“Digging” by Seamus Heaney is a poem about a man (the speaker) who watches his father digging in the garden and remembers how hard his father and grandfather used to work with their hands—digging up potatoes and cutting turf (peat) from the ground. They were strong, skilled men who worked the land.
The speaker, however, is different. He does not work with a spade like them. Instead, he is a writer. He holds a pen, not a shovel. Even though he isn’t following their exact path, he still respects their hard work and wants to honour it in his own way.
At the end of the poem, he says he will “dig” with his pen. This means he will write about the world and his family’s life, just like they worked the soil. Writing is his form of digging.
Seamus Heaney (1939–2013) was an Irish poet, born in County Derry, Northern Ireland. He grew up in a rural farming community, and many of his poems reflect this upbringing. He is known for exploring themes such as nature, heritage, rural life, and personal identity. Heaney later became one of the most celebrated poets of the 20th century, winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995.
“Digging” is the first poem in Heaney’s debut collection, Death of a Naturalist (1966). It is set in rural Ireland during the mid-20th century. This was a time when traditional farming practices were still common in the region. The poem captures the sounds, smells, and scenes of working the land.
Heaney was the eldest of nine children and the first in his family to attend university. “Digging” is deeply personal and reflective of his family heritage and the path he has chosen. It is indicative of his transition from rural labour background to intellectual pursuit. While his father and grandfather were skilled farmers and turf cutters, Heaney turns to poetry as his own form of labour. This poem sets the tone for his literary career which is rooted in memory, place, and self-exploration.
Structure of “Digging”
“Digging” is a thirty-one line poem divided into eight uneven stanzas. The poem is written in free verse. Its loose structure mirrors the natural flow of memory and thought, fitting for a reflective and personal poem. Here is an outline of the number of lines each stanza has:
- Stanza 1 has two lines.
- Stanza 2 has three lines.
- Stanza 3 has four lines.
- Stanza 4 has five lines.
- Stanza 5 has two lines.
- Stanza 6 has eight lines.
- Stanza 7 has four lines.
- Stanza 8 has three lines.
The poem alternates between the present and the past. It begins in the present with the speaker observing his father digging, then, it shifts to the past with his rememberance of his father’s and grandfather’s work. It moves to the present again when he returns to his pen and writing. In the same vein, the varying stanza lengths in the poem also mimic the rhythm of digging: steady but with stops and starts.
Also noteworthy is the circular structure of the poem which reinforces the poet’s choice to “dig” with a pen instead of a spade. The poem begins and ends with a nearly identical image: “Between my finger and my thumb / The squat pen rests…”. It shows he’s come to terms with his identity as a writer.
Stanza-by-Stanza Analysis of “Digging”
Stanza 1 (Lines 1-2)
The speaker begins by describing how the “squat pen rests” between his fingers. He compares it to something powerful, “snug as a gun”.
Here, the pen, like a gun, is seen as a tool of significant force and control. It symbolises the speaker’s creative power through writing.
Stanza 2 (Lines 3-5)
The speaker hears the sound of a spade sinking into the earth from “under my window”, a “clean rasping sound.” He watches his father work, “digging” in the garden, and he looks down. He observes the physical labour with a sense of nostalgia and reflection.
Stanza 3 (Lines 6-9)
The speaker recalls his father’s work from the past. He describes how his father’s “straining rump” bends low among the flowerbeds.
This memory takes him back “twenty years away”, to when his father was digging in “potato drills”. The rhythm of his father’s labour becomes a vivid memory, deeply tied to his identity.
Stanza 4 (Lines 10-14)
The speaker vividly describes his father’s technique in the garden. He notes how his “coarse boot nestled on the lug”, and how the “shaft” of the spade was firmly positioned against his father’s knee.
His father’s movements are rhythmic and precise as he “rooted out tall tops” and buried the spade deep into the earth to scatter new potatoes. The speaker remembers the cool hardness of the potatoes in their hands. He shows a deep appreciation for the physical labour and the bond it created.
