How is the relationship of the poet to the past explored in Digging(TM) and either Our History(TM) or Piano and Drums(TM)?

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How is the relationship of the poet to the past explored in ‘Digging’ and either ‘Our History’ or ‘Piano and Drums’?

        The relationship of the poet to the past is explored in ‘Digging’ and ‘Piano and Drums’ through themes of the poet’s heritage and the change that has occurred between the past and the present. However, ‘Piano and Drums’ and  ‘Digging’ differ in the way they describe their connection with the past. For example, in ‘Piano and Drums’, Okara draws a parallel between how his life in the African culture was disturbed by Western invasion and how drums reminds him of his African past whereas the piano only makes him feel pain.

On the other hand, in ‘Digging’, Seamus Heaney uses fewer metaphors and instead uses specific diction, such as single syllable words, to convey his attachment to the past.

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        Heaney portrays his fondness for his father and grandfather in ‘Digging’ through using affectionate terms and describing how hard they work as well as the way he describes digging potatoes. For example, Heaney calls his father ‘old man’ in stanza five, which conveys to the reader a sense of affection as well as respect; a theme that is carried through the whole poem. An example of this is when his grandfather was drinking the milk and Heaney said he ‘then fell to right away’. This suggests his grandfather was a hard working committed man causing the reader to respect Heaney’s ...

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