Juxtaposition In Blackberry-Picking

In the poem "Blackberry-Picking," Seamus Heaney uses metaphor, imagery and juxtaposition in order to convey the description and deeper meaning of his experience picking blackberries. First, Heaney uses metaphors in order to describe his excitement of seeing the ripe berries. He states, "At first, just one, a glossy purple clot." He states that the blackberries look like a clot in order to convey the one thing he has been waiting for the whole season. He uses the word glossy in order to emphasize that this berry is important and almost to satisfy his anticipation. Also, he uses another metaphor to describe his love and the richness of the juice of the berry. He explains, "Summer's blood was in it leaving stains upon the tongue and lust for

He states, "Then red ones inked up and that hunger sent us out with milk cans, pea tins, jam pots." This allows you to visualize his sadness and shocking face when he realizes the red berries are beginning to rot. You can also see his urgency, rushing to get any milk cans, pae tins, and jam pot he can find to store the berries in so they can't rot. Lastly, he uses juxtaposition in order to describe how despite his actions to save the berries. They ended up still dying. He explains, "That all the lovely canfuls smelt of rot." He explains the canfuls as lovely, but says they smell of rot, which then decreases their beauty. This allows you to realize the deeper meaning that things don't always happen how you want them to in life. In conclusion, the metaphors, imagery, and juxtaposition allows you to realize the deeper meaning behind his experience picking berries, which is that things don't always happen the way you want them to in life. He had expected and was excited for the berries to come. However, his expectations were crushed once he realized that they began to rot. He tried everything in his power to stop the rotting process, but it was impossible. He was disappointed and hoped that his berries wouldn't rot each year but that didn't