DIGGING
Digging is a poem written by Seamus Heaney, an Irish poet in i n the year 1966. It comes from his first collection of poems entitled entitled ‘Death of a Naturalist’. It is a poem that not only marks Heaney’s entrance in the world of writing, but also introduces Heaney and his background to the reader. This poem is written in first person, the persona in the th e poem is strongly indicated to be the poet Heaney himself.
This poem deals with Heaney’s admiration for his family’s profession, yet serves as a justification as to why he broke free of family tradition to become a writer. The first stanza ‘ Between my finger and my thumb, The squat pen rests; snug as a gun’- tells us of Heaney’s level of comfort with the written word, so much so that it is like second nature to him (in those times, men were very familiar with the gun, especially since Heaney was from Northern Ireland where conflict was always rampant- hence a man’s ability to defend himself and his family was impertinent). He speaks of how perfectly perfectly it sits in his hand, and one gets a sense of how content Heaney is with holding it. However, we can also infer that Heaney sees the pen as a powerful weapon comparable to any gun- and hence this may be his way of conveying his belief in the power po wer of the written word to the reader. Hence the use of this metaphor is unusual, but it effectively draws attention to the similarities between the pen and guns- allowing the reader to not only draw parallels between these two seemingly dissimilar objects, but also gives the reader a glimpse of the violence he grew up in. Heaney’s lack of use of a proper rhyme scheme in this poem lends it a stilted, almost disjointed feel- but he has peppered the poem with some rhyming words and alliterations that lends to the aural quality qu ality of the poem that appeals to the reader’s senses. For example, in stanza two, he has rhymed ‘rasping sound’ together with ‘gravelly ground’. This sporadic rhyming ensures t hat the true essence of the poem reaches the reader while also ensuring a flow and a beat to the poem that makes reading it more enjoyable. Heaney also uses some strange adjectives in his poem. For example he uses the word ‘clean’ to describe a ‘rasping sound’. This conjures up images of a spade sinking quickly and deftly into the ground, with a metallic clink or rasp to the movement as the spade hits the coarse ground. Hence, Heaney allows us to see and hear through his eyes clearly through his creative use of words and imagery. Another instance is the ‘cold smell of potato mold’ and the ‘squelch and slap’ - all these to evoke powerful images in our minds that appeal to our senses. Heaney’s liberal use of verbs also makes it an interesting read ,as mentally, it allows the reader to connect with his father and grandfather. This allows a deep imprint of the poem into our minds, making it a memorable sensory appearance. The phrase in the second stanza ‘I look down’ has a powerful, pivotal meaning in the poem. It could mean the author literally looking down on his h is father from where he is being seated above in his house, but it could also mean that Heaney saw himself above the sort of physical, manual labor his father was engaging in, probably due to his higher level of education. It could also mean Heaney looking down twenty years in time (almost like going down memory lane) to the past, as
seen in the next stanza ‘comes up twenty years away’. Hence this phrase could be the transit to another time, as there is a noticeable tense change between the second stanza (written in present tense) and the third stanza (written in past tense). This phrase also brings to light a certain amount of distance or gap between the father and son- implying that their relationship might not have been very friendly. The poem also clearly shows us the poet ’s mixed feelings about the manual work that his father is doing. On one hand he seems almost appalled by the taxing nature of the work – hence the use of words like ‘straining rump’ and stooping in rhythm’ to highlight the physical exertions this type of work r equires. But on the other hand, it is also implied that the poet himself may have enjoyed the manual labour as in stanza four we see that he used to help to pick the new potatoes and how much he loved their cool hardness. The phrase ‘stooping in rhythm’ also implies that the persona knew that his father probably enjoyed his work despite the mechanical nature of it. This is further implied in the fourth stanza where he writes his father’s boot to be ‘nestled on the lug’ implying that the poet’s father shared a certain level of comfort and love for his profession. However, Heaney’s appreciation and acknowledgement of this hard work is apparent in ‘Loving their cool hardness in our hands’. It also implies that Heaney is able to appreciate the simple things in life- like harvesting new potatoes- even when he looks down memory lane.
