It is often said that the blacker the berry, the sweeter its juice. This is evident in Seamus Heaney's “Blackberry-Picking”. Throughout the poem, Heaney uses the symbolism of the ripening and rotting of blackberries to represent youth and death respectively. Heaney takes on the seemingly innocent task of going blackberry picking in the summer and creates these complex metaphors with the physical intensity of his language. Heaney uses the symbolism of blackberries and diction that changes from mellifluous to rancid to demonstrate the physical intensity of language and how everything and everyone ultimately decays as we all meet our demise. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Heaney uses the symbolism of blackberries to represent the narrator's awareness that youth ends quickly. In the first stanza of the poem, the narrator is extremely excited at the prospect of picking fresh, ripe blackberries. The narrator says, “You ate the first, and its flesh was as sweet as thickened wine.” The sweetness of newly ripe blackberries is a symbol of youth, lust, and hope in the narrator's world. But these feelings that the narrator has quickly fade away when the blackberry juice begins to rot. The narrator says, “Sweet meat would turn sour.” This is significant because the narrator realizes that everything eventually dies and this causes him to lose his sense of hope in the world. Death is an inevitable part of life and it is difficult for young people to grasp this idea. Heaney uses the symbolization of blackberries to demonstrate these ideas of life and death. Heaney uses different styles of diction in each stanza to emphasize his feelings about life and death. The first stanza of the poem is filled with very euphoric diction due to the narrator's excitement in picking fresh blackberries. Use words like “shiny” and “tinkly” to describe lush blackberries while they are young and ripe. Heaney also uses warm, vibrant colors throughout the first verse to demonstrate this. The color green is the most significant in this case because green is often used to symbolize life and growth. Ripe blackberries are in their prime, as is the narrator when he picks them. However, the second verse changes completely. Heaney uses words like "greedy" and "stinky" to demonstrate his sense of disapproval at the rotting of his precious earnings. He also uses colors like "rat grey" to show how disgusting and terrible the rotting of this fruit is. The narrator is horrified and ultimately saddened by the realization that everything eventually dies and decays. The different styles of diction that Heaney uses in the poem show the narrator's changing emotions regarding the life and death of blackberries. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay throughout the poem Heaney uses varying diction and the symbolism of blackberries to demonstrate the physical intensity of language and how everything and everyone eventually dies and decays. Heaney uses blackberries precisely for their sweet juice that is unmatched by any other berry. It is especially devastating to the narrator when his juice rots because it teaches the narrator the inevitable truth that nothing can stay young forever..