In the poem Digging, Seamus Heaney expresses regret that he will not follow in his father, and grandfathers footsteps

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Anoush Longerstaey

11 IB

11.12.2011

“Digging” Commentary

        What determines the path a person chooses in life? In the poem “Digging”, Seamus Heaney expresses regret that he will not follow in his father, and grandfather’s footsteps in becoming a laborer, but instead would rather further his skills in writing. Heaney transmits this message through a variety of literary techniques. The central literary feature is the number of sensory images Heaney uses in order to convey all the aspects of the scene, which contribute to the reader’s understanding of the situation. Heaney also uses sound effects, unique structure, and shifts in verb tense to further communicate his message. “Digging” makes us consider the path we’ve chosen in life, and makes us understand that it’s okay to choose something different as long as it’s something we’re passionate about.

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        In this poem, Heaney uses many sensory images in order fully convey his experience to the audience. The main tool he uses are visual images to create a picture in the reader’s mind. In line 4, he writes “gravelly ground”, which tells the audience the ground is probably not only soil, but also has sand and rocks in it. Another visual image is on lines 10-11, where the words “nestled”, “inside knee”, “levered firmly” show Heaney’s father was very comfortable with digging, and was second nature to him. In addition, on line 20, he writes “corked sloppily with paper.” which ...

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