Cultivating an Affirmation of the Past in the Poem “Digging”

The significance of the past is given an affirmation in the poem, â€Å"Digging,† written by Nobel Prize awardee Seamus Heaney. The persona in the poem takes a nostalgic trip into his past, reminiscing about the old days when he watched and participated in potato farming with his father and grandfather. Both men handle toil and hard work with excellence; this is emphasized when the persona states his admiration for the grace and competence exhibited by the men: â€Å"By God, the old man could handle a spade/Just like his old man. † (15-16) However, the demarcation line between the persona and his earlier generation is clearly defined early on.In the first two lines of the poem, he establishes the idea that he is a writer; a man who prefers handling a pen, symbolizing academic and artistic profession, over a handling a spade, symbolizing hard labor, â€Å"Between my finger and my thumb/The squat pen rests; snug as a gun. † (lines 1-2) Nevertheless, the value and p ride of each separate work is equally praised by the persona. He conveys the idea that there is no difference if one uses a pen, or a spade in work, no difference when one plows a field or scribbles on paper. The only important thing is the love and passion one dedicates to one’s profession or work.