The poem was inspired by the discovery of a prehistoric, mummified man in a bog in the Jutland Peninsula, Denmark in 1950. It was estimated that he lived during the 4th century BCE. It was believed that he was part of a human sacrifice ritual and died through strangulation. It is a companion poem to one about another find in Denmark, entitled Strange Fruit.

The body had been so well preserved that initially it was mistaken for a recent murder victim. This focused worldwide attention on the circumstances of the man’s death and what the discovery revealed about the way the ancient society to which he belonged was organised.

Structure
The poem is divided into three parts, and each part divided into quatrains or four-lined stanzas. There is no regular rhyme scheme or regular metrical rhythm. Lines are enjambed and the language spare; characteristic of Heaney.

Language and Imagery
The voice is that of a first person speaker, we can assume the poet, using the first person singular pronoun “I”. The tone is serious and understated, adding to its impact. The narrative comprises a mix of matter-of-fact description and more lyrical sections that enhance the emotional undertones. No words are wasted.

Effective metaphors abound, for example stanza four section 1 where the “dark juices” have multiple meanings.

References to the Catholic religion are also present, for example “blasphemy” and “consecration” in Part II stanza one, the “saint’s kept body” in Part I stanza four.

The language is a mix of colloquial and lyrical. For example, the “sad freedom” attributed to the man compares to the practical description of the body when it was found.

For comparison
Bog Child, novel by Siobhan Dowd.
Strange Fruit, Seamus Heaney