Childhood Memories in Seamus Heaney in contrast with Theodore Roethke: Analytical Essay

In this paper, the aim has been, as far as possible, to analyze the personal experiences that have shaped the poem ‘‘Digging’’ of Seamus Heaney in contrast with the poem of Theodore Roethke, ‘‘My Papa’s Waltz’’. The base of this document has been childhood memories and how violence affects the individual and goes hand in hand with silence, and the essential pillars were a careful reading of both poems and the offer of an own interpretation and critical evaluation.

‘‘Remembering is easy for those with memory. To forget is difficult for one who has a heart’’, (my translation) Gabriel García Márquez once wrote. There is a complex relationship between childhood memory and adult life as emotional events of childhood could influence development and adult life. While for some the memories are memorable, for others they are endless chasms and vertigo; and each time these people remember, they cannot defend themselves. Both poems are ‘‘based upon a childhood memory that is recalled in vivid detail. The memory often recalls rite of passage, epiphany… that either confirms or disturbs the poet’s sense of self’’ (González, 104). Both poems are, as Dr. Harith Ismail Turkey says, ‘‘characterized by the continuous reference to the past, namely to the childhood. This reference has a very important function… As a poet, childhood acts as a catalyst, which creates the literary environments that inspires’’ (76) both authors. The two different positions would be understood when talking about two poems.

On the one hand, Heaney illustrates with fresh brushstrokes the beautiful memories that marked his childhood. The author shows how much enthusiasm and admiration has for his relatives: his father and his grandfather. On the other hand, Roethke shows ‘‘the sad reality that caused his loss of sanity; his childhood was a scratch on a sweet skin that did not expect the abandonment of a father who perhaps did not know how to be one. It shows the healthy distortion of a love that seemed to draw in the skin the most useless pain that is the one of the badly done love’’ (my translation, Eyniree). The title of Heaney’s poem, ‘‘digging’’, seems to represent the importance of the past; perhaps, Heaney wants to dig down into the past to give recognition to awesome persons like his elders. However, this seems not to be the aim of Roethke. Once I wrote: ‘‘that loving is like reciting in private and that loving oneself is to continue writing so as not to forget how much we have loved’’ (my translation, Eyniree). When does a love that heals begin to ‘‘dig’’ deep and cause wounds?

Violence silences the voice and contaminates it; violence can shut you down and can haunt even your dreams. And one of the better things to face it would be art.

‘‘The beginnings of art in oneself are always periods of introspection; a way of knowing who you want to be or how you want to conduct that passion for what you do. Writing would be like an endless quest that needs answers that you try to find in your writings. Likewise, they become a part of who you are or who you are going to be; and, even if those writings are made public, they will always be something personal that will serve as reinforcement in the future’’ (my translation, Eyniree).

By writing these poems, both Heaney and Roethke try to find a home for themselves to protect themselves from everything that torments their lives or to savor beautiful moments.

Heaney is proud from his coming from a long line of diggers and shows enthusiasm for his relatives. Both father and grandfather are ‘‘living roots’’ since the memories are alive in the author’s mind as he watches them and write about them. However, the admiration that Roethke feels for his father is insane since his father is violent, abusive, and careless. The dance of his poem becomes a metaphor that represents their relationship; it is not easy to dance when you love but at the same time fear your partner. John Ciardi once describes the poem as ‘‘of terror, all the more terrible because the boy is frightened and hurt by the father, even in play… the boy must cling like death until he is finally dumped into bed’’ (1003-1004).

How can we be so unbelievable rooted in a family, tradition, and place, and still be ourselves? The details that make the difference with all those before us do not exclude us but form our own personal identity. ‘‘The notion of identity is, at best, difficult to define… For Heaney, a number of elements of identity are inseparable. His literary identity is bound up with his family… and his cultural ancestry’’ (Collins, 17). But how would be ‘identity’ defined? Psychologist Erik H. Erikson explains identity as ‘‘a conscious sense of individual uniqueness, a striving for continuity of experience, and a sense of belonging or solidarity… A crucial moment of heightened vulnerability and potential when development must move one way or another, marshaling resources of growth, recovery, and further differentiation’’ (17).

In another poem that Roethke wrote, ‘‘Root Cellar’’, the speaker celebrates the hardiness and determination of life to survive and to generate even in unfriendly environments. And this poem can be adopted as a cry of will, to overcome oneself and move on. However, the only solution to avoid all this trauma would be to embrace people during childhood so they will not be cold for the rest of their lives.

Work cited

1. García Márquez, Gabriel. (1967). Cien años de soledad. Colombia: Editorial Planeta.
2. G. González, Alexander. (1997). Modern Irish writers: a bio-critical sourcebook. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group.
3. Ismail Turkey, Harith and Saeed Goulam, Tafga. ‘The Importance of Childhood Memories in Re-shaping the Poetic Experience in Seamus Heaney: A Study of Selected Poems.’ Al_Anbar University Journal of Language and Literature 2013: 76-79.
4. Eyniree. (2019). ‘‘Wattpad.’’ La Danza de los Versos. https://www.wattpad.com/706128705-%C2%B7-la-danza-de-los-versos-%C2%B7-introducci%C3%B3n-de-la
5. Eyniree. (2018). ‘‘Wattpad.’’ Floreceré y te pareceré poesía. https://www.wattpad.com/626891149-%C2%B7-florecer%C3%A9-y-te-parecer%C3%A9-poes%C3%ADa-%C2%B7-42
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7. Ciardi, John and Williams, Miller. (1975). How Does a Poem Mean? Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
8. Collins, Floyd. (2003). Seamus Heaney. The Crisis of Identity. London: University of Delaware Press.
9. H. Erikson, Erik. (1968). Identity, youth, and crisis. New York: W. W. Norton Company.