Practice exam 2 "analysis and response"

"Digging" by Seamus Heaney is a very personal and descriptive poem about the authors recollection of family traditions and the joy that his memories bring him. The author brings to remembrance the work of his grandfather and the work of his father, and in this poem, Heaney believes that though his tool is different, his work can be the same.

The author writes "Under my window, a clean rasping sound when the spade sinks into gravelly ground: My father, digging. I look down" (Heaney 3-5). This statement brings to recollection Heaney's younger days, while in his room writing he would look down under his window to see his father digging with a spade. The author paints a picture in the mind of his readers of the skill his father had with the spade, and how clearly he remembers the details of his father working out in the flower garden planting potatoes as he writes, "The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft against the inside knee was levered firmly." (Heaney 10-11). With the imagery used by Heaney, one can practically see, hear, smell and feel his lived experience in the garden.

Similarly, the author brings to light his recollection of his fathers father and the work that he accomplished. "By God, the old man could handle a spade. Just like his old man" (Heaney 15-16). The author writes about how likewise, his grandfather was a master of his trade in the garden as well as his father in saying, "My grandfather cut more turf in a day than any other man on Toner's bog" (Heaney 17-18). These statements elevate the work of his father, and his fathers father. Consider the diction used in the statement "to follow men like them" (Heaney 28). The author clearly holds those men in high esteem because of the work they did. In all of this detailed recollection of the writer, one can see the respect Heaney has for the work of the men in his family in the previous generation and his desire to do similar work.

 Lastly, the author, wanting to be like his father and his grandfather and the work that they did, both digging, acknowledges that we are all given different talents and that his talent is not like theirs. This is evident when the author writes, "But I have no spade to follow men like them" (Heaney 28). Instead, Heaney believes his squat pen to be the tool of his trade. This is evident when the author writes, "Between my finger and my thumb the squat pen rests. I'll dig with it. One can see that the author intends to follow the traditions of his grandfather and father by digging with the abilities that he has been given.

In this poem "Digging" Heaney illustrates his desire to dig  as his father and grandfather did, not in dirt or gravel, but on paper with a squat pen. In using the abilities that he has been given the author intends on carrying on the family tradition. "Digging" by Seamus Heaney is  a piece of art that brings to life the recollection of days past and how to carry those learned behaviors into the future.