Literary Analysis Of Blackberry Eating By Galway Kinnell

    The first literary devices that are to be discussed are diction and imagery. Diction is the vocabulary demonstrated by the author, and how the objective and subjective meaning of the words and phrases the author chooses to utilize help construct and expand the narrative. An example of diction used uniquely by the author can be seen in paragraph twelve of Marigolds when this sentence is used: “the idleness whose prospect had seemed so beautiful during the busy days of spring now had degenerated to an almost

The literary devices that is consistently used is connotation. The authors use of words such as; syntax(line 3), spring(line

From the beginning of the poem, the speaker tells of his naïve, consuming world of blackberries. Because the

Another technique this poem takes use of is alliteration. The alliteration used helps to express the themes importance through repletion of sound devices. A specific example of alliteration

imagery, dialogue, and figurative language. Not only do these authors use this devices, they use

Small details are instrumental in seeing the bigger picture. This is apparent when reading “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop. Most often the reader experiences visual imagery in poetry. In this poem the reader encounters visual, auditory, and sensory imagery. “The Fish” is filled with minute details that paint a picture for the reader. With each new element that is introduced, it becomes easier to visualize the fish. The speaker is able to show the reader the beauty as well as the ugliness of this creature with her vivid imagery. The imagery used is so distinct that the reader can envisage being the fisherman and catching this fish. Another important element involved in this poem is irony.

Another technique used is Onomatopoeia it means the use of words that imitates sound. An example of this in the poem is shown by the use of the following word – zipping. “They’re zipping them up in green plastic bags” by using the word zipping in this sentence, helps the readers to associate with the sound of which a zip makes.

Imagery allows the reader to hear and connect to the story by using onomatopoeia and see what is happening in the poem.

Written in 1980, Galway Kinnell's Blackberry Eating is a poem which creates a strong metaphoric relationship between the tangible objects of blackberries, and the intangible objects of words. The speaker of the poem feels a strong attraction to the sensory characteristics (the touch, taste, and look) of blackberries. The attraction he feels at the beginning of the poem exclusively for blackberries is paralleled in the end by his appetite and attraction to words. The rush the speaker gets out of blackberry eating is paralleled to the enjoyment he finds in thinking about certain words; words which call up the same sensory images the blackberries embody.

The sound of poetry is the most important element than anything else involved with poetry. The sounds of poetry are basically a foundation of desire. It is how the syllables are arranged in a pleasant-sounding pattern to satisfy and please desires even if they have a small meaning or no meaning to them. A poem that is filled with sound but little meaning can be “The Word Plum” by Helen Chasin. It is a poem that uses the sound devices of alliteration and onomatopoeia to bring the plum to life. Using alliteration and onomatopoeia it gives the plum a sound, a savory sound, it’s almost like you can taste and touch the plum in the palm of your hand and the sounds are just rolling off the tongue with every “delicious” bite of “luxury”. In the first line there is just a brief description of how delicious the plum is, but wait there is more. Then Chasin uses alliteration in (line 2) with the two words “pout and push” because they begin with p’s, they’re verbs, four letters, and are not capitalized. Chasin also uses onomatopoeia with the second line, same words “pout and push” to give a new sound of delicious from the first line, and to explain why the plum is so delightful. Once more, she uses alliteration in the third line using “self-love and savoring”; creating that delightful sound of juices from the plum.

He could have chosen any other object to write about, but he chose blackberries because it has a deep meaning that makes the reader truly think about what he or she is reading. After the reader is able to understand his true intentions behind the poem, they are able to genuinely reflect. When he says, “Although I could smell old lime-covered history, at ten I’d still hold out my hands & berries fell into them. Eating from one and filling a half gallon with the other, I ate the mythology & dreamt of pies & cobbler, almost.”, he is saying that as a child he had a rough time. Again the deeper meaning of blackberries is extremely prevalent because the darkness that is described by blackberries is shown when he imagines eating pie and cobbler because he was not permitted to consume delectable goods.In the middle of the poem, the author writes, “The mud frogs in rich blackness, hid from daylight.” to describe the life he lived. He being the black mud frog, hides during the day. During slave times he could not show his real self being because he would be prosecuted by the owners for not doing his job. Just like the frog, he makes his true appearance at night time. Slaves were given strict rules to follow and if they were not abided by they had a chance of being

Poets have many tools to convey what they are trying to say, but the most effective and interesting way is by using imagery. This puts a picture in the mind of the reader to go along with the words. Imagery is used many times in both "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" and "Blackbird." The best example of imagery from Wallace 's poem is found in stanza six:

Once the reader can passes up the surface meaning of the poem Blackberry-Picking, by Seamus Heaney, past the emotional switch from sheer joy to utter disappointment, past the childhood memories, the underlying meaning can be quite disturbing. Hidden deep within the happy-go-lucky rifts of childhood is a disturbing tale of greed and murder. Seamus Heaney, through clever diction, ghastly imagery, misguided metaphors and abruptly changing forms, ingeniously tells the tale that is understood and rarely spoken aloud.

Judith Wright’s knowledgeable use of poetic devices enhances the reader’s enjoyment and understanding of the white invasion that occurred in Australia many years ago through the use of metaphors, imagery and rhyme. “The blue crane fishing” is an example of a metaphor as a crane is a species of bird but it is also a type of rod used for fishing. The poet uses this to show the difference between how the Aborigines used to hunt for food independently and how the settlers who arrived in Australia manufactured food which changed the way Aborigines lived. Throughout this entire poem Wright uses rhyme. For example Stanza Two:

Throughout the poem and particularly in the first stanza, Heaney uses a wide range of literary devices such as intense imagery or sensory imagery, exceptionally meaningful metaphors and alliteration.