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Literary Analysis Of Seamus Heaney's Blackberry Picking And Digging

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In his poems Blackberry-Picking and Digging, Seamus Heaney unveils many events of his childhood along with his own feelings about his past. His emotions are very paradoxical and simple - he is overjoyed at first, and then suddenly becomes very sad and depressed in the second part of both of the poems. Such ironical emotions are used to give an impact on the readers as well as depicting how life could be simple and complicated at the same time. Literary devices such as alliteration and repetition, the clever use of structure, the senses used such as imagery and touch, and the inner meanings of the lines are used to communicate Heaney’s ironical feelings about his past. In the poem Digging, feelings of admiration and regret are shown, whilst …show more content…

Again, this poem is nostalgic and reflective - when Heaney says “by God, the old man could handle a spade. Just like his old man,” he attempts to show his admiration towards his father as well as telling the readers how skilled a farmer his father is. “By God” is used in an admiring tone rather than in an offensive way, and “just like his old man” indicates Heaney’s grandfather, who is portrayed to be experienced, proficient, and diligent. The fact that Heaney is proud of his forefathers is indisputable, and it is made clear again when Heaney recalls himself delivering milk to his grandfather. His grandfather had “straightened up to drink it, then fell to right away nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods.” It is noticeable that he needs no break and that he takes great pride in his work. Repetition and alliteration is then used in “down and down” to comment on how his forefathers were skilled enough to ready the fields to plant new crops on time. This also points out that Heaney’s family had been farming for years, and although Heaney is extremely proud of his forefathers, he also feels sorry because he had not chosen to follow their

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