Digging For a Living
In his poem "Digging," Seamus Heaney describes a unique relationship between a boy and his father. Their relationship closely relates to the one I have with my father. Throughout the poem, the poet's pen is contrasted with the father's spade, using each as a symbol of their vocation and background. Along the same lines, the relationship between my father and myself can be expressed through my keyboard and his pencil.
Heaney's poem tells of a boy and his father who have different callings for their career. The father has worked on the family's farm his entire life, digging up potatoes and keeping up the farm. The poet describes his father's digging, as the title infers, with alliteration from the line "Under my window, a clean rasping sound when the spade sinks into gravely ground: My father, digging" (3-5). The poet, on the other hand, would much rather be writing stories or novels than out in the field doing manual labor all day. The father digs physically with his hands while on the contrary, the son digs mentally with his brain. Heaney uses a spade to symbolize the father's ambitions, thus, representing his farm work. He metaphorically describes the son's writing with the passage, "Between my finger and my thumb the squat pen rests" (29-30).
My father and I share the same type of relationship that Heaney and his father have in the poem. My father is an architect and designs buildings for a living. He spends most of his day at his drawing table, sketching plans for new buildings. On the other hand, I have a job that involves using computers most of the day. He uses his pencil to get the job done, while I use my keyboard to get the job done. When I was younger, he always wanted me to be an architect with him, but now he accepts the fact that I am not going to be an architect because I have a sufficient job in the computer field.
Throughout Heaney's poem, diction highlights certain words and phrases that require extra emphasis. For example, in the line "The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft against the inside knee was levered firmly," the words chosen intensely impact the meaning (10-1). Lug, shaft and levered all intensify the line. Furthermore, most of the words are parts of a gun, which is another metaphor used.
Hurricanes are born over the warm waters of tropical oceans and are formed by a low-pressure system caused by the heating of water. The heat causes the air to rise and form lower pressures in a feedback loop, making the hurricane stronger. Heavy rain results from a condensation of water and strong winds develop from warm air rushing to the eye of the hurricane. Essentially, greater storms and winds occur when the hurricane feeds of the rising temperature of the water. In addition, researchers studied disturbances and intense thunderstorms in the atmosphere over Western Africa and believe they are partly to blame for extreme hurricanes affecting the United States and Canada. While these are all the main ingredients of a perfectly natural process, they were not the primary causes of the damage done by Hurricane
The poem is written in the father’s point of view; this gives insight of the father’s character and
The figurative language used throughout the poem contributes to the development of the theme of power. Personification is used to express the urgency and importance of the poet's bondage to create the perfect word. If the poet is unable to accomplish the mission set forth, the "grave/ May clasp his bones"(6-7). The choice of the word
Not only the words, but the figures of speech and other such elements are important to analyzing the poem. Alliteration is seen throughout the entire poem, as in lines one through four, and seven through eight. The alliteration in one through four (whisky, waltzing, was) flows nicely, contrasting to the negativity of the first stanza, while seven through eight (countenance, could) sound unpleasing to the ear, emphasizing the mother’s disapproval. The imagery of the father beating time on the child’s head with his palm sounds harmful, as well as the image of the father’s bruised hands holding the child’s wrists. It portrays the dad as having an ultimate power over the child, instead of holding his hands, he grabs his wrists.
There is no greater bond then a boy and his father, the significant importance of having a father through your young life can help mold you to who you want to become without having emotional distraught or the fear of being neglected. This poem shows the importance in between the lines of how much love is deeply rooted between these two. In a boys life he must look up to his father as a mentor and his best friend, the father teaches the son as much as he can throughout his experience in life and build a strong relationship along the way. As the boy grows up after learning everything his father has taught him, he can provide help for his father at his old-age if problems were to come up in each others
The author uses imagery, contrasting diction, tones, and symbols in the poem to show two very different sides of the parent-child relationship. The poem’s theme is that even though parents and teenagers may have their disagreements, there is still an underlying love that binds the family together and helps them bridge their gap that is between them.
