Mid-Term Break Analysis

I sat all morning in the college sick bay
Counting bells knelling classes to a close.
At two o'clock our neighbors drove me home.

In the porch I met my father crying--
He had always taken funerals in his stride--
And Big Jim Evans saying it was a hard blow.

The baby cooed and laughed and rocked the pram
When I came in, and I was embarrassed
By old men standing up to shake my hand

And tell me they were "sorry for my trouble,"
Whispers informed strangers I was the eldest,
Away at school, as my mother held my hand

In hers and coughed out angry tearless sighs.
At ten o'clock the ambulance arrived
With the corpse, stanched and bandaged by the nurses.

Next morning I went up into the room. Snowdrops
And candles soothed the bedside; I saw him
For the first time in six weeks. Paler now,

Wearing a poppy bruise on his left temple,
He lay in the four foot box as in his cot.
No gaudy scars, the bumper knocked him clear.

A four foot box, a foot for every year.


Submitted by Jim Rain

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The narrator, the brother, does not express any feeling as it is expressed through the others around him, show not tell. He father doesn't normally cry yet he meets him sobbing. It also shows his nievity reinforced by the baby in the pram. And I thought the child was killed by a bus. The bruise is on his temple and there are no other scars.

| Posted on 2009-11-17 | by a guest

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Seamus Heaney attended a boarding school (where you live for three terms in a year going home at the end of every term) in britain, and was there on a scholarship (fees paid for you because you are bright). this is why his parents couldn't afford a car (they were farmers) so his neighbours drove him home. HOWEVER in Britain we do have Mid-term breaks where we are allowed home for a period of two or one week(s). This is traditionally a time of rest and fun, making the title a clever oxymoron (or paradox).
Jackr

| Posted on 2009-11-01 | by a guest

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Heaney explores the distress, destruction and devastation death creates, especially on family.

| Posted on 2009-10-06 | by a guest

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I have just read the poem at school and my initial responce is that "break" is about a break of bones because he was hit by the car so that heaney immediatley can make the readers feel sympathetic. He also refers his brother to be "the corpse" rather than his brother but later on he refers the coffin to be a box. i think this is because little children like to play in boxes and because he is so small it is basicly a box. but at the end of the story whenhe goes into the room with his brother in he starts to call Cristopher "him", "he", "his" and also "wearing a poppy bruise on his temple" i think to it as it being placed on his head because it reminds me of death and peace (Poppy).

| Posted on 2009-10-02 | by a guest

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My idea is that the reason boy does not seem upset and refrains from expresses his emotions towards the death of his brother is not because he does not care about his brother but it is simply a technique used by the poet to enhance his theme the poet writes with great detachment

| Posted on 2009-09-19 | by a guest

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Are you sure the baby he refers to is his dead brother? Can't it be another relative or something?

| Posted on 2009-09-09 | by a guest

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The death of his brother Christopher was in 1939, back then not many people owned their own car. So the fact that the neighbours picked him up from school isn't as strange as it first seems.

| Posted on 2009-08-31 | by a guest

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i find the one posted by 2009-05-14 | by a guest really good

| Posted on 2009-08-20 | by a guest

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mid term break dosent only states the fact that This was an unexpected absense from school but also the term BREAK also states broken heart of the poet and his family. we r doin critical evaluation on this poem so some of the analysis were grt help although sum were a bit strange thank u guyz:)

| Posted on 2009-08-18 | by a guest

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I Don't think you are answering that girls/boys question, she/he didn't ask if the person who died was a boy as that is very obviously clear, she asked was the person coming home to the funeral 'a boy' as i myself don't know. Please answer this question. Thank You !

| Posted on 2009-06-02 | by a guest

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I Don't think you are answering that girls/boys question, she/he didn't ask if the person who died was a boy as that is very obviously clear, she asked was the person coming home to the funeral 'a boy' as i myself don't know. Please answer this question. Thank You !

| Posted on 2009-06-02 | by a guest

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You know that the boy's brother has died because Seamus Heaney wrote the poem about his own experience of loss, the poem is based on his immediate reaction to his younger sibling's death. And also in the poem it explains that the poet was "the eldest",
of the family, meanig a younger sibling has died, whom Heaney refers to as "he". I hope that answers your question.

| Posted on 2009-06-02 | by a guest

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Thank you for your help on the analysis of this poem i found the fourth comment VERY imformative but the one jut under my comment i feel is very wrong because i don't think it's fair to say that the 'boy' doesn't care that his brother has died becaue he does.I would also like to ask a question, how do you know it's a boy who's brother has died ? I Hope that somone can answer my question. Thank You

| Posted on 2009-06-02 | by a guest

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The boy is very well aware of what happened to his brother. The whole point of the title being Mid-Term Break is to show why he does not care about the death of his brother. He is angry that his brother had to be run over by a car when it was time for his break. That is why he is not upset, and why it seems as if he does not know exactly what is going on during the poem.

