Question

Read the excerpt from "digging" the cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge through living roots awaken in my head. but i’ve no spade to follow men like them. between my finger and my thumb the squat pen rests. i’ll dig with it. read the haiku by bash?. when the winter chrysanthemums go, there’s nothing to write about but radishes. what common concern do these poems share? both poems recognize the passing of seasons. both poems find a link between farming and the act of writing. both poems put a higher value on farming than writing. both poems lament the dying of flowers and other vegetation.

Answer 1

Answer: both poems find a link between farming and the act of writing.

In "Digging," the author describes how farmers dig up potatoes with a spade. However, as he has no spade, he cannot farm. Instead, he has a pen, and he thinks he can do a different type of digging with his writing. On the other hand, in the haiku, Basho laments the lack of topics to write about. The only topic that is left to him are radishes. Both authors, therefore, find a way to link farming and crops with the act of writing.

Answer 2

Just took the test and the answer is “Both poems find a link between farming and the act of writing.”