Mid Term Break
Mid-term Break C.E. The poem I am evaluating in this essay is titled "Mid-term break" and was written by Seamus Heaney. The poem is about the laying out to rest of a four year old told from his older brother's perspective. I will be dealing with and trying to explain the use of words, images and techniques and their effects on the poem. Starting off with the title. There is a dramatic irony to it that is noticed when read through a couple of times. It relates to the Child's position in that his life was broken short i.e. "Mid-term Break". It had not been completed. As one read on one will realise that when the title is decrypted the atmosphere is amplified again. The sad empathetic feeling. This is achieved through a number of factors. The most important is the fact that it's told from the brother's point of view. The very first word in the poem is "I". This immediately brings the reader into the poem. It opens our minds by making us think, so that the poem can be appreciated, as it should be. "I sat all morning". Here the emphasis is directed on all. This simple word makes us think how long, drawn out and boring this morning must've been for the brother (who is presumably the narrator). Also there's a fearful expectancy, the idea of a suspenseful wait. But where was he waiting? "In the college sick bay". This suggests there is something wrong with the narrator. This hints he may be ill while at the same time helping to reinforce of expecting, suspense. While he was sitting he was "Counting bells". This adds to the continuously surmounting pile of anxiety, fear, expectancy and suspense. This is because he doesn't just hear the bells ringing in the background; he's counting every ring. He isn't just counting out of boredom (although this is one reason). He is counting because the bells are "Knelling classes to a close". A very sinister phrase. Knell is what funeral bells ring with. "to a close." Added with the knelling this mixes to a good effect. The bells aren't...
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