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Seamus Heaney was born in 1939 and became one of the most brilliant Irish poets, translators, and playwrights. His first significant volume, Death of a Naturalist, was published in 1966 and included Heaneys probably most read poem, Digging, in which the poet is thinking about his grandfathers and fathers occupation (Heaney, p. 12). In this poem, by remembering and honoring his familys business but choosing his own vocation and, thus, entering the future, the speaker becomes a connecting link between his ancestors and the next generations.
As the poet is reflecting on his and his familys past and future, the mood of this poem is melancholic. Heaney is watching his father digging potatoes outside the window as it is their familys occupation (Heaney, p. 12). However, the speakers tool is not a spade but a pen, and his working field is not the soil but a sheet of paper (Heaney, lines 28-31). These lines emphasize the poets inability to be like his father and grandfather because he is a different person:
But Ive no spade to follow men like them.
Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests.
Ill dig with it. (Heaney, lines 28-31)
Although he is not like them, the poet mentions that he is not going to write with the pen but dig with it, which means that he will be as dedicated to his job as his father is, and this is another connection with his family.
Also, there is a different way of interpreting the spade changing to the pen. Just like swords were remade into shovels to establish peace, now, pens are becoming future generations tools for creating art (ODonoghue, p. 63). People honor their ancestors deeds, but it is time for some changes (McGranahan, p. 43). The window in which the poet is looking symbolizes his physiological entrance into his own life. At the same time, it is also a possibility of seeing his family, so it is simultaneously the window to the past and future.
To draw a conclusion, one may say that this poem is Heaneys way to remind the readers of the importance of finding the balance. In other words, it is crucial for people to live their own lives and always remember the past of their families. Like potatoes, every person has his or her roots ancestors, and it is of vital importance to honor them but become who he or she wants.
Works Cited
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Heaney, Seamus. Digging. Death of a Naturalist, Faber, 1966, p. 12.
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McGranahan, Carole. Digging with the Pen. Writing Anthropology: Essays on Craft and Commitment, edited by Carole McGranahan, Duke University Press, 2020, pp. 43-45.
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ODonoghue, Bernard. Seamus Heaney and the Language of Poetry. Routledge, 2017.
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