STRUCTURE OF THE POEM
‘Digging’ is an 8-stanza, 31-line poem written in free verse with irregular line lengths and no consistent rhyme scheme. The poet rejects the traditional approach to writing poetry. He uses his creativity to use words in order to knit this poem. An unnamed person narrates the poem from a first-person perspective; whether or not Heaney means for the speaker to be himself is not clear. The poem follows no specific form or meter.
POETIC DEVICES IN THE POEM
- Symbolism : Words such as , “Spade”, “Pen”, “Soil” and “Earth”, “Speakers Body” represent deeper ideas from the poem. The spade becomes a powerful symbol of physical labour. It establishes a connection between the speaker’s family and their rural Irish heritage. The pen becomes a powerful symbol of the creative work that is used in writing. The soil symbolises the physical and creative labour that goes into making something new. The speaker’s hand (body) symbolizes a creativity.
- Metaphor : “The squat pen rests; as snug as a gun”. The poet compares the pen to a weapon. It suggests the power and force of the speaker’s writing.
- Imagery : Under my window, a clean rasping sound When the spade sinks into gravelly ground My father, digging. I look down.” The sound of the spade sinking into the earth is described in such detail that the reader can almost hear it. It is one of the prominent techniques that the poet uses in almost every poem.
- Repetition : The poet also is well aware of the uses of the literary device of repetition. Heaney repeats certain phrases and images in the poem. It creates a sense of rhythm and pattern. The poet writes many a time the phrase ‘digging’. He uses it to emphasise the central action of the poem. The poet also repeats the phrase ‘Between my finger and my thumb’ several times. He draws his readers’ attention towards the speaker’s hand and the pen that he holds.
- Enjambment: The use of enjambment creates a sense of continuity and flow in the poem. Enjambment is a device that a poet uses to create a sense of fluidity and movement. A poet uses enjambment when he wants to describe something in two or more than two lines of poetry. Heaney uses this technique throughout the poem.
- Simile : “The squat pen rests; snug as a gun”. Here the pen is compared to a gun. Though not physically, a pen or a written word can also hurt people.
- Metre There is no set regular metre in this poem although tetrameter, four beats per line, and pentameter lines dominate, especially pentameter, five beats per line. This steady core parallels the action of the digger, steady and without extremes. The opening lines are iambic tetrameter, with four stresses in each line: Between / my fin / ger and / my thumb The squat / pen rests; / snug as / a gun. But note the trochees (2nd line, 2nd and 3rd feet) which together with the semi-colon pauses the reader and places stress on pen and snug. Pentameters follow in lines 3 and 4: Under / my win / dow, a / clean rasp / ing sound When the / spade sinks / into / gravel / ly ground. Both lines have five feet and a mix of iambic, trochaic and spondaic. The spondees bring force to the words— clean rasp and spade sinks – and, especially in line 4, combine with trochees to bring assertive action as the spade does its work. Shorter lines tend to slow things down, so note that stanzas 2,3,5 and 8 end with short lines to reflect the slowing down of the spadework being observed.
MOOD/TONE
The poem is written in a reflective and serious tone as the poet reflects on work and family bonds. The poet describes his grandfather and father with a serious tone. The mood of the poem is as well reflective and serious.
LANGUAGE AND DICTION
The language and diction of the poem is characterized by sensory imagery and symbolism. Again, it employs earthy, rural diction in words such as, “Gravelly ground”, “Potato drills”, and “Sods”. Words such as “Spade” symbolizes the connection to the speaker’s farming heritage.
Credit to H.K OCRAN/ LiTTROVE