SeamusHeany's Digging poem summary

Digging Digging is one of the Heaney’s earliest poems.His themes are very direct .The poem is very simple and simplicity is its beauty.We see a dichotomy of emotions ,questionig of his past and a sense of going away from his family are clearly seen. Heaney has to take a difficult decision.His father and forefathers all are farmers for generations.He doesnot want to change his roots or escape from past.But he wants to become a poet and substitute a ‘spade’ for a ‘squat pen’ as his tool. The poem reflects an internal struggle of the poet.He attempts to break tradition to become a poet.His mind wanders and searches .His soul searching is mirrored in this poem. Heaney compares the hard,physical labour of his father with his mental labour and rasping of his father’s spade with the silence of his pen.He bringsout the pattern in a farmer’s life –“stooping in rhythm through potato drills”.He admits that there is a certain enjoyment and sense of fulfillment in farming.We can clearly seen his awe,the pride and the admiration for his forefathers. Heany’s poem has a quality of honesty.It conveys farm life as it really is ,rather than a cover up.Though his roots are farming ,he honestly admitsthat he has “no spade to follow men like them”. Heany confidently closes the poem with his doubts settled.He respects his father’s oocupation,yet chooses to follow his own path and choosing “squat pen” as his “spade”, he determines to ‘dig with it’.