In the poem "Digging," Seamus Heaney introduces an unnamed speaker about to write, but is distracted and worried when he thinks of his dad working in the fields. The speaker delves deep into his past as he admires and respects his family's incredibly strenuous labor. He then realizes and accepts that he can't follow his family's footsteps by digging, but will instead "dig" with his writing. Heaney uses moods and tones of anxiety, admiration, complacency, and eventually confidence to show the speaker's mix of emotions and his struggle between individuality and family obligation, pen and spade.
I. When Heaney introduces the speaker, we can tell he is anxious as he attempts to write.
a. "The squat pen rests; snug as a fun: (2)
b. "Under my window, a clean rasping sound when the spade sinks into gravelly ground" (3-4)
c. "I look down" (5)
II. As the speaker reminisces of his father and grandfather, Heaney uses prideful tone and language to show the speaker's admiration for his ancestors.
a. "The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft against the inside knee was levered firmly" (10-11)
b. "By God, the old man could handle a spade" (15)
c. "going down and down for the good turf" (23-24)
III. When the speaker snaps back to his own life, he complacently admits his inability to dig, but feels confident about his own writing.
a. "But I've no spade to follow men like them" (28)
b. "I'll dig with it" (31)
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