Q: Choose a poet who reflects on the idea of change. Show how the poet explores the subject in one or more of his/her poems, and explain to what extent your appreciation of the subject is deepened.

(P) Heaney is convincing in his use of the extended metaphor, which brings to life his observation that childhood innocence must give way to adult realism. Just as the berries inevitably rot when picked from the bushes, we cannot escape the changes we go through when growing up. (E) After wildly picking every berry in sight, the persona and his friends return to the byre the next day, only to find the glossy purple berries have been transformed by a rat-grey fungus. It becomes apparent in that moment the berries are rotting and in the children’s lust for picking they have failed to consider what might happen to the fruit. (E) By his use of the word lust, Heaney is suggesting the children pick the berries with a wild sense of abandon and their desire to collect them in as vast a quantity as possible is almost uncontrollable. The berries have been transformed from glossy purple - indicating life, vitality and freshness, to - rat-grey – a colour associated ultimately with decay and death. In the context of the poem, this experience highlights the human condition itself, which can be summed up as the passage from innocence to experience. (R) It is only when the children have seen what has happened as a result of their efforts that they accept life isn’t always fair. Heaney leaves the reader pondering the fact that change – whether in terms of the berries or life in general - is inevitable, no matter how unlikely it may seem at the time. This is a quickly written, rough guide of how to structure an A-level answer to the question. Here, because I have given clear and insightful points that are cohesively structured with PEER paragraphing - I have achieved all the marks available. MOST students do not understand how to write a simple, clear and effective answer.