the poet, nature also feeds his creative force.
‘‘Blackberry Eating’’ offers an idealistic view of
nature, in which all the berries are equally deli-
cious. There are no unripe or rotten ones. The
poet minimizes the sting of the prickly stalks. This
nature is thoroughly appreciated by the speaker.
The berries are beautiful, and eating them pro-
vides his first and best meal of the day. In actual-
ity, blackberry patches are not as welcoming as
the poet claims, but for him and the purpose of his
poem, they provide exactly the right setting and
metaphor.Style
Alliteration
Alliteration is repetition of the initial consonant
or vowel sounds in words. Alliteration is used to
link words in terms of sound and to call attention
to how these words are connected in other ways,Blackberries(Image copyright Birute Vijeikiene, 2009. Used under
license from Shutterstock.com)TOPICS FOR
FURTHER
STUDY Kinnell’s poetry is about a literal action that
refers metaphorically to the act of creating
poetry. Choose an activity that you enjoy
and then write a poem in which you describe
the specific actions associated with your
activity and then link them to something
else that you do. For instance, you could
make a connection between playing football
and studying for an exam in your science
class.
Research the history of the sonnet as a
poetic form. Create a PowerPoint presenta-
tion in which you include the distinguishing
characteristics of the different sonnet forms.
Be sure to provide an example of each kind
of sonnet.
Kinnell is only one of several notable twen-
tieth-century poets, such as William Carlos
Williams, Robert Lowell, Allan Ginsberg,
and W. S. Merwin. Choose one of these
poets to study and write a research paper in
which you discuss the poet and his work and
what they contributed to American culture.
Kinnell’s poem is one of several that deal with
blackberries as a topic. Choose one of the
following poems as the subject of a compare
and contrast paper in which you discuss
‘‘Blackberry Eating’’ and the poem you have
chosen. Choose Seamus Heaney’s ‘‘Black-
berry Picking’’; Yusef Komunyakaa’s ‘‘Black-
berries’’; Robert Hass’s ‘‘Meditation at
Lagunitas’’; or Sylvia Plath’s ‘‘Blackberrying.’’
‘‘Blackberry Eating’’ is excellent read
aloud. The alliteration of consonants and
the sheer beauty of the language give it a
different power when spoken rather than
read. Read ‘‘Blackberry Eating’’ aloud and
then ask a friend to read it. With several
friends, memorize lines from the poem and
take turns reciting the lines aloud. Then
write a one-page response paper in which
you describe the experience of speaking
Kinnell’s words.Blackberry Eating