Poetry Analysis Digging by Seamus Heaney

By: Stella Mcintyre

Published: April 23, 200
Picture the poet sitting at his !riting des" loo"ing out on his #ather digging the #lo!er
bed$ All that separates them is a single pane o# glass$ %hilst seemingly insubstantial,
this barrier bet!een #ather and son is at the &ery heart o# Digging and leads to the
metaphor 'snug as a gun'$ Heaney li"ens his pen to a !eapon !ith !hich to protect
himsel# #rom criticisms about his choice o# career$
A large section o# Heaney(s body o# !or" deals !ith separation and isolation$ His
isolation #rom #amily is clear on his return #rom school #or his brother(s #uneral in 'Mid)
*erm Brea"'+ his #ears about #arming are e,plored in '*he Barn' and '-arly Purges'+ his
admiration #or his #ather and #rustration at his o!n lac" o# s"ill are presented in
'.ollo!er' !hilst his lac" o# understanding o# nature is e,pressed ironically in 'Death o# a
/aturalist'$ Digging is a coming to terms !ith all these issues$ -ssentially circular in
structure, the changes made bet!een the #irst lines and the closing lines re&eal that
Heaney has #ound an ans!er$ He may ne&er be as s"illed as his #orebears in !or"ing
the land but his s"ill !ith a pen can recreate that li#estyle, "eep it #resh and e&er)present
in the minds o# his readers$
*he poem begins in the present$ Heaney is !riting+ his #ather is digging$ *his is as it
al!ays is$ 0t is important to note that Heaney 'loo"s do!n' at his #ather(s 'straining
rump'$ 1iterally his position at the !indo! is ele&ated but !e also get the sense that
Heaney someho! #eels superior to manual !or" and that he is not com#ortable !ith this
#eeling$ *he description o# his #ather(s bac"side as a 'rump' aligns him !ith the natural
!orld$
*he ne,t stan2a presents us !ith a #lashbac" to pre&ious years be#ore his #ather(s
retirement #rom #arming: 'Bends lo!, comes up t!enty years a!ay'$ %e mo&e
e##ortlessly #rom #lo!erbed to potato drills allo!ing Heaney to describe his #ather(s s"ills$
*he parado,ical 'coarse boot nestled' sho!s the physicality o# digging alongside the
lo&e #or it$
Heaney uses a t!o line stan2a beginning !ith the e,clamatory 'By 3od' to ta"e us
#urther bac" to his grand#ather(s digging s"ills$ *he e,clamation and the con&ersational
tone add a #eeling o# being !ith Heaney as he reminisces$ /eatly Heaney has ta"en us
bac" to his #ore#athers to sho! that !or"ing !ith the land has al!ays been a tradition in
the #amily$ He has bro"en this chain by choosing to become a !riter$
*he ne,t stan2a is a memory o# &isiting his grand#ather as he cuts peat #rom the bog$
*he 'bottle cor"ed sloppily !ith paper' re#lects Heaney(s clumsiness in practical matters
but also a di##erent use o# paper to the one he is really s"illed at$ *his is a #amily proud o#
their achie&ements !hich are measured by a spade and the ability to handle one: 'My
grand#ather could cut more tur# in a day than any other man on *oner(s bog'$
*he penultimate stan2a re&eals the di##iculties created by Heaney(s !ish to !rite$ *he
'curt cuts through li&ing roots' are not only the sharp edge o# the spade cutting through
li&ing tur#$ *hey are the sharp !ords spo"en as Heaney cuts his ties !ith his #amily(s
traditional means o# earning a li&ing$
And so !e return to the beginning lines o# the poem !ith the signi#icant change #rom 'as
snug as a gun' to '0(ll dig !ith it'$ Heaney recogni2es that his s"ill !ith a pen is
comparable to that o# his #ore#athers !ith a spade$ He also reali2es that he can continue
the lo&e #or s"illed !or" !ith the land through his !riting$
4ust as his grand#ather !as 'digging do!n and do!n #or the good tur#' so !ill Heaney
dig do!n and do!n #or the good stu## that ma"es his poetry so e,5uisite$