In the poem Digging, Seamus Heaney uses similes and metaphors to show his love for his family. He compares his father and his grandfathers tradition of farming to his love of writing. Seamus Heaney shares his desire to excel in what he does just like his fathers excelled in what they did.
The overarching comparison is between farming and writing. Heaney starts the poem with images of his father farming. “When the spade sinks into gravelly ground: My father digging. I look down” line 4. I picked this image of a man and his farm because I felt it best showed the mental image that Heaney was trying to paint. Through this picture you not only see the literal, Heaney’s father and his farm but you can also feel the love that Heaney is trying to show. Heaney takes pride in his fathers work and the land his father owns. He sees his fathers dedication and hard work and wants to emulate his father’s dedication in his writing.
Just like his father and his grandfather Heaney wants to excel in what he does. This next picture represents the tools and space that Heaney will use to ply his craft. In the poem Heaney states “But I’ve no spade to follow men like them. Between my finger and my thumb The squat pen rests. I’ll dig with it.” line 28. His father and his grandfather both had spades and land to ply their craft. This image shows Heaney’s spade, his land and the fruits of his labor. Heaney’s spade is his pen, his notebook is his land and the ideas and literary works are the fruit of his labor. Like his father and grandfather Heaney is proud of what he does and wishes to excell and carry on the tradition of excellent that is part of his family legacy.
2 comments:
I like the images you found and how they relate to the images that Heaney presents in his poem, and your analysis of these images. I agree with the direction you took, including the "Love for Family" motif.
I like your analysis on this poem and I love your title. I also enjpy the analysis of the images in the poem. I agree with you fully in your last part of your analysis:
Heaney’s spade is his pen, his notebook is his land and the ideas and literary works are the fruit of his labor. Like his father and grandfather Heaney is proud of what he does and wishes to excell and carry on the tradition of excellent that is part of his family legacy.
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