Digging (Poem)

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Digging by Seamus Heaney is the first poem in the collection Death of a Naturalist.

This poem is the reconciliatory expression of an artist who will not follow in his father and grandfather’s footsteps as a common laborer. It concerns his admiration for his father's and grandfather's skill at digging, and his determination to use his chosen tool - his squat pen, snug as a gun.

It symbolises the changing face of Ireland, from a rural and backward country to a modern industrial nation. The author reflects on his childhood in rural Ireland, where he and his brothers used to help collect potatoes for his father, and tells of his wish to carry on that family tradition in his own way.He respects his heritage.

This poem is also important for Heaney as the title signifies he is digging into his past. This is particularly evident in the line "and comes up twenty years away", as it shows how the he has made the transtition from the modern day into the past.

Heaney, Seamus (1966). Death of a Naturalist. Faber and Faber Ltd, 46. 057120243.