Blackberry-picking, by Seamus Heaney – Analysis Notes

General Notes
Background
The poem is largely autobiographical in content. Heaney was brought up on a farm in Northern Ireland and no
doubt participated in the blackberry-picking he describes throughout the poem when he was a child. Heaney’s
father and grandfather were both farmers and there was an expectation that Heaney would enter into the family
profession when he got older. However, at school, Heaney showed a flair for his studies, earning a scholarship
to a prestigious boarding school and eventually graduating from Queen’s College in Belfast with a first class
honours degree in English Language and Literature. It was clear that Heaney would not follow in the footsteps
of his father and grandfather and become a farmer, but instead he went on to become an English teacher, before
becoming the internationally renowned poet that he is today.

Themes
 At its most superficial level, the poem can be seen to concern itself with a recognition of the process of
nature, as the blackberries grow before ultimately decaying.
 One of the most significant and personal themes of the poem is Heaney’s disillusionment with the
agricultural lifestyle and a desire to do something more with his life, as well as his sense of guilt about
feeling this way. The blackberries of the poem can be view as an extended metaphor for the agricultural
lifestyle: Heaney initially enjoys the rural life as a child (as can be seen by the vivid excitement associated
with the blackberry-picking in the opening stanza), but he gradually becomes disillusioned by it (as can be
seen in the second stanza when the blackberries begin to decay.
 The poem can also be seen to address the idea of the transitory nature of pleasure (how good things do not
last), relating it to a familiar childhood experience of blackberry-picking in order to express it.
 Additionally, the poem can be seen to be a celebration of the joys and innocence of childhood, while
illustrating that ultimately this joyful period of life cannot last.

Structure
The structure of the poem as a whole is very clearly divided into two sections, each having a separate stanza:
 First stanza – Heaney describes his enthusiasm for picking blackberries, from tasting the first blackberry
of the season to the frenzy of excitement as he and his friends pick them.
 Second stanza – Heaney describes how his attitude towards the berries changes into one of revulsion as
the berries decay.

Rhyme Scheme
 The poem is written in half-rhymes (ie the consonants are similar but the vowels are not).

Narrative Perspective
The story appears to be written from the perspective of Heaney as a young child.
 “I...felt like crying”
 “It wasn't fair”
However, there is also evidence to suggest the more detached perspective of Heaney as an adult looking back on
this experience.
 “Each year I hoped they'd keep, knew they would not.” (antithetical)

Stanza 1
“Late August, given heavy rain and sun
For a full week, the blackberries would ripen.”
 “Late August” and “blackberries would ripen” both indicate that this is not a one-off event, but one
which is repeated annually.
 This also immediately establishes the time of year the events took place (“Late August”) as well as their
timescale (“for a full week”)
 “given heavy rain and sun” establishes the environmental conditions in northern Ireland at this time of
year.
“At first, just one, a glossy purple clot
Among others, red, green, hard as a knot.”
 The word choice of “glossy” and “purple” to describe the first berry of the season carries connotations
of richness, of both the colour and taste of the berry. The colour purple also has regal connotations,
suggesting the high regard that the boy has for this first berry.
 The metaphor “a … clot” draws a comparison between the first berry of the season and a blood clot.
o This highlights its soft juiciness, as well as suggesting the deep rich colour of the berry.
o Additionally, this is the first in a series of associations made with flesh and blood, indicating the
sensual nature of the berry picking process, as well as the violent and guilty associations that
Heaney personally sees there.
 The simile “hard as a knot” draws a comparison between other unripened berries which soon appear.
This highlights how hard and tight these berries are, a contrast to the first berry described in the previous
line.
 “clot” and “knot” is the first of the only two full rhymes in the poem. The decision to rhyme these two
words invites the reader to compare them, reinforcing the contrasting between the hard, unripened
berries and the soft, ripened berries.

“You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet”
 The choice of the word “flesh” again draws associations with flesh and blood, indicating the sensual
nature of the berry picking process, as well as the violent and guilty associations that Heaney personally
sees there.
 The choice of the word “sweet” continues to reinforce the boy’s enthusiasm for the first berry and of the
childish pleasure that it gives him.

