Contents: Introduction Author Biography Poem Summary Style Historical Context Critical Overview Criticism Sources Further Reading

Themes

Sublime

Plath’s description of the blackberries and of the sea evokes a simultaneous sense of awe and reverence best characterized in the idea of the “sublime.” The idea of the sublime was hotly debated in the eighteenth century and later appeared in the work of romantic poets such as William Wordsworth, whose writing is marked by speakers aware of their own smallness in relation to the grandeur and might of nature. The final image of “Blackberrying” adds terror to the sense of awe, as the speaker describes

a great space
Of white and pewter lights, and a din like silver-smiths
Beating and beating at an intractable metal.

Consciousness

In packing her poem with images of life’s abundance and death’s inevitability, Plath points to the uniqueness and the “problem” of human existence: human beings are aware that they will die and there is nothing they can do to change that. Her numerous metaphors and similes for the fruit underscore her joy at life’s abundance, and her personification of the berries shows her emotional attachment to the natural world. This personification occurs in the last two lines of the first stanza when, after the speaker’s fingers are covered with juice, she says, “I had not asked for such a blood sisterhood; they must love me; / They accommodate themselves to my milk-bottle, flattening their sides.” Her sense of death is embodied in the images of the “the choughs in black, cacophonous flocks,” and “the hills’ northern face / That looks out on nothing.”

Nature

Nature isn’t always a pretty place where flowers bloom and cute animals frolic in the sun. It is governed by the cycle of life and death, and the fact that a part of nature must die for another part to live. “Blackberrying” de-romanticizes nature in the image of the “bush of berries so ripe it is a bush of flies, / Hanging their bluegreen bellies and their wing panes in a Chinese screen. “This image of nature cannibalizing itself brings to mind German philosopher, Freidrich Nietzsche’s words, “All that is ripe wants to die.”

Journey

The speaker’s journey through the lane of berries is analogous to the human journey through life. Sometimes people feel hemmed in on all sides by life’s pressures, just as Plath’s speaker feels surrounded by berries. The “hooks” in the poem, on one level part of the literal shape of the alley, can be read as events that change the direction of one’s journey through life. Throughout the speaker’s walk through the alley of berries, she encounters signs — flies feeding on a bush berries, the “cacophonous flocks” of crows — full of meaning that only she can understand but not necessarily communicate to others. This is similar to how many people experience incidents and events in their own lives, seeing signs in nature that are ominous yet impossible to decode.

Topics for Further Study

• Describe an incident in your life when you became suddenly aware of your mortality. Did your behavior change as a result of this awareness? Report your findings to your class.
• Interview your classmates, asking them what about the natural world most inspires them and why. Sort the responses into categories and present them to your class, then hold a class discussion about the significance of the findings.
• Is knowing about the personal details of Sylvia Plath’s life important for understanding this poem? Why or why not?
• With four class members, compose a visual representation of “Blackberrying.” One stipulation is that you cannot be literal; that is, you cannot draw a picture of a woman picking blackberries. Aim to represent the emotions and ideas in the poem, rather than the action. When you are finished, present the composition to the class and have them discuss its meaning.
• Brainstorm a list of symbolic images for life and for death with your classmates, then compose a class poem using these images.
• Spend some time looking at a blackberry bramble in your neighborhood, then write a thorough description of it, using as many metaphors or similes as you see fit. Compare your description with other classmates. How is it different, the same? What do you pay attention to that others do not?
• Write a short one-act play dramatizing Plath’s poem and perform it for your class. Feel free to include dialogue, speech, and action not included in the poem.