Contemporary Poetry: Seamus Heaney’s "Digging" – Flashcards
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Read the excerpt from "Digging."
Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds
Bends low, comes up twenty years away
Stooping in rhythm through potato drills
Where he was digging.
Based on the word's connotation, what does the speaker's use of the word "straining" suggest?
answer
that the father is working very hard in the flowerbeds
question
Read the excerpt from "Digging."
Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests...
Which statement best describes the effect of the assonance in this excerpt?
answer
The assonance creates a pleasing and interesting sound.
question
Read the excerpt from "Digging."
The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap
Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge
Through living roots awaken in my head.
But I've no spade to follow men like them.
Which idea is typically associated with the word "spade"?
answer
hard work
question
Which phrases contain an example of assonance? Check all that apply
answer
the stars in the dark
like the light
thumb through the numbers
question
Read the excerpt from "Digging."
Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.
Under my window, a clean rasping sound
When the spade sinks into gravelly ground:
My father, digging. I look down
Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds
Bends low, comes up twenty years away
Stooping in rhythm through potato drills
Where he was digging.
Read the haiku by Bashō.
A crow
has settled on a bare branch—
autumn evening.
How does the structure of these poems differ?
answer
"Digging" has multiple stanzas of varying length, while Bashō's haiku has only one stanza of three lines.
question
Read the excerpt from "Digging."
Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds
Bends low, comes up twenty years away
Stooping in rhythm through potato drills
Where he was digging.
Which statement best explains the effect of the word "straining" in this excerpt?
answer
It emphasizes that working in fields is difficult and strenuous
question
Read the excerpt from "Digging"
Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds
Bends low, comes up twenty years away
Stooping in rhythm through potato drills
Where he was digging.
Read the haiku by Bashō.
On the way to the outhouse—
the white of the moonflower
by torchlight.
How does the structure of these poems differ?
answer
"Digging" jumps from the present time to the past, while Bashō's haiku captures a single moment in time.
question
Read the excerpt from "Digging"
The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap
Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge
Through living roots awaken in my head.
But I've no spade to follow men like them.
Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests.
I'll dig with it.
Read the haiku by Bashō.
When the winter chrysanthemums go,
there's nothing to write about
but radishes.
What common concern do these poems share?
answer
Both poems find a link between farming and the act of writing.
question
Read the excerpt from "Digging."
Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.
answer
The positive connotation of the word emphasizes how comfortable the speaker is holding his pen.
question
Read the excerpt from "Digging."
The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft
Against the inside knee was levered firmly.
He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep
To scatter new potatoes that we picked,
Loving their cool hardness in our hands.
Read the haiku by Bashō.
Early fall—
the sea and the rice fields
all one green.
Which sentence best explains the similarities between the excerpt from "Digging" and the haiku?
answer
Both are concerned with the topic of farming.