“Like thickened wine:”

 This simile draws a comparison between the taste of the first berry of the season and rich wine.
o This suggests that the berry has a sophisticated taste, as wine-tasting is often seen as a very
refined activity.
o It also implies the intoxicating effect that the berries have on the children, hinting at the
enthusiasm and “lust” that they have for the berries in later lines.

“summer's blood was in it

 This metaphor compares the juice of the berries to the blood of the summer, yet another association
between the berries and the idea of flesh and blood. This reminds the reader of
o the rich taste of the berries,
o their vibrant red colour
o the sensual pleasure of picking and tasting the berries
o the violent and guilt-ridden associations that Heaney has with the berries.

Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust for

Picking.”
 “Leaving stains on the tongue” illustrates the indelible impact that the taste of the berries have on the
children.
 The choice of the word “lust” reinforces the strength of the children’s desire to pick the berries, as well
as reinforcing the sensual nature of blackberry-picking.
 The enjambment of “Picking” (the decision to put this word at the start of a new line), places an extra
emphasis upon it and marks the start of this next section of the poem – the actual picking of the
blackberries.

“Then red ones inked up”

 “inked up” suggests the stains that the berry juice leaves on the boys hands, again reinforcing the
indelible effect that the experience of blackberry-picking has on them.
“and that hunger / Sent us out”
 The choice of the word “hunger”, similarly to “lust” above, reinforces the strength of the children’s
desire to pick the berries, as well as reinforcing the sensual nature of blackberry-picking.
 The commanding tone of “Sent us out” suggests again the drive of the children’s desire to pick the
berries, implying that their hunger for them is capable of commanding them to go out and begin
gathering them.

“with milk cans, pea tins, jam-pots”

 The use of the list form here indicates the random selection of containers that the children have used to
gather the berries. This suggests that they have grabbed anything they could lay their hands on to store
the berries in, again reinforcing the strength of their desire to gather the berries.
 This list of containers also helps to reinforce the rural environment the events of the poem take place in,
where cows are milked, homemade jam is made, etc.

“Where briars scratched and wet grass bleached our boots.”

 This provides another two examples of the permanent effect that the berry-picking has on the children,
as well as reinforcing the strength of the children’s desire to pick these berries – they will clearly not be
stopped in their quest to gather berries by the briars or the wet grass.
 This information is also indicative of the rural environment in which the events of the poem take place.
“briars” is a colloquial word, indicating the rural, Irish setting. “wet grass” suggests the climate.

“Round hayfields, cornfields and potato-drills”

 The use of the list form here indicates the multitude of places the children have searched to gather the
berries, suggesting that they have scoured the countryside for them. This again reinforces the strength of
their desire to gather the berries.
 Additionally, this list of locations helps to reinforce the rural environment that the events of the poem
take place in, as hayfields, cornfields and potato-drills (fields ploughed for planted potatoes) are all
clearly locations that would be found on a farm.

“We trekked and picked until the cans were full,”

 The choice of the word “trekked” suggests the children walked great distances to gather the berries,
again reinforcing their enthusiasm for picking them – they were not put off by the exertion involved.

“Until the tinkling bottom had been covered

With green ones,”
 The onomatopoeia of “tinkling” suggests the noise the berries make as they hit the bottom of the
container as it is filled.
o A “tinkling” noise suggests berries repeatedly hitting the bottom of the container, suggesting that
the container is being speedily filled up. This suggests the enthusiastic approach the children
have to gathering the berries, as well as the vast quantity of them.
o “tinkling” also suggests the hardness of the unripe, green berries.

“and on top big dark blobs burned

Like a plate of eyes.”
 The word choice used in the description of the berries as “big dark blobs” suggests the shapeless, soft,
juicy consistency of the ripe berries lying on top of the container.
 The simile “burned like a plate of eyes” describes the berries on top of the container the child is filling.
o This suggests the shape of the berries: spherical, soft, juicy and squidgy.
o This imagery continues the references to flesh and blood made throughout the first stanza.
o This is the first suggestion in the poem of Heaney’s guilt over his disillusionment with
agricultural life. The blackberries are described as “eyes” that can be said to be watching him,
burning into him as they silently judge him and his lack of commitment to the rural lifestyle.
“Our hands were peppered
With thorn pricks,”
 The choice of the word “peppered” suggests a great many thorn pricks, illustrating the amount of
injuries the children sustained in gathering the berries.
o This reinforces their enthusiasm for gathering the berries, as they were prepared to endure this to
gather them.
o This highlights the sensual, physical nature of the blackberry-picking.
o This suggests the struggle endured to pick the berries, as if the berries were resisting being
picked and fighting back in some way.
o This suggests the permanent, indelible effect that the experience of blackberry-picking has on
them.