Stanza 5 (Lines 15-16)
The speaker expresses admiration for his father’s skill with the spade. He exclaims, “By God, the old man could handle a spade”, and notes that his father was just as capable with the tool as his own father had been.
The line “Just like his old man” is indicative of the strong familial connection and the tradition of manual labour passed down through generations.
Stanza 6 (Lines 17-24)
The speaker turns to memories of his grandfather, who worked tirelessly on Toner’s bog. He recalls how his grandfather “cut more turf in a day” than any other man, showing his grandfather’s exceptional strength and work ethic.
The speaker reflects on a time when he carried milk to his grandfather. He remembers how his grandfather would “straighten up” to drink it, then immediately resume his work with precision, “nicking and slicing neatly”.
This memory highlights the hard work and dedication of the past generation. It reinforces the theme of labour and continuity. The phrase “Digging” at the end brings the focus back to the connection between past and present labour.
Stanza 7 (Lines 25-28)
The speaker recalls the sensory experiences of working the land. He remembers the cold smell of potato mould and the sound of soggy peat being cut. The “curt cuts” of a spade through living roots stir vivid memories of his father and grandfather’s labour.
However, the speaker reflects on his own limitations. He states “But I’ve no spade to follow men like them.” He acknowledges that he doesn’t have the physical tools to continue their type of work. He has chosen a different path. This is not seen as a rejection, but rather an evolution. He cannot continue the physical labour tradition, yet he remains part of it.
Stanza 8 (Lines 29-31)
The speaker concludes the poem by returning to his pen, which he holds between his fingers. He reaffirms that, though he doesn’t have a spade, “I’ll dig with it.”
The pen, as a creative tool, becomes his means of labour. The metaphor of “digging” with the pen suggests that writing, his intellectual labour, is just as valuable as the physical digging his father and grandfather did.
Just as his father and grandfather dug the earth for sustenance and survival, Heaney will dig into memory, history, and language with his pen. Writing becomes his form of work, his tool for exploring and preserving what his forebears physically shaped.
In short,
“Digging” is a metaphor for the writer’s search for purpose, identity, and connection to his family and culture. He doesn’t follow in their footsteps with a spade, but he honours them through words—the pen becomes his spade.
By his declaration of purpose, “I’ll dig with it”, the speaker will continue the family tradition of hard work but through the power of writing, not farming.
Tone and Mood
The tone of “Digging” is reflective, respectful, and quietly confident, while the mood is nostalgic, calm, and ultimately uplifting.
Figures of Speech in “Digging”
1. Simile
A simile compares two things using “like” or “as.” An instance of simile is in line 2 of the poem: “The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.”
The pen is compared to a gun in a way suggestive of the power in writing.
2. Metaphor
The main metaphor of the poem is “digging”: “I’ll dig with it.” Writing is compared to digging. The speaker won’t dig the earth like his ancestors; he’ll “dig” into memory, truth, and language using his pen.
3. Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words. It is instantiated in lines 4 and 26:
“spade sinks into gravelly ground”
“curt cuts”
These sounds mimic the motion and rhythm of digging.
4. Imagery
Imagery is the descriptive language that appeals to the senses. In the poem, Heaney uses strong imagery to bring the physical world of digging alive. Each stanza is packed with sensory imagery—the sounds, smells, and sights of digging:
“The squelch and slap of soggy peat”
“cold smell of potato mould”
This vividness brings the reader into the physical world of labour before returning to the poet’s mental and creative world.
5. Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia refers to words that imitate natural sounds. Good examples in the poem are “squelch and slap”. These words sound like the noise of digging into wet earth.
6. Repetition
The opening and closing lines of the poem are repeated: “Between my finger and my thumb / The squat pen rests.”
This repetition creates a circular structure and emphasises the speaker’s resolve to embrace writing as his craft.
7. Personification
While not overt, tools like the spade and pen are treated with human-like significance, almost like companions or extensions of the men who use them.
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