as jars of jam, cans of peas, and cans of milk. He is not aware of the technicalities or the process of collecting and preserving these blackberries. He is simply collecting and accumulating them. Sadly, his happiness is brief and fleeting, he is disappointed to discover that the blackberries he accumulated were rotting, their sweet juice turned sour, and their shiny surface was sticky. He feels sad like every year. he decides to preserve them, fails.
Main themes in "Blackberry-Picking": Growth, greed, man versus nature and disappointment are the main themes highlighted in this literary piece. The speaker has beautifully presented the innocent nature of children in contrast to the bitter realities of life. At first, children are vibrant, enthusiastic, and enthusiastic about the activity they do to satisfy their greed. They collect as many blackberries as possible to enjoy their sweetness for a long time. Unfortunately, the resulting agony and disappointment rots the blackberries. However, through this simple, insignificant incident, the speaker is teaching an important lesson that teaches things. Never work to your expectations.
Analysis of literary devices used in “Blackberry Picking”
Literary devices are tools that writers use to express their emotions, ideas and convey topics in order to make texts more attractive for the reader. Seamus Heaney also used some literary devices in this poem to study the phenomenon of life. The analysis of some of the literary devices used in this poem is given below.

Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant tones on the same line in rapid succession. The sound of / f / in 'The Fermented Fruit' and the sound of / b / 'With green and big dark blobs burnt on top' .
Allusion: Allusion is a belief and an indirect reference of a per son, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, political or literary importance. For example, in the sixteenth line, a thrush alludes to the character of the fairy tale who murders his wife.
“Like an eye plate. Our hands were peppered 40 to 4 with prickles of thorns, our palms sticky like Bluebeard's. "

Consonance: The consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of / n / in "With greens, and on the top big dark spots burned" and the sound of / d / in "Every year I expected them to stay, I knew not."
Enjambment: It is defined as a verse that does not end in a line break; rather, continue on the next line. For example,
"Until the tinkling bottom was covered
with green spots, and on top large dark spots were burned
Like a plate of eyes. Our hands were sprinkled
With prickles of thorns, our palms sticky like Bluebeard's."

Image: Images are used to make readers perceive things that engage their five senses. For example, "Among others, red, green, hard as a knot", "He sent us with cans of milk, cans of peas, jars of jam" and "Where brambles scratched and wet grass bleached our boots."
Simile: It is a device that is used to compare something to something else to clarify the meaning to readers. For example, "Among others, red, green, hard as a knot", "With prickles of thorns, our palms sticky like those of Bluebeard" and "Like thickened wine: there was summer blood".
Symbolism: Symbolism is a use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings different from their literal meanings. Blueberries are a symbol of youth, joy and happiness.

Analysis of the poetic devices used in "Blackberry-Picking"
The poetic and literary devices are the same, but some are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem. metro with five iambs per line. The poem follows the iambic pentameter. For example, "End of August, with heavy rain and sun."
Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows the ABAB rhyme scheme and this pattern continues to the end. it is a poetic form of some verses. There are two stanzas in this poem, each with a different number of verses.
Quotes to use
The lines below are helpful in describing the spectacular beauty of nature.

“Late August, with heavy rain and sunshine
For a full week, the blackberries were ripening.
Only one thing at first, a shiny purple clot
Among other things, red, green, knot-hard.

Birches Blue Ridge