The True Image Behind Digging

In Seamus Heaney's "Digging," he begins the poem by describing how "the squat pen rests; snug as a gun." In other words, a pen, to him, is equivalent to a weapon, which can be interpreted as representation of power. Thus, the simile is used as a comparison to emphasize the power of language. I chose the image above to illustrate and emphasize how, to Heaney, the pen was no different than a gun. The image above is a pen in the shape of a gun to demonstrate this point.

Throughout the rest of the poem, Heaney sheds light on the purpose of the title of the poem, "Digging." He describes in great detail how both his father and grandfather dug for a living, while he shall dig with his pen. the image above only provides the literal physical labor the poet's father and grandfather had done. So, in a sense, the image is limiting. One cannot, however, the poet himself included, cannot dig literally (or properly for that matter) with a pen. It is a metaphor that he uses to explain how he shall dig into his imagination and mind in order to write for a living. To be more specific, he will use his pen to write poetry as his occupation. Simultaneously, through the Anglo-Saxon style he uses to write, where he emphasizes on the use of alliteration and the repetition of sounds, he is able to "dig" (in a sense) through history by using a style that existed when his father and grandfather were still alive. Since Heaney is able to effectively use "digging" in a variety of ways, both explicitly and implicitly, he makes it clear that he is able use take one simple concept and show the reader a number of ways in which it can be interpreted.