Digging by Seamus Heaney: Poem Summary

Digging by Seamus Heaney: Poem Summary

JS.N 
(2/09/2019)

Digging

Digging by Seamus Heaney was first published in 1966 in his poetry collection, Death of a Naturalist. He deals with the themes of root consciousness and respect to the ancestors in this poem.

At the beginning of the poem, the speaker is sitting at his desk with a pen that is resting in his hand. He compares the pen to the gun with the use of simile.

 “Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests as snug as gun."

The speaker implies that he has been digging with the pen which is as powerful as the gun. Suddenly he is diverted by the continuous sound of digging outside by his father. His father is digging potato field with the help of spades. He travels back to his past, as he digs into his memories, he finds the tradition of digging in both his father and grandfather. Ultimately, the speaker comes back to the present being ready for the writing.

He proudly declares that his father was the digger who followed the tradition of digging from his father when father dug for the potato drills, grandfather dug for the turf, but the tradition of digging has been continued. Heaney being the following generation has to follow the footsteps of his ancestors, but he got off the track and became a writer. This loss of tradition was due to the profession which he had undertaken and so towards the end of the poem, he affirms that he is also digging like his father but his way of digging is different from that of his father and grandfather.
Now, the speaker digs for his identity. He is going for the root or origin of his family's history. His digging can thus be seen with root-consciousness in mind. So, he wants to celebrate the root-consciousness by exploring into the personal history. He listens to the rhythm of the sound produced by the digging of his father and grandfather. He finds his family history coming from a long line of diggers, and he seems pretty proud.

Heaney is aware of the fact that his skill of digging with a pen is as powerful as his forefathers’ act of digging for the survival. Though the mode of digging is absolutely different from that of his ancestors, he is giving continuation to the tradition of digging, but with a pen. When he says, ‘I’ll dig with it.’ in the end of the poetry, he is sure with his writing career and proud enough for his selection.

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