"I have a group of GCSE English students who absolutely rave over your site and constantly tell me how useful they have found it to be. Trust me it has inspired them."
What are the Themes/ Preoccupations of Heaney's Poetry and how does he explore them through 'Digging' and 'An Advancement of Learning'?
- Words:
- 1697
- Submitted:
- Wed Nov 05 2003

... What are the Themes/ Preoccupations of Heaney's Poetry and how does he explore them through 'Digging' and 'An Advancement of Learning'? In Digging Heaney explores his childhood and his relationship with his family by describing how he would look down at his Father out of his window, and how he looks at him and absorbs and admires the great skills his Father possesses. 'The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft Against the inside knee was levered firmly.' The word nestled implies his Fathers natural ability to rest his foot on the spade. The poem also tells about how his Father had been Digging for twenty years, this was probably his whole lifetime at work. Heaney's relationship with his family is also shown in the sixth stanza where he talks about his Grandfather and how he had helped him when he was at a young age. The skills Heaney observed in his Father are













