This poem is like Follower, as it shows how the young Heaney looked up to his elders - in this case both father and grandfather. Seeing his father straining to dig, the poet recalls him in his prime, digging potato drills. And even earlier he remembers his grandfather, digging peat. He cannot match men like that but he sees the pen as being mighty and with it, he will dig further into his past and celebrate them.
The words or phrases which stuck to me most were as follows;
'By God, the old man could handle a spade, Just like his old man.' - here he is proud of his father and expressing that he has took after his father in a sense.
'Once I carried him milk in a bottle, Corked sloppily with paper. He straightened up to drink it, then fell to right away.' - here he is explaining what a dedicated worker his grandfather was when it came to potato digging - his skill.'I'll dig with it.' - here he is describing the he, himself will dig into the past or the future with his pen to write about his memories.
Heaney is different from his father as his skill is writing and this is what he does for a living. Whereas, his fathers job is potato digging. Both of their job roles are very different from eachother but the meaning behind this is that - it doesnt matter what your particular job may be, you are no different to everyone else and the dedication to it is the most important aspect.
The words or phrases which stuck to me most were as follows;
'By God, the old man could handle a spade, Just like his old man.' - here he is proud of his father and expressing that he has took after his father in a sense.
'Once I carried him milk in a bottle, Corked sloppily with paper. He straightened up to drink it, then fell to right away.' - here he is explaining what a dedicated worker his grandfather was when it came to potato digging - his skill.'I'll dig with it.' - here he is describing the he, himself will dig into the past or the future with his pen to write about his memories.
Heaney is different from his father as his skill is writing and this is what he does for a living. Whereas, his fathers job is potato digging. Both of their job roles are very different from eachother but the meaning behind this is that - it doesnt matter what your particular job may be, you are no different to everyone else and the dedication to it is the most important aspect.
Great work Danielle and your blog looks great! Be careful when writing about hobbies, writing is Heaney's work just as digging and working the land was what his father and grandfather did for a living. Think about how Heaney feels about the fact that he doesn't work the land, he doesn't explain exactly why he has "no spade to follow men like them" (line 28). Do you think he feels he is not physically strong enough for this type of work? Or that he is no longer emotionally equipped for it, having broken the family tradition of working the land? Does he fear his grandfather and father might not approve of his having left the land? What do you think!
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