Enjambment is used between the second and third stanza. He uses it to indicate the shift in time back into the past.
It was clear that Heaney’s father was skilled at his work – “stooping in rhythm through potato drills”. Also the word “straining rump” indicates how old his father has become.
He was also proud of his grandfather, “my grandfather cut more turf in a day than any other man on Toner’s bog”. Heaney boasts about his grandfathers skills. He was also very hardworking. Even when Heaney brought him a bottle of milk, he drank it very quickly so he that could go back to digging – “ straightened up to drink it, then fell to right away”. His work was precise and was also very strong. “ Nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods over his shoulder”..
Alliteration is used effectively to create the feel of digging. Eg “ spade sinks into gravelly ground”. The ‘s’ sounds suggest the slicing of the blade through the earth, and the ‘g’ sounds suggests the gravelly resistance of the soil. Other examples were
“tall tops”, “curf cuts”.
Some parts also appeal to our senses. He describes the feel of the potatoes in stanza three, “loving their cool hardness in our hands”. Heaney also gives us the cold smell of “potato mould” and the sound of “squelch” and “slap” which are examples of onomatopoeia. Other examples of include “gravelly“ and “sloppily”. Also the sight of the “curf cuts”.
There is also comparison between digging and roots. “living roots awaken in my head”. These roots indicate the roots that Heaney’s grandfather cut through, and Heaney’s family roots. Even though he decides not to dig like his father and grandfather, these roots are still alive to him and are still important to him.
Heaney then writes: “but I have no spade to follow men like them”. He shows respect for these men but knows that he will never be like them.
In the final stanza, it repeats the opening lines “Between my finger and my thumb, the squat pen rests”, then it is replaced confidently by “I’ll dig with it”. The pen has become a metaphor for the spade. This suggests that his pen is his tool, just as the spades were tools for his father and grandfather. It also suggests that Heaney wants to go back to his roots - to dig into his past through his writing.
Although he knows that he can't be his father, he searches for something he can do that lives up to what his father did, so an important theme of this poem would be establishing his own identity, and breaking family tradition to do what he thinks is right for himself.
This poem has quite a male feel to it as there were no mention of women at all. Nevertheless, I thought Heaney wrote this poem well, as he used simple yet effective language to display his emotions towards his father and grandfather, and what he wanted to do in life without disrespecting his family’s values and traditions.
