Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney was a renowned Irish poet, and since Yeats, he has been regarded as the most outstanding Irish poet. Heaney’s contributions as a translator, playwright, and poet earned him the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. His works were diverse- some were inspired by postmodernism, several were romantic, and others were modernist. Among his many published poem is Digging. To understand the story behind the poem, one has to consider that apart from being under British rule for centuries, and thus being heavily influenced by British culture, Ireland was also extensively influenced by religion. The result of the deep-rooted religious ideologies in the country was political conflict, in that Catholics and Protestants could not agree whether Northern Ireland should have remained part of the United Kingdom or joined the rest of Ireland. Consequently, there were sectarian wars whose violence led to the death of many people. In the context of poetry, many writers got involved in the sectarian conflict, a factor that contributed to the gradual extinction of their poetry.
Digging by Seamus Heaney
However, Heaney’s poetry, unlike that of his peers, focuses on the period before the sectarian wars, when Ireland was a country at peace. Uncomfortable with the political and social situation in Ireland at the time of composing his poems, Heaney preferred to dig into his past to recover warmer memories from his childhood. Some of the memories he expresses in his poetry include the beautiful days he enjoyed as a child, a lady from his past who captured his attention, and his father’s occupation. İn this view, it can be seen that Digging is related to his family’s heritage. These lines reveal that the poem is autobiographical. When he talks about his father digging, Heaney uses imagery to portray his views on his own profession. For instance, in the first and last line of the poem, he discusses his father’s trade, and how it relates to his own work as a poet: “Between my finger and my thumb-The squat pen rests; snug as a gun” (Line 2). The gun is a metaphor to describe the might of the pen. The second line, therefore, introduces the idea that his father is a farmer, but in the fifth stanza, Heaney goes on to reveal that he was excellent at his job: “By God, the old man could handle a spade” (Line 15).
In addition, the fifth stanza serves the purpose of showing the reader that Heaney had broken away from a long tradition of farmers. He says that his father was good with the spade “just like his old man” (Line 16). In the last stanza, however, Heaney expresses the point that his profession is just as honorable when he says he will use the pen in hand to “dig with it” (Line 31). In the second stanza, the sound of the spade is a nostalgic voice from his childhood, while the bending low of his father is both a reference to his agricultural activity and his age (Line 7). After expressing praise for the men in his family line, and the fact that he believes he should try and follow their steps regarding hard work and respect, Heaney concedes that he has “no spade to follow men like them” (Line 28). However, he is content with earning respect through his career as a poet. The autobiographical poem, therefore, contrasts the pen and the spade to validate the art of poetry.
A Drink Of Water by Seamus Heaney
A drink of Water, inspired by the violence in Northern Ireland that saw many of his countrymen lose their lives, is part of Heaney’s works that mourn the dead. Consistent with his inclination to dig into his past, Heaney writes about a special older woman that he met in his childhood. The old lady, according to the first eight lines, is supposedly his neighbor and comes to his well to draw water every morning. At the beginning of the poem, she is reliant on the kindness of the speaker, but towards the end of the poem, Heaney reveals to the audience that even in her physical absence, she continues to enrich the life of the speaker. Her death, therefore, marks a turning point in the relationship between the old woman and the young man. The older adult, despite being the needy one toward the end of her life, becomes the giver.
Heaney uses imagery to inform the reader that the lady was old and with only a few years left. The imagery in the words “old bat” and “whooping cough” suggests old age and death (Line 2-3). In addition, everything about her appearance is slow and dark. For instance, she wears a “gray apron,” and the “creak of her voice” sounds like ” the pump’s handle” (Line 8). In the description of the old woman, Heaney uses assonance and dissonance to achieve rhythm. There is the repetition of many vowel sounds that are all placed within close proximity of each other-“water” and “draw,” “clattered,” ‘staggering,” and “bat” are some examples of assonance seen in the first half of the poem. On the other hand, the p’s in “whooping” and “pump,” and the l’s in “recall,” “wield,” and “field” are evidence of consonance. The use of these sonic devices is indicative of the fact that Heaney’s memory of the woman is closely connected to sound.
Additionally, Heaney plays upon the Shakespearean sonnet’s rhyme scheme to achieve the musical element of the poem’s sonnet. The lines are written in half-rhyme, instead of end rhyme. For example, line 4’s “filled” and line 2’s “field.” The sonnet describes the old woman and the relationship she had with the speaker. The octave reveals the old woman’s weakness and old age through terms such as the “pump’s whooping cough.” However, in the setset, the old woman is no longer present in physical form, and it is nighttime. In the setset, the speaker is in reflection about her relationship with the old woman, and his thirst for water symbolizes his longing for imagination. The symbolism of his dipping into the water set on the table represents his drawing into his memory inspiration. Line 13 and 14 represent the hidden fact that Heaney, as a young man, would follow the old woman to her house, and drink water from her cup. The nostalgia here, however, is painful because he cannot enjoy the water, as he would when the woman was still alive. The sectarian wars that damage Ireland, therefore, ruin his ability to enjoy these activities as adult.
