Poetry commentary on Seamus Heaney's Blackberry-Picking

... Poetry commentary on Seamus Heaney's Blackberry-Picking The smell of disappointment. In the poem Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney the narrator is an adult remembering an element of his childhood of which he has mixed feelings. The poet conveys a literal description of picking blackberries in late August but also shows the reader the disappointments we have to face in our life and how to learn from them. Seamus Heaney uses rich language to awaken the reader's senses and make them more aware of the world he is trying to portray. In the first stanza of the poem the tone is one of innocence. The narrator tells the reader about the childhood excitement of picking berries and the thorn pricks they endured for the sweet flesh. There is also a reference to a children's fairy tale when it says, "our palms sticky as Bluebeard's". Despite this it is obvious to the reader that

want to read more? →