Analysis of Seamus Heaney's Poem 'Digging' and its Themes

DIGGING Seamus Heaney

DIGGING BY SEAMUS HEANEY https://youtu.be/KNRkPU1LSUg?si=R96ZE6k-BXOtLv-0

Digging Between my finger and my thumb The squat pen rests; snug as a gun. Under my window, a clean rasping sound When the spade sinks into gravelly ground: My father, digging. I look down Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds Bends low, comes up twenty years away Stooping in rhythm through potato drills Where he was digging. The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft Against the inside knee was levered firmly. He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep To scatter new potatoes that we picked, Loving their cool hardness in our hands. By God, the old man could handle a spade. Just like his old man. My grandfather cut more turf in a day Than any other man on Toner's bog. Once I carried him milk in a bottle Corked sloppily with paper. He straightened up To drink it, then fell to right away Nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods Over his shoulder, going down and down For the good turf. Digging. The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge Through living roots awaken in my head. But I've no spade to follow men like them. Between my finger and my thumb The squat pen rests. I'll dig with it.

Background "Digging" is one of the most widely known poems by Seamus Heaney It begins with the speaker hovering over a blank page with a pen, preparing to write. The speaker then reflects on the work ethic and skill of his father and grandfather, both of whom worked the land as farmers. Though the speaker is breaking with that specific familial tradition, the speaker presents writing as its own kind of labour, with speaker vowing to "dig" with the pen.

Analysis This poem is autobiographical in nature. The speaker, Heaney, is sitting at his writing desk, preparing to write, when he hears his father working in the garden outside. This conjures memories of the speaker as a young boy, listening and watching as his father digs in the potato garden.

The speaker marvels at how well his father digs, which brings up an even older memory of his grandfather, his father s father, completing the arduous (hard) task of digging through peat moss. Toward the end of the poem, the speaker writes as though he can smell the potatoes from the garden and the peat moss his grandfather has dug. He confesses that he does not have a spade like the two generations before him, but he does have a pen which he will use to dig.

The first stanza contains only two lines. The speaker is focusing on the pen in his hand. Heaney utilises (uses) a simile, telling the reader the pen rests snug as a gun. The reference to a gun is no coincidence: Heaney expects the reader to think that the pen is his instrument, his weapon. This idea will repeat itself in the last stanza of the poem.

This poem give us a glimpse into the lives of hardworking Irishmen. In previous generations, men had to dig for both food and fuel. Digging explores the relationship between three generations: the speaker, his father, and the speaker s grandfather. The speaker lives a very different life to his ancestors he s a writer, whereas his father and grandfather were farmers. However, even though he isn t a digger of the earth, the speaker realises that he can still honor his heritage by embracing the values of his elders.

Analysis questions How does this poem reflect the speaker's feelings about his heritage and how he has split away from it? 1. What is the main theme of the poem "Digging?" 2. What is the main message of the poem "Digging"? 3. Identify two poetic techniques in this poem. Explain how the usage affects the meaning of the poem. 4.