Essays on Digging

Seamus Heaney paints a picture of Ireland through his poems, at times describing its culture and at other times its politics. In poems like ‘Digging’ and ‘The Follower’ he ascribes a sense of dignity to the act of farming, comparing it to the art of writing poetry. Northern Ireland, where Heaney was born in 1939, was predominantly an agrarian economy. Heaney himself grew up on a farm, which played a large role in making the land a dominant motif in…

Seamus Heaney was born in Northern Ireland in 1939 to a working class family. Being the eldest of nine siblings wasn't easy yet Heaney's intelligence was highlighted when he won a scholarship to a catholic school at the tender age of twelve. He had an agricultural background and was raised on the family farm where he stood proud of his hard working ancestors and their skills. After studying Heaney's first pair of poems 'Digging' and 'Follower' I can especially relate…

"Digging" by Seamus Heaney, reveals how the author looked up to his dad and grandpa. He sees his dad, who is now old, "straining" to dig "flowerbeds", the poet remembers him in his prime, digging "potato drills". Even previously, he remembers his grandfather, digging peat. He can not match "men like them" with a spade, but he sees that the pen is, "tight as a gun", more comfy for him and with it he will dig into his past and…