Analysis Of Digging By Seamus Heaney

Poems consist of a variation of different techniques in order to convey a message or idea to readers. Wilfred Owen, Thomas Hardy, Adrienne Rich, Bruce Dawe and Robert Browning are great poets who explore these issues, conveying their emotions, which influences a perception of an issue. In each of their poems they express the hidden message of hope, along with their main message. They use similar techniques to express their ideas, which illustrates their purpose to the reader.

Two of the poems written by Seamus Heaney, “Digging” and “Blackberry Picking”, contain recurring themes while both discussing entirely different scenes. The first poem, “Digging”, talks about Heaney’s memories of hearing his father digging in the potato garden outside the house. The second poem, “Blackberry-Picking”, carries a similar solemn tone, while describing another memory of Heaney’s of his experience with picking blackberries. These poems by Heaney share similar themes of reflection of his past experiences in which he dissects important life lessons from everyday events such as the passage of time and the uncertainty of life.

So we can see he doesn't feel the same passion about nature any more, it was a "death" of the naturalist. 'Digging' is about a young man who feels that he is not worthy to follow in his father's footsteps. He tells the reader about how great his father and grandfather were, but throughout the poem he says very little about himself. Towards the end his mind is changed. Although his ancestors were hard working men who earned their living through digging, he feels that his writing is a worthy path to follow.

Like a shovel to dirt as a pen to paper. In “Digging,” Seamus Heaney uses specific elements such as diction, and imagery to convey his meaning that children don’t always want to be like their past generations of men.

In the poem “To Paint a Water Lily” by Ted Hughes, the speaker conveys his attitude toward nature as perplexing, complex, and deceiving. He also expresses his opinion of the artist and the difficulties brought on by him trying to paint and recreate not only the picture of a water lily and its natural scene, but also capture the intense environment that is both peaceful and full of constant activity. The author achieves this through literary techniques such as: imagery and juxtaposition.

The reflection of each poet's childhood is displayed within these lines helping to build a tone for the memories of each narrator.

Family traditions/heritage is an aggregate of attitude, ideas, ideals and the environment, which a person inherits from his parents/ancestors. Individual identity entails aspect of one’s life that no one has control over, i.e., race, the color of skin, beliefs, etc. These family traditions and cultural legacies play a detrimental role in influencing one’s self-identity, which can be both negative and positive. A positive legacy consists of the trait that is inherited from consistent, diligent and thoughtful families. On the other hand, negative legacies are the ones that face opposition or rejection and are unwelcome in the family. Latter seem more prevalent in cases of adopting cultural shifts where an individual rejects legacies that were carried on for generations, and adopt a new way of life and be him/herself. Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” and Seamus Heaney’s “Digging” have a common central theme that is to show us how an individual breaks their family traditions and embrace a new way of life, and the consequences faced after that turnout.

Work is one of the many personal commitments we have in life that fulfill our passion and needs. “Digging” and “Warren Pryor” are both related to work, and how having a certain occupation should be personally fulfilling. In these poems, the author portrays two different points of view. Underlying the true intention, both poems reveal the strong admiration both leads had upon their parents and what kind of work they had done. Both Seamus Heany’s “Digging” and Aiden Nowlan’s “Warren Pryor” suggest that when an individual has close relationships, they are often prone to influences, and as a result may choose their occupation accordingly.

Poetry has a role in society, not only to serve as part of the aesthetics or of the arts. It also gives us a view of what the society is in the context of when it was written and what the author is trying to express through words. The words as a tool in poetry may seem ordinary when used in ordinary circumstance. Yet, these words can hold more emotion and thought, however brief it was presented.

In today’s modern view, poetry has become more than just paragraphs that rhyme at the end of each sentence. If the reader has an open mind and the ability to read in between the lines, they discover more than they have bargained for. Some poems might have stories of suffering or abuse, while others contain happy times and great joy. Regardless of what the poems contains, all poems display an expression. That very moment when the writer begins his mental journey with that pen and paper is where all feelings are let out. As poetry is continues to be written, the reader begins to see patterns within each poem. On the other hand, poems have nothing at all in common with one another. A good example of this is in two poems by a famous writer by

A well-written poem would help one to engage into the work with their senses. One should be able to ask themselves what the poem caused them to think, hear, see, feel, taste, and to determine what he or she learned from the poet’s words. Many people believe that because poetry is an enigmatic art, and that there is no way for sure to know the

conversation. It isn't like a poem at all. It says "By god the old man

poem is not merely a static, decorative creation, but that it is an act of communication between the poet and

is the idea of the bone as stone, with the mind as a catapult. This

The use of visual imagery in each poem immensely contributed to conveying the theme. In the poem