Seamus Hayne was an Irish poet. He is widely recognized as one the great poets in 20th-century Ireland. Heaney once said that he was someone who “emerged” from a secret, buried life and entered education. Heaney was one of several poets in the 1960s that were later recognized as part of an “Northern School” of Irish writing. This group was stylistically diverse but was united by their being born into a deeply divided society along religious and political lines.
Seamus Heaney’s “Blackberry Picking” poem is a reflection on time, greed, life’s limitations, struggles, and the disappointments they bring. This poem is a retrospective about a person’s life. Heaney, although it may seem like he is writing in the first person, refers to life’s many trials and disappointments. Happiness does not come from something you desire, but is something you achieve. “Late august” is the time of year that harvests. The line “For a full weekend, the blackberries will ripen” shows how the poet metaphorically uses the week-long timeframe to convey the shortness and evasiveness of life.
“At one time, there was only one. It was a shiny purple clot …; whose flesh was sweet and rich like thickened red wine.” The language in these lines appeals both to the visual and auditory senses. Heaney makes use of berries and the appealing color and taste they offer as a metaphor for all of life’s superficial pleasures. It may be easy to see the beauty and appeal of surface things, but it can be very distracting and dangerous. This makes people want to get them and give them immense joy and happiness.
The lines “You only ate one and its flesh tasted sweet… leaving stains on your tongue and a desire to pick more” are attributed to Heaney. Heaney’s words may appear to refer to blackberries and their sweet flavor that would linger on one’s tongue encouraging another to eat more. These lines can be considered an analogy to the many pleasures life offers, such as love, money and fame. These attractions can be addictive and make people feel like they are addicted and want to go back again and again.
Heaney adds that these berries make you feel like a slave of your desires. He says “Sent me out with milk tins pea pots, jam pots; were briars scratches and wetgrass bleached my boot.” The desire to get berries in a variety of containers is analogous to the need to satisfy that desire. The second line’s imagery makes it almost clear that the person is pursuing berries with scratched hands. This is a metaphor to show that if someone has a worldly need, they will do anything to get it. One’s ambitions might make him take more risks than necessary to achieve the goal he seeks.
Heaney uses oneomatopoeia to describe the sound of blackberries filling containers. Pickers are happy to hear the berries filling their containers. The berries may disagree. The personification, “like a platter of eyes,” makes it easy to picture blackberries looking back at their picker and asking why they were picked. The disappointment at the berries being picked may be translated to mean that the person might not get what they want.
Heaney’s extract “Our hands peppered by fond pricks and our palms sticky like Bluebeard” uses imagery mixed with similes and allusion. The blood of Bluebeard’s blueberries is sticky on the hands of pickers, which are also bruised by thorns. Bluebeard is a fictional character who killed his wives using his naked hands. The blood made them sticky. This refers to the possibility that a person might use incongruous means to realize his goals.
Heaney evokes the feeling of disappointment after fulfilling desires in the final stanza. Heaney used visual and sensory imagery. Once the container was full, the picker saw fungus eating the fruits and it would begin rotting. This happens also when it comes to fame, wealth and love. A person who has what they once wanted will eventually adapt to the situation and crave for more. He finds out that this thing is not bringing him the joy he had hoped for. It might not be worth the effort and time spent to achieve it.
“I always felt like crying. It wasn’t fair. All the lovely canfuls of berries smelt and smelled of decay. This unfairness makes it seem like one is crying like a child. This metaphorically shows the feeling of disillusionment that one might feel after realizing ones hedonistic goals.
“Each Year I hoped berries would keep, but knew they wouldn’t,” Heaney says in his last line. Heaney is using antithesis to emphasise the futility that comes with hoping the berries do not fall apart. He is speaking from the perspective of an adult who sees and acknowledges the futility in his ambitions and aspirations. Yet, he continues to yearn for happiness and pushes towards something new every year.
Seamus Sheaney’s Blackberry Picking, in conclusion, is more that berry picking. This is a wonderful piece of poetry that has been brought to life by the poetic use of similes and alliteration. Heaney’s poem teaches us a valuable lesson. It is tied to the madness that drives us, and the trials and tribulations that we experience. It is important to realize that happiness cannot be bought. Happiness is not something you can travel to, own, earn, wear, or consume. Happiness can only be experienced as a spiritual experience, when you live each day with love and gratitude.