Understanding ideas of youth and nostalgia in Heaney’s ‘Blackberry Picking’
I can explore ideas of youth and nostalgia in Heaney’s ‘Blackberry Picking’.
Understanding ideas of youth and nostalgia in Heaney’s ‘Blackberry Picking’
I can explore ideas of youth and nostalgia in Heaney’s ‘Blackberry Picking’.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- 'Blackberry picking’ depicts a nostalgic childhood memory of picking blackberries in the summer.
- We might interpret ‘Blackberry picking’ as an extended metaphor for growing up and losing childhood innocence.
- Heaney emphasises the shift from childhood innocence to a more unsettling understanding of the world.
- Arguably the poem is autobiographical and drawn from Heaney’s own experiences of growing up.
- The poem emphasises neo-romantic themes such as personal experience, nature and the sublime.
Keywords
Neo-Romanticism - a variety of artistic movements that exist after and incorporate elements from the era of Romanticism.
Transience - the state or fact of lasting only for a short time
Extended metaphor - a version of metaphor that extends over the course of multiple lines, paragraphs, or stanzas of prose or poetry
Nostalgia - a feeling of pleasure and also slight sadness when you think about things that happened in the past
Sublime - impressive, beautiful, or awe-inspiring, often creating a sense of wonder or admiration
Common misconception
The poem is just about the childhood memories of summer and picking fruit.
Heaney uses the extended metaphor of blackberry picking to explore nostalgia and the fleeting nature of youth and time.
To help you plan your year 10 english lesson on: Understanding ideas of youth and nostalgia in Heaney’s ‘Blackberry Picking’, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 10 english lesson on: Understanding ideas of youth and nostalgia in Heaney’s ‘Blackberry Picking’, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
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Explore more key stage 4 english lessons from the Poetry anthology (Assessment from summer 2027) unit, dive into the full secondary english curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
You will need a copy of the Eduqas 2025 Anthology for this lesson.
Licence
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
Exit quiz
6 Questions
a movement that exists after Romanticism
the state or fact of lasting only for a short time
a version of metaphor that extends over the course of multiple lines
a feeling of pleasure and also sadness when you think about the past
impressive or awe-inspiring, creating a sense of wonder or admiration