Digging Seamus Heaney Essay Example

Digging Seamus Heaney Essay The first theme of the poem â€Å"Digging† is one of Heaney looking back at his family’s history and tradition. Heaney’s ancestry includes both a farming Gaelic past and the modern Ulster industrial revolution, and this tension between the two sides of his past are demonstrated through this poem â€Å"digging†. This is a free verse poem containing eight stanzas and two couplets and it is written in the first person narrative, the free nature of this poem allows us to see Heaney expressing the turmoil he feels between the past the present. But it also demonstrates the love and respect he feels for his ancestors. The poem starts with an image of the poet’s hand â€Å"a squat pen rests; snug as gun. † In using this metaphor Heaney is expressing the power of the written word and the pen much like the power of the gun. Initially Heaney appears far removed from his family’s heritage and the idea that boys are expected to follow in their father’s footsteps. However, when you explore the poem further it becomes clear that Heaney is in fact reminiscing of his past and how he holds both his father and grandfather in great esteem. Whilst reflecting within the poem Heaney is disturbed â€Å"under my window, a clean rasping sound†. We will write a custom essay sample on Digging Seamus Heaney specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Digging Seamus Heaney specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Digging Seamus Heaney specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Heaney looks and sees his â€Å"father, digging. I look down† Whilst watching his father it suggests that he sees how natural his father is at digging and it invokes the memories he had as a child of both his father and grandfather. Heaney describes both men with a boyish admiration and of his father Heaney exclaims â€Å"By god, the old man could handle a spade. Just like his old man. † And of his grandfather â€Å"My grandfather cut more turf in a day than any other man on Toner’s bog. † a true local legend. This demonstrates how Heaney sees both men as working class heroes. The second theme of the poem has Heaney reflecting on himself, whom he considers to have less-admirable qualities compared to his honest and hardworking father and grandfather. Heaney wonders if his grandfather forever associated him with the bottle of milk that was â€Å"corked sloppily with paper†, as Heaney is not the traditional man that his grandfather was. Heaney then draws comparisons the sloppiness of the cork and the softness of the paper to the no-nonsense attitude of his grandfather as demonstrated when the states of this grandfather â€Å"He straightened up to drink it, and then fell right to way. This leads Heaney to believe that he will never measure up to his father and grandfather whose earthy physicality he so admires. The third theme is one of realisation about Heaney to himself â€Å"But I have no spade to follow men like them. †Heaney understands that whilst he is not the traditional man like his ancestors his ultimate accomplishment is in fact lett ing go of the guilt associated with not following in their footsteps and looking down upon the manual labour as mere pre modernist stages of human existence. Upon reflecting Heaney does uncover his connection to his past and realises he has modernity of his mother’s nature within him. Heaney realises he can express the traditional side of his character through the power of the pen and his writing and in the last stanza Heaney writes â€Å"Between my finger and my thumb the squat pen tests. I’ll dig with it. † Heaney will continue the traditions of his father by â€Å"digging† with the pen through his writing.

Antigone Essays (457 words) - Antigone, Civil Disobedience, Creon

Antigone Essays (457 words) - Antigone, Civil Disobedience, Creon Antigone Sophocles' trilogy of Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone is a powerful, tragic tale that examines the nature of human guilt, fate and punishment. Creon, Oedipus' uncle and brother-in-law, is the story's most dynamic character. His character experiences a drastic metamorphosis through the span of the three dramas. Creon's vision of a monarch's proper role, his concept of and respect for justice, as well as his respect for the design evolve considerably by the trilogy's tragic conclusion. In Oedipus the King (OK) , the audience is introduced to a Creon who seems to put loyalty to the king above all. He sympathizes with the tragic plight of King Oedipus and asserts no apparent ambition himself. His attitude toward the king is one of yielding and fulfilling reverence. Creon's notion of justice in OK stems directly from the divine. That which the gods have decreed must become law. It pains Creon to have Oedipus exiled, but he must do so as the gods have willed it. Creon's respect for divinity and prophecy seems to be his defining trait in OK. His attitude is one of unquestioning reverence. In Oedipus at Colonus (OC), one sees the beginning of Creon's decline. Creon has now come to occupy the throne that once belonged to Oedipus. It soon becomes apparent that his vision of the proper role of a king has changed to accommodate his new-found position. The emphasis shifts from that of a king who must rule wisely to one who must rule unyieldingly. The kingship becomes a selfserving instrument for Creon in his attempt to secure the return of Oedipus and the good fortune prophesied to accompany him. Creon's notion of justice is severely distorted in OC. He becomes monomaniacal - conducting his affairs with tyranny and belligerence. For example, he threatens to harm Oedipus' daughters if the blind beggar does not return to Thebes. His view of rightness and fairness is no longer in line with that of his subjects. In OC, Creon still retains some respect for divine prophecies. These have after all motivated his desire to return Oedipus to Thebes. Antigone reveals the ultimate extent to which Creon's character deteriorates. His transformation completes itself; he has become an unreasonable tyrant. Creon can no longer be called a king. He has become a despot. There is absolutely no justice to be found. Violence and threats of violence are the tools by which he rules. For example, his senseless threats to an innocent sentry reveal the true extent of his loss of reason. Creon has distorted the proclamation against Polyneices' burial, which was originally intended to foster Theban unity, into a display of rashness and incompetence. There is no mention of the gods and their intentions on Creon's behalf in Antigone. He has been so far destroyed by his own power as to dismiss the divine will that he originally thrived on.