Heaney’s “Death of a Naturalist” talks of a moment in Heaney’s childhood, however is metaphorical for aging and the loss of innocence. Heaney uses the first stanza to tell the reader of his memories of the flax dams as being somewhat wonderful by using colloquial language “Best of all was the warm thick slobber” to sound enthusiastic about that particular moment in time. The list of three “warm, thick slobber” is highly onomatopoeic, conseq...
In the poem Harvest Bow, Heaney uses imagery when saying, “And if I spy into
Part I is particularly anecdotal, with many of the poems relating to the death of Trethewey’s mother. The first part begins with an epitaph from the traditional Wayfaring Stranger, which introduces the movement of the soul after death, and the journey towards the ‘home’ beyond. In “Graveyard Blues”, Trethewey examines the definition of “home” as a place of lament, in contrast to the comforting meaning in the epitaph beginning Part I, and the significance of the soul’s movement after death. The ‘home’ described in the epitaph is a place of comfort and familiarity, where the speaker returns to their mother. In contrast, Trethewey describes the ‘home’ she returns to after her mother’s death as a hollow place, the journey back to which is incredibly
The concept behind this information is to guide the reader’s considerations towards the fact that warmer weather condition have something to do with the strength these hurricanes are gaining. If these facts do not get ones attention, let this project focus on the damages these hurricanes cause to the United States
Poetry, a specific type of literature, contains the thoughts, feelings, and ideas of an author in the form of rhythms or particular styles. These styles can be formal or personalized to the author's will. Some of the most important tools used to shape a work of literature are the literary devices. Works of literature are like works of art. A sketch is simply a sketch until colored and given vibrancy. Works of literature are just words on a page until literary devices give them life. Tone, metaphors, and diction are some of the tools that give depth to a piece. These tools create images and feelings in which the audience can connect to. Michael Heffernan, a renowned poet of the 20th century, has his own particular style. His poem, Living Room, is a relaxed piece. Specific literary elements in this poem unfold a whole story in only a few short lines. Michael Heffernan uses tone and point of view to create the short story in this poem a depiction of real life.
In “Home Burial” by Robert Frost, Frost portrays an argument between a couple and examines the grief two individual’s go through along with their response to each other’s grief. The poem follows a married couple and illustrates a confrontation between the two concerning their feelings towards the loss of their son, but the confrontation later reveals a deeper problem in their relationship. Frost, drawing inspiration from his own life experiences, utilizes these characters to portray that individuals have differences that cause them to respond differently to grief and how having to alter such things to please another can cause a rift in any relationship. Specifically, Frost portrays the unraveling of a relationship.
Hurricane, name applied to migratory tropical cyclones that originate over oceans in certain regions near the equator, and particularly to those arising in the West Indian region, including the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane-type cyclones in the western Pacific are known as typhoons. Hurricanes are high winds that move in a circular motion, around an eye (a low pressure center of a storm). The diameter of the area affected by winds of destructive force may exceed 150 mi. Gale winds prevail over a larger area, averaging 300 mi in diameter. The strength of a hurricane is rated from 1 to 5. Obviously 1 is the lowest and 5 is the highest strength. Hurricanes sometimes produce over 250 mm (10 in) of rain and lead to extensive flooding. Which in turn can cause another problem in its self.
Tufty, Barbara; 1001 Questions Answered about Hurricanes, Tornadoes, and Other Natural Air Disasters; Dover Publications, Incorporated, August 1987
Towards the end of 1989, my family and I were on vacation in Fort Myers, Florida. We drove from Trenton, New Jersey all the way to Florida where my grandfather lived. It was a long trip to undergo, especially being six years old and knowing that my father never stopped the car. By the time we arrived at Fort Myers, it was a beautiful sunny day. The wind was gusting enough to pull my hair back, and I was admiring the palm trees, coconuts, and lizards near the Gulf of Mexico. The first few days were nice, but little did I know that I would soon be caught in the middle of a twister.