When you think of wine it very similar to blood it is same colour (but not thick enough so this is why the writer has added thickened wine to give it the human features of blood). One example in the text is “Like thickened wine” this exaggerates that the berries have human features of flesh as it say it bleeds. Seamus Heaney in the poem of Blackberry-Picking, uses an range of poetic techniques, one example of this is similes they can be used to create an range of imagery.

That all the lovely canfuls smelt of rot.Įach year I hoped they’d keep, knew they would not. The fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour. We hoarded the fresh berries in the byre.īut when the bath was filled we found a fur,Ī rat-grey fungus, glutting on our cache. With thorn pricks, our palms sticky as Bluebeard’s. With green ones, and on top big dark blobs burned Until the tinkling bottom had been covered We trekked and picked until the cans were full Round hayfields, cornfields and potato-drills Where briars scratched and wet grass bleached our boots. Sent us out with milk cans, pea tins, jam-pots Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust for

Like thickened wine: summer’s blood was in it You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet For a full week, the blackberries would ripen.Īmong others, red, green, hard as a knot.

Blackberry picking by seamus heaney