Two Poets, Two Opposing Opinions: Exploring Heaney And Giovani's Writing - Essay Sample

Introduction

In the poem “Digging” by Seamus Heaney, the poet seems to prefer writing; he concludes writing. On the other hand, in the poem, “For Saunders” by Nikki Giovani, the poet seems to wonder about not writing. These two are conflicting conclusions. But how does each of the two poets reach the two different outcomes? Giovani appears to be calling for a revolution during these times; she wonders if it is the right time to be writing poems. Heaney, on the other hand, is of the opposite opinion. He follows in the footsteps of his father and grandfather by “digging” but a different type of digging. This essay analyses the two poems, “Digging” and “For Saunders.” It looks at how these two reaches at opposite conclusions by critically analyzing each of the poems. The essay then suggests which of the two outcomes is more persuasive.

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“Digging” by Seamus Heaney

Digging is unarguably one of Seamus Heaney’s best works; it is one of his best writings and also one of his top achievements. The poem keeps alternating between pentameter and tetrameter rhymes; it does not have a set rhyme scheme. The poem “Digging” tells a narration of a depiction of a striking difference between the poet and his family lineage. The poem is portraying the relationship between the writer and his forefathers. The poet says, “By God, the old man could handle a spade Just like his old man” (Heaney, lines 15-16); this describes a scenario where the poet reflects on his fathers and grandfather. He remembers his father, who plowed potato drills in the garden so that potato seeds could be planted. His grandfather, on the other hand, used to dig peats, which is the same venture of digging.

The poet tells a story of how he follows the same path as his grandfather and father before him only that he does not plow the earth, the son writes. The poet is illustrating a contrast between the art of writing poems and his family lineage of digging the ground. The poet says, “Between my finger and my thumb The squat pin rest; snug as a gun.” (Heaney, lines 1-2). The poet here is using the simile snug as a gun to give a declarative statement. He is illustrating to the audience why he chose the path of writing. Heaney decides writing to follow in the footsteps of his family lineage; in the poem, he reflects on his solid connections to digging; he uses repletion to emphasize this; digging and spade have been used repeatedly; this makes him decide to also “dig.” However, unlike his forefathers, he will bleed his emotions with his “Squat pen” instead of the “spade.” The poet declaring to use the pen to dig instead of the spade is a metaphor.

“For Saunders” by Nicki Giovani

The poem “For Saunders” by Nikki Giovani carries a stream of consciousness; the poet begins with an idea in mind of wanting to undertake the writing of a poem, a good poem rhyming. The poem reads, “I wanted to write a poem that rhymes but revolution.” (Giovanni, lines 1-2). In the end, the poet is no longer sure if she should write, she states, “Perhaps these are not poetic times at all.” (Giovanni, lines 28-30). The poet uses irony throughout the poem. She is asked by her friend who regards her a hater, why she never writes poems about trees. It makes her think about writing poetry about trees. “I’ll write a beautiful green tree poem.” (Giovanni, line 11). She, however, says there are no trees or blue sky to write about; the poet uses irony to show that there are no good things to write about. The poet says, “noticed that the schoolyard was covered with asphalt no green- no trees grow in Manhattan.” (Giovanni, lines 14-17); this is irony to show the country status at the time of writing.

“Perhaps these are not poetic times at all.” Giovanni, 28-29). Calls into question what time it is when Giovani is writing this poem. When saying, “Dick was elected” (Giovanni, line 20), there is a referral to the election of Richard Nixon in the 1960s. The poem was written in1968. The 1960s was a period of sizeable change in society in the United States regarding race. The poet is trying to make a statement against the status quo of the time. The poet is a revolutionist and wants to write poems about revolutions and make statements against the status quo of the time. However, people do not want this, “But revolution doesn’t lend itself to be-bopping.” (Giovanni, lines 4-5) People do not like such poems, poems about revolution. The poet is not sure about writing because the poems she wants to write about do not sit well with people. Also, because of the country’s status, there is nothing good to write about.

Conclusion

From the two poems, the more persuasive one is “For Saunders” by Nikki Giovani. In “Digging,” the poet bases his decision to write on wanting to follow the footsteps of his forefathers who plowed the earth. It can be argued, however, that digging and writing are entirely different. On the other hand, Giovani shows that her indecision on writing is based on the status of the country at the time of writing, the period of the 1960s to 1970s. She talks about the audience wanting poems to do with trees and the environment, which is a symbol of “good things.” However, there is nothing good to write about. She wants to write about revolution; hence she says that these might not be poetic times, not the best time to write.

Works Cited

Rogers, Bethany L. “Teaching and social reform in the 1960s: Lessons from national teacher corps oral histories.” The Oral History Review, 2019.

Heaney, Seamus. “Digging.” Death of a Naturalist, Faber, 1966. pp. 12.

Giovanni, Nikki. “For Saundra.” The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni 1968-1998. William Morrow, 2003. pp. 80.