“our palms sticky as Bluebeard's.”

 The juice of the berries as it stains the children’s hands is compared to the blood on the hands of
Bluebeard – a fairytale character who married a succession of women before murdering them.
o This continue the association with berry-picking and flesh and blood, suggesting:
 the violence Heaney sees in the blackberry-picking;
 the sensual, physical nature of the activity;
 the vibrant red colour and the rich taste of the berries.
o This also reinforces the idea that the process of berry-picking has a sustained impact on the
children, as the berries stain their hands with their juice.

Stanza Two
“We hoarded the fresh berries in the byre.”
 The word choice of “hoarded” carries connotations of a precious item that was hidden away / stored up,
suggesting the value that the children placed upon the berries.
 The word “byre” is colloquial and indicative of the setting of rural Northern Ireland.

“But when the bath was filled we found a fur,

A rat-grey fungus, glutting on our cache.”
 The alliteration of “filled we found a fur” highlights the rapid disintegration of the berries as they start to
decay.
 The description of the moldy berries as “A rat-grey fungus” conjures up a disgusting image of the
berries, reinforced by the idea of this rat-like entity glutting (feeding to excess) on the remaining healthy
berries. This image of the healthy berries being devoured by the mould helps to illustrate the way this
mould quickly spreads throughout the bathtub.
 “cache” suggests a store of precious goods or provisions, suggesting the value that the children placed
upon the berries.
 In the context of the blackberries of the poem acting as an extended metaphor for Heaney’s growing
disillusionment for the agricultural lifestyle, the “rat-grey fungus” can be seen to be representative of his
desire to do something more with his life and how it contaminates his prior enjoyment of the rural
lifestyle.

“The juice was stinking too.”

 The choice of the word “stinking” reinforces how disgusting the blackberries have become, especially
given that the juice was previously referred to as “summer’s blood” and “thickened wine” in the first
stanza.

“Once off the bush

The fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour.”
 The juxtaposition (placing together) of the antonyms “sweet” and “sour” highlights the sharp contrast
between the two states the berries have been in, illustrating how the berries have transformed from an
object of delight into something repulsive.
“I always felt like crying.”
 This reaction to the decaying berries implies that these events are viewed from the perspective of a child.
However this might also allude to the deeper significance Heaney sees in the berries, using them as a
metaphor for his disillusionment with agricultural life. In this context, Heaney’s tears seem less
indulgent.

“It wasn't fair”

 The petulant tone of “It wasn’t fair” suggests that this section of the poem is being viewed from the
perspective of a child.

“That all the lovely canfuls smelt of rot.”

“Each year I hoped they'd keep, knew they would not.”
 These two lines are the second of only two full rhymes that appear in the poem, the other being:
“At first, just one, a glossy purple clot
Among others, red, green, hard as a knot.”
These rhyming couplets act as a framing device. The first couplet introduces the first taste of the
blackberries and the excited frenzy of picking that stems from it, whereas the second deals with
Heaney’s disillusionment with the berries. The use of these two rhymes invites the reader to compare
these two sections, highlighting the contrast in Heaney’s emotional state.
 The juxtaposition (placing together) of “lovely canfuls” and “smelt of rot” highlights the sharp contrast
between the two states the berries have been in, illustrating how the berries have transformed from an
object of delight into something repulsive.
 Heaney’s use of antithesis in the last line underlines the futility of hoping that the berries would not
decay. He speaks here from the perspective of an adult, recognising and looking back on the
contradiction in his ideas.
 Considering these lines in the context of a metaphor, where the berries represent Heaney’s growing
disillusionment with agricultural life, they illustrate Heaney’s futile attempts to be content with this
lifestyle, while deep down he realises that he wants something more out of life.