Attempt a critical
analysis of Seamus Heaney’s Digging.
“Digging” by Seamus Heaney is a poem
that speaks of the hunt or “dig” for purpose in the midst of a swell of
emotions that encompass conflict, admiration, awe and regret. We are swept into
the past where the speaker’s nostalgia explains to us readers the importance of
a family legacy and the remembrance of our roots. The recurring phrase
“digging” in the title as well as in the context of the poem makes readers
think that we are looking at a term that is more than just a symbol of farming
in the wild. This makes the poem a complex representation of family bonds,
legacy and a pursuit of a man’s purpose that requires more than a cursory read
to fully appreciate and comprehend the relationship between the context and the
title “Digging”.
The most discernible theme of this
poem is the idea of conflict. Heaney opens the poem with a couplet that paints
a vivid image of the speaker sitting with a pen in his hand, presumably to
begin writing, an occupation or hobby that is usually known to be quite
passive. However, the simile “snug as a gun” acts as a paradox because,
although a “gun” and a “pen” are both tools used by humans, a “gun” is a symbol
of violence and turmoil that brings out a new aspect to this seemingly peaceful
image. This makes the readers speculate whether there is an internal conflict
within the speaker while he sits down to write.
Our speculation is proved correct in
the next stanza where we are introduced to another key figure in this poem – the
speaker’s father – who is engrossed in “digging”. This contrast between the
father’s physically intensive activity outdoors and the speaker’s mentally
taxing activity indoors surprises the readers who immediately conclude that the
father is a farmer and that the speaker has abandoned the family trade to
pursue writing. Thus, the disparity between the activities happening indoors
and outdoors in this scenario sheds light on a possible cause of the speaker’s
conflict – the persona’s inability to continue the family trade (for reasons
unknown).................................................................................................................................................
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