Answer

Answer:   

1.  Similes: “hard as a knot” is a simile which allows us to imagine what the unripe berry feels like – firm and lumpy.  “ Its flesh was sweet /Like thickened wine” is another simile, which conjures up the taste of ripe berries, heady as alcohol.

2. Metaphors: I felt the description of  a ripe blackberry as “ a glossy purple clot” was a good example of a metaphor: the blackberry is not a clot of blood, but the small, round, dark, glistening quality of the fruit invites that comparison.  “ a rat-grey fungus glutting on our cache” is a metaphor: the fungus is described as a greedy, living animal eating.

Other techniques:  This poem also contains examples of rhyme:  clot/knot; rot/not; alliteration – you ate that first one, and its flesh was sweet;  the fruit fermented; we trekked and picked;  we found a fur. Examples of repetition include round hayfields, cornfields.

The poet is trying to convey the intense emotion he felt when picking blackberries the previous year, and the impact it had on his senses of touch, sight and smell. He clearly loved the sensation of handling the fruit and looking at it, and was disgusted  by the smell of the rotten berries. He also expresses disappointment and sadness that the fruit, once picked, cannot last.

One of the joys of reading poetry is finding your own meaning. Poets clearly have something to say, but they cannot control completely the effect the poem will have on readers.  The effect a poem has on us individually will depend on a lot on our own experiences and personality. For example, for me, approaching 60,  I felt this poem had something to say about youth with its exuberance, intensity, innocence and hope, but it may not have had that effect on you at all.