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 d