Blackberry Picking

Question 1

Title

Answer 1

-immediately indicates setting in rural Ireland and working on the land amongst nature

Question 2

Theme

Answer 2

-involved awarness of mortality or the natural cycle of life and death. As a child, the speaker was inclined to think the world would last forever

Question 3

Structure

Answer 3

-bipartite
-first section covers positive exiting, satisfying memories and intense pleasure. Second part shows a recognition of hopelessness -nothing good lasts
-Volta at end of stanza 1 suggests gradual realisation

Question 4

“Late August given heavy rain and sun”

Answer 4

The end of summer a transition from one season to another, reflective of the wider implications of a right of passage. Immediate contrast - even the weather seems conflicted and confused, foreshadows writers conflict between hope and certainty of disappointment.

Question 5

“For a full week the blackberries would ripen”

Answer 5

Stage in the transition of fruit - positive and hopeful. Past tense sets poem clearly in the past - matter of fact and certain tone

Question 6

“We hoarded the fresh berries in the Brye”

Answer 6

word choice of valued and treasured. Alliteration emphasizes the transition and switch in tone on the word ‘but’

Question 7

“A rat grey fungus”

Answer 7

Vermin/Predator - the image imposes the fungus with a deliberate, disgusting intensity

Question 8

“I always felt like crying. It wasn’t fair”

Answer 8

Childish sentence structure gives the impression of a tantrum, the stamping of feet”

Question 9

“Each year i hoped they’d keep, knew they would not”

Answer 9

-The final perfect rhyme emphasizes the final message of the poem.
-This impact is also heightened by the inversion of rhyme in the middle of line, the contrast between hope and inevitable disappointment is made more profound with the trochee on the word “knew”

Question 10

Quote Pairings

Answer 10

“Late August + For a full week”
“We hoarded + A rat”
“I always + Each year”