Heaney, therefore, has to use his poetry and memory to live in the past. The problem, therefore, is that he longs for his peaceful past, and the solution is to relive it through poetry.re modernist. Among his many published poem is Digging. To understand the story behind the poem, one has to consider that apart from being under British rule for centuries, and thus being heavily influenced by British culture, Ireland was also extensively influenced by religion. The result of the deep-rooted religious ideologies in the country was political conflict, in that Catholics and Protestants could not agree whether Northern Ireland should have remained part of the United Kingdom or joined the rest of Ireland. Consequently, there were sectarian wars whose violence led to the death of many people. In the context of poetry, many writers got involved in the sectarian conflict, a factor that contributed to the gradual decline of their poetry.
Digging by Seamus Heaney
However, Heaney’s poetry, unlike that of his peers, focuses on the period before the sectarian wars, when Ireland was a country at peace. Uncomfortable with the political and social situation in Ireland at the time of composing his poems, Heaney preferred to dig into his past to recover warmer memories from his childhood. Some of the memories he expresses in his poetry include the beautiful days he enjoyed as a child, a lady from his past who captured his attention, and his father’s occupation. İn this view, it can be seen that Digging is related to his family’s heritage. These lines reveal that the poem is autobiographical. When he talks about his father digging, Heaney uses imagery to portray his views on his own profession. For instance, in the first and last line of the poem, he discusses his father’s profession, and how it relates to his own work as a poet: “Between my finger and my thumb-The squat pen rests; snug as a gun” (Line 2). The gun is a metaphor to describe the might of the pen. The second line, therefore, introduces the idea that his father is a farmer, but in the fifth stanza, Heaney goes on to reveal that he was excellent at his job: “By God, the old man could handle a spade” (Line 15).
In addition, the fifth stanza serves the purpose of showing the reader that Heaney had broken away from a long tradition of farmers. He says that his father was good with the spade “just like his old man” (Line 16). In the last stanza, however, Heaney expresses the point that his profession is just as honorable when he says he will use the pen in hand to “dig with it” (Line 31). In the second stanza, the sound of the spade is a nostalgic voice from his childhood, and the bending low of his father is both a reference to his agricultural activity and his age (Line 7). After expressing praise for the men in his family line, and the fact that he believes he should try and follow their steps regarding hard work and respect, he concedes that he has “no spade to follow men like them” (Line 28). However, he is content with earning respect through his own career as a poet. The autobiographical poem, therefore, contrasts the pen and the spade to validate the art of poetry.
A Drink Of Water by Seamus Heaney
A drink of Water, inspired by the violence in Northern Ireland that saw many of his countrymen lose their lives, is part of Heaney’s works that mourn the dead. Consistent with his inclination to dig into his past, Heaney writes about a special old woman that he met in his childhood. The old lady, according to the first eight lines, is supposedly his neighbor and comes to his well to draw water every morning. At the beginning of the poem, she is reliant on the kindness of the speaker, but towards the end of the poem, Heaney reveals to the audience that even in her physical absence, she continues to enrich the life of the speaker. Her death, therefore, marks a turning point in the relationship between the old woman and the young man, where the old woman, despite being the needy one toward the end of her life, becomes the giver.
Heaney uses imagery to inform the reader that the lady was old and with only a few years left. The imagery in the words “old bat” and “whooping cough” suggests old age and death (Line 2-3). In addition, everything about her appearance is slow and dark. For instance, she wears a “gray apron,” and the “creak of her voice” sounds like ” the pump’s handle” (Line 8). In the description of the old woman, Heaney uses assonance and dissonance to achieve rhythm. There is the repetition of many vowel sounds that are all placed within close proximity of each other-“water” and “draw,” “clattered,” ‘staggering,” and “bat” are some examples of assonance seen in the first half of the poem. On the other hand, the p’s in “whooping” and “pump,” and the l’s in “recall,” “wield,” and “field” are evidence of consonance. The use of these sonic devices is indicative of the fact that Heaney’s memory of the woman is closely connected to sound.
Additionally, Heaney plays upon the Shakespearean sonnet’s rhyme scheme to achieve the musical element of the poem’s sonnet. The lines are set in half-rhyme, instead of end rhyme. For example, line 4’s “filled” and line 2’s “field.” The sonnet describes the old woman and the relationship she had with the speaker. The octave reveals the old woman’s weakness and old age through terms such as the “pump’s whooping cough.” However, in the setset, the old woman is no longer present in physical form, and it is nighttime. In the setset, the speaker is in reflection about her relationship with the old woman, and his thirst for water symbolizes his longing for imagination. The symbolism of his dipping into the water set out before him represents his drawing into his memory for artistic inspiration. Line 13 and 14 represent the hidden fact that Heaney, as a young man, would follow the old woman to her house, and drink water from her cup. The nostalgia here, however, is painful because he cannot enjoy the water, as he would when the woman was still alive. The sectarian wars that damage Ireland, therefore, ruin his ability to enjoy these activities as adult. Heaney, therefore, has to use his poetry and memory to live in the past. The problem, therefore, is that he longs for his peaceful past, and the solution is to relive it through poetry.