Compare and contrast the poems Essay Example

Compare and contrast the poems Essay Example Compare and contrast the poems Paper Compare and contrast the poems Paper Essay Topic: Seamus Heaney Poems PCompare and contrast the poems Blackberrying by Sylvia Plath and Blackberry Picking by Seamus Heaney  I am comparing and contrasting the poems Blackberrying by Sylvia Plath and Blackberry Picking by Seamus Heaney. Both poems are about blackberries and the totally different situations in which people pick them. Both poets write in an autobiographical way and the poems are set at the same time of year, late summer. Plaths poem is written from the perspective of a grown woman and how she discovers the blackberries as she is walking down a country lane. Heaney on the other hand, portrays his childhood adventures of blackberry picking. He writes it in first person but from the eyes of a child. He recalls how children acted and his personal memories. He uses the vocabulary and imagery a child would use. Heaney tells a story on behalf of himself and his friends; he writes as though he is talking to an adult, he uses the vocabulary of a child dictating what they have recently been doing. Heany really tries to empathise with childish ideas by writing like one. He emphasises this through imagery. He uses short and simple statements such as I always felt like crying. This sort of sentence is a picture that we often relate to children. Throughout the poem we see that Heaney tends to write in a more simply manner, he captures the moment as it is and explains things simply, how a child would, Round hayfields, cornfields and potato drills. A child wouldnt go into much detail on what things could resemble or mean whereas Plath likes to do this. Heaney looks at what he sees, or what he remembers and writes in down, Plath looks at objects and tries to see what they resemble. Heany gives us more of a background of the childrens lives, every year they went and picked berries. During Blackberry Picking we see that Seamus Heanys thoughts and views seem to be very important to him in this poem, he likes to express his beliefs. Plath writes in an abstract and figurative view, instead of always stating what things are she tries explaining how they affect the atmosphere, what they resemble and the surroundings The poem is set in A blackberry alley, going down in hooks, Plath looks at the shape of things i.e. how the lane bends and twists round corners, to her it show hooks. Although she does not often explain how she is feeling, she uses a lot more meaningful words and phrases that can be ambiguous. Ebon is a prime example, it is another word for black. A child wouldnt know that it could mean black, where as an adult is likely to. Both the poems have a wide range of different techniques for imagery. They both use onomatopoeia. In Blackberry Picking words like tinkling, the sound of berries falling into the pot. Plath uses stronger words, heaving and cacophonous (meaning a jarring sound, she is referring to the sound of the birds nearby.)  Another technique that is solely used by Plath is metaphor. By the end of the poem when her mood has changed she starts to look more negatively on things, how nature turns on her and they way the wind is slapping its phantom laundry in [her] face. This is a metaphor, it is not literally applicable that wind can slap you, but she feels that it is natures way of being horrible. Even though I have referred to Blackberry Picking as having simple imagery compared to Blackberrying, it does not. Seamus has varied his use of imagery; Plath looks into more detail and explains what she sees. Heany uses similes (its flesh was sweet like thickened wine), repetition and strong simple words. The word glutting is plain, yet effective. It means to stuff or in this case stuffing, the sound of it when spoken is how he has created imagery. Heany really wants to increase this childish feel, he has looked into how children reacted to things and how they exaggerate to make it sound more grotesque. When the pickings are over he describes how they rot. He is very negative and states things the way he sees them. To enhance the grotesque childish atmosphere of the poem he uses repetition. The beginning of the second verse is an excellent example. We hoarded the fresh berries in the byre.  But when the bath was filled we found a fur,  A rat fungus, glutting on our cache.  The repetition of the letter F creates an unpleasant image of repulsion and disgust. Just after this extract there is a sibilant sound, not always at the front of the word, but often the S or C is emphasised.  The juice was stinking too.  Once. the sweet flesh would turn sour.  I always felt like crying. It wasnt fair.  The other form of repetition is a list, like the endless number of containers used by the children, to hold the berries and the description of all the colours that the berries posses. The number of containers enhances the amount of berries they have picked, something Plath does as well. Although instead of repetition she uses alliteration to show it. There was nobody in the lane, and nothing, nothing but blackberries. Plath uses repetition but in a different way from everything else. She only repeats a few different words continually throughout the poem with no pattern, words like nothing and emptiness. By using these word she is expressing her loneliness. Both poems are explaining journeys, metaphorically and literally. Plath describes a woman walking, in the countryside, down an alleyway. She uses the word alley to create the sense isolation and enclosure. When we walk down alleys they are normally dark, with buildings on either side. Down a blackberry alley you could imagine yourself being surrounded by blackberries creating an atmosphere. The woman is searching for the sea, she can hear it but is scared that nature will prevent her from ever reaching it. Heany is reliving the delight of when they were allowed out to pick the berries, after heavy rain and sun for a full week, the blackberries would ripen. His journey is how [they] trekked and picked until. the tinkling bottom had been covered. Heanys poem has rhythm to it; the lines flow and are continuous.