Flashback. A flashback is a part of a story, poem, or play that presents events that happened at an earlier time. “Digging” is a poem that contains a flashback. The poet “digs” through memories of his father and grandfather, just as his father and grandfather dug potatoes and peat. Create two cluster charts like the ones below. As you read, write the details of the poet’s memories of his father and grandfather.
Figure of Speech. A figure of speech is writing or speech meant to be understood imaginatively instead of literally. Many writers, especially poets, use figures of speech to help readers to see things in new ways. As you read, think about where in the poem the words dig and digging are meant literally and where they have more than a straightforward meaning.
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- As people pass from childhood to adulthood, they often have conflicting feelings about their parents and the preceding generation. Many young people want to be like their parents, but they also long to establish their own identities. Ultimately, most people realize that they can do both—honor and respect their parents and heritage and be themselves at the same time. The speaker of the poem you are about to read achieves a balance between striking out on his own and remaining connected to the past.
- In “Digging,” the speaker’s father digs potatoes and his grandfather digs peat. Both are representative, to many people, of the poet’s homeland, Ireland. Peat is vegetable matter found in areas of wet, spongy ground known as bogs. It can be burned for fuel and is actually one of the early stages of coal. Peat bogs are a notable part of the Irish landscape. Potatoes are one of Ireland’s staple crops. During the Irish Potato Famine of 1845–1849, the potato crop sickened, and more than 750,000 people died of starvation and disease as a result
Who had the strongest influence on you when you were a child? What are some of your sharpest memories of this person?
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