Heaney’s pride and admiration for the hard work of his family is quite apparent by the fifth stanza- the shortest stanza of the poem- which reads ‘ By God, the old man could handle a spade, just like his old man’. This stanza has an surprised tone to it, as if the thought had just crossed his mind that his father worked the spade just like his grandfather. The usage of ‘by god’ implies the deep sense of admiration that the poet has t owards his father’s skill with the spade. It is almost as if he were to be boasting to the reader about his father’s skill. This tells us that although he himself is not part of the profession, Heaney is very much aware of the hard work that his family has put in for generations, and that despite choosing to do something different, he still acknoleges and embraces his family traditions. However, this stanza also marks the transition to another time further back during the time of his grandfather, and is significant as it capsules the work of two generations in one stanza. It shows that the farming and the manual labour is a family tradition passed down from generation to generation. The sixth stanza also highlights the poet’s admiration and pride for his fa mily legacy- he describes the ardrous labour that his grandfather used to engage in at the bog with loving detail and proclaims him the best, saying that no one ever cut more turf in a day than his grandfather.Here again, he also implies that like his father, his grandfather too liked his profession- by describing his grandfather to be ‘going down and down’. The poet also hints at a good but perfunctory relationship with his grandfather- he mentions brining him milk in a rather offhand, casual manner and th e use of ‘once’ implies that maybe he did not do so too often. The part where the milk bottle was ‘corked sloppily with paper’ also
tells us of the pragmatic, practical nature of the poet- he is not so much interested in asthetic appearances. Hence, by this point in the poem, we as readers understand that Heaney probably spent a great deal of time watching his father and grandfather work as he is able to recount their actions in almost loving detail. It is almost as if these images are preserved in his mind- as seen in ‘through living roots awaken in my head’. Heaney doesn’t try to deny or forget the literal roots of his family. Instead he chooses to honor them and celebrate them unabashedly. It is almost as if he were to be paying homage to the great work of his father and grandfather, and how they worked to feed their families. He makes it apparent that he still is as deeply connected to his roots and they are a part of him- but yet his admiration is not his passion. He sees himself separate from his grandfather and father- he groups them together- ‘men like them’. This could be his haughtiness speaking, but after reading the entire poem and seeing the sincerity and the grounded nature of Heaney, I am led to believe that he seems almost sad and sorry that he does not have the inclination to follow them- ‘but I’ve no spade to follow men like them’. The title of the poem-‘digging’- not only serves to summarize the profession of his father and grandfather, but it may also serve to compare the different types of digging in the poem (digging with a pen as compared to digging with a spade). It may also suggest that the poem is Heaney’s way of digging or going back to find and define his own roots and identity- almost like digging through his past. The multiple meanings of the title and what they could signify adds different dimensions and perspectives to the poem. In essence, the whole poem is an extended metaphor. Heaney places constant emphasis on the word ‘digging’ in every stanza, and his last stanza’s last phrase ‘I’ll dig with it’ speaks of determination. It almost feels as if Heaney wants to do a good job like his father and grandfather, and have the same dedication that they had towards their profession. This phrase also speaks of hope and the hard work that Heaney believes he will have to do in the future to hone and get to the heart of his craft. It could also be a metaphor for digging through his memories. I do also believe that by drawing parallels to digging with a pen and digging with a spade, Heaney wants to establish that digging with the pen is his choice, and that it can be comparable to the ardor of manual work. The poem also speaks of his trouble in going away from the expected path to become a writer, while still struggling to connect and cherish where he came from. He is almost trying to justify his choice of profession. His love for the nature and his family is evident in the poem, and the poem carries an almost wistful tone to it has he recollects the significant and deeply imprinted memories from his childhood that he associates with digging. Digging obviously has a deep meaning in his life and he has used his personal connection to both the word and the action- literally and figuratively to compose the poem.
