A step-by-step guide to how the opening stanza of 'Digging' can be interpreted in relation to Heaney's background and milieu.

1. Extended Interpretation of
the Opening Stanza of
‘Digging’ by Seamus
Heaney
By
John Dyer-Causton

2. “Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests; as snug as a gun.”

3. The 'pen' in this
'squat' - connotes a sense is occupying a
'squat pen' sense of 'occupation position that belongs
to the exclusion of to another 'thing' -
something else' namely the 'spade„ of
his forefathers

4. This can then be
With this idea of interpreted as
the 'gun' is symbolic
the 'squat pen' relating on a
of the nature of
occupying a contextual level to
Ireland's violent
'postion' or 'place' the 'occupation' of
struggle -
that it 'shouldn't' Ireland - by the
British Crown

5. Heaney 'juxtaposes' The connotation And so we can see
the 'pen' and the 'gun' of the word that Heaney is
to illustrate that his 'snug' suggests comfortable in his
fight against British a „strong role of conducting
Imperialism will be element of literary 'war' with the
conducted through his comfort and 'occupying' British
writing. familiarity‟ Imperialists.