The Moments of Happiness
Despite the variety of civilizations and life styles throughout the world, there remains a distinctive element that is integral to every heritage: the universal language of delight. The little issues in life will be truly the things that matter, as any wise child could let you know, and it is through these activities that one grows as an individual. For example , in his poem “Blackberry-Picking, ” Seamus Heaney employs strong responsive imagery and sensuous poetic devices, which includes diction and rhythm, to appeal to the reader’s innermost, childlike sensory faculties, thus linking with the visitor on a much deeper, more personal level, through this interconnection, Heaney uncovers the most basic and natural instinct: greed. Heaney conveys a deeper understanding of the technicians of lifestyle and human nature as a whole through his deceptively simple information of selecting blackberries. This innocuous actions takes on a deeper significance as Heaney depicts the “stains upon the tongue and lust for / Picking” (lines 7-8). Such lust is actually a part of man behavior, by nature, human beings will never be truly pleased with what they have, their organic greed unable to be sated. The blackberry-pickers in the poem are delivered “with dairy cans, pea tins, jam pots” (Heaney 9) to fetch as many berries as they can possibly stuff in their pots. The use of spondee in this particular line not merely draws the reader’s focus on the actions being carried out but also places focus on the common household items stated, introducing a sense of familiarity in the first stanza of the composition. In addition , the poet relies on such strong visual and tangible images in order to additional this personal sentiment. By candidly talking about blackberries because “a gloss purple clot / Among others, red, green, hard as being a knot” (3-4), Heaney draws on a similar occurrence that most children experience once exposed to a sweet blackberry for the first time, a reference that is certainly further strong by the forcible use of end rhyme. Sensuous, melodious diction throughout the entire first stanza creates a very soft flow similar to natural human instincts, therefore solidifying the idea that this kind of anticipatory avarice is a great innate element of human patterns.
What might be considered the best element of Seamus Heaney’s work of genius is the sudden, dramatic change in feeling that occurs inside the opening lines of the second stanza. Instead of being vibrant, appealing, and reminiscent of the child years, the poem takes on a macabre, nasty air, the once-luscious fruit is now overrun by “a rat-grey fungus” (Heaney 19). Such unpleasant images happen to be in drastic contrast with all the sweet, hot fruit pictured in the first stanza from the poem, showing the inevitable changes made by the passageway of time. Spoken irony just reinforces this statement the moment Heaney proclaims “that each of the lovely canfuls smelt of rot” (22), a sardonic declaration that, through comparison, emphasizes the exact opposite of what is said. As a immediate consequence of the overzealous greed of the blackberry-pickers, their fresh fruit is condemned to corrosion. The narrator is totally aware of the impending results of his guilty greed, but “each yr [he] hoped they’d maintain, knew they will not” (Heaney 24). Person attempts to say his dominance over character by winning contests with that, bargaining with an unswayable force.
In general, Seamus Heaney aims to catch the moments of happiness plus the little delights of life in his poem, such as the whimsical adventure of blackberry-picking, however, he would not “sugarcoat” his words and speaks bluntly about the cruel realities of life, because when he elaborates on the musty fusty frouzy berries. Insatiability, a natural and irrepressible push, wields effect over person and corrupts humanity overall, leading each individual to believe that she or he has the power to supersede the superior presence of nature. Self-centeredness is widespread in today’s single minded society and if unchecked, may result in the metaphorical “rotting” with the fruits of civilization, the tiny things which will make people completely happy in a chilly, selfish world.