| Posted on 2009-05-31 | by a guest

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There are many aspects of this poem that confuse me. firstly, it seems like the boy doesn't know what is going on, and he has no clue that his brother is dead. however, I don't see how that is possible since funerals are held a while after someone dies, and the boy would have been informed about the death of his brother.
If this is not the case, and the boy did know about his brother being dead, then i agree with the first analysis of the poem which mentions that the boy seems indifferent to the death of his brother, as he doesn't mention at all being sad or upset; he doesn't show aby feeling whatsoever.
I would just like to say that i'm no analyst or critic, im just giving my thoughts.

| Posted on 2009-05-25 | by a guest

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Sheamus writes about a MID TERM BREAK, not a half term break meaning that it is not a holiday from school but it is out of the ordinary to be having a break in the middle of term...

| Posted on 2009-05-19 | by a guest

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Midterm Break written by Seamus Heanley, is a powerful poem, which has a sad emotional impact on me, because of the poets many successful techniques, which helps tell the tragedy, death of a young boy.
The title of the poem “Mid term Break” has a misleading affect on the reader, as we we often associate Mid term break as a time of where young children are free and happy. However the poem is quite the opposite as it explores emotions of sadness, death, and hatred. The poem begins with a child sitting in school, waiting to be collected by his neighbours, straight away as reader, we are thrown, to why the child is not getting picked up by his parents. This creates an unbalanced mood for the reader, wanting to read on.
In the next scene the child is met by an unfamiliar experience. “In the porch I met my father crying” We feel great sympathy towards the character of the boy, as we feel deep sadness to picture the image of a young child witnessing such an uncomforting experience. This again has unbalanced effect on the reader, and makes the reader want to read on.
We feel a great emotional impact when we see that the child is uncomfortable in his own home, and at such a sad time in his life. “Whispers informed strangers that I was the eldest” The writers word choice successfully shows how the child felt, and as the poem is written in third person we feel as if we experience it with him. The word “whispers” is something children do, when they want to exclude other children, we can therefore see how the child feels he is not part of what is happening. The word “Strangers” to children is someone children should not talk to, and should stay away from. The use of these words seem to have a large impact on the reader, as it reminds us of how a child would feel.
The flowers used in the next stanzas are very successful in presenting a message. When the child sees his dead little brother, “Snowdrops and candles soothed the bedside” The flower snowdrops is very symbolic, as we often associate snowdrops with new born, spring, and youth. The fact that snowdrops are next to a dead boy, have a powerful contrast, and strong emotional impact.
“With a poppy bruise on his left temple” The bruise on childs face is being compared to a poppy. A poppy is often associated with, death war and most importantly remembrance. I think the poet is trying to convey the image that the bruise looked like a poppy, colour, size, texture. However not only that but the choice of flower is very important, as it seems the writer is trying to commute to the reader that the bruise will always be remembered, a image he will never forget, just as we do with poppy’s and war.

“He lay in the four foot box as in his cot” The alliteration used on the letter “f” helps emphasize how very small the child is, and has sad impact on the reader. The poet speaks of his dead brother as if it has not fully realized he is dead, in the way in which the poet compares the coffins to the child in the cot. The fact the child can see his brother in his cot, creates deep load of sadness, when we know the child is dead.
The last stanza brings all the sadness throughout the poem to an optimum. The last stanza is very different from the rest of the stanzas firstly, the last lines rhyme. “No gaudy scars the bumper knocked him clear” “A four foot box, a foot, for every year”
When I think of rymes I think of small children and nursery rhymes, this last lines of the poem are therefore very sad to read, as we cant help but wonder why it has happened to such a young child.
The sentence structure of the last paragraph is very different from the rest of the stanza. The last line “A four foot box, a foot, for every year” This line stands on its own, to exmpasis the sadness of the poem. It is very effective as the line is short, compared to the rest of stanzas, having a suddent abruct ending, just like the childs life being so short, emphasizing the sadness of the death a the young child.
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| Posted on 2009-05-14 | by a guest

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I think all the comments have been useful, and i do admit the first comment does have some wrong information in it, however it's not all wrong and anyone looking for information does not just look at one source anyway. I think it's horrible some people say other people are all wrong and generally have a go at them. They are only trying to help and are not misguiding people purposefully. Also, different people have different responses so it doesn't make it wrong if it is not the same interpretation as everyone else.

| Posted on 2009-05-14 | by a guest

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The first post of the analysis of this poem is extremely unresearched, and has obviously been taken at face value rather than a thorough analysis of the text.
Mid-term Break is an extremely poignant depiction of grief and how it's impact affects the indiviudual and groups, such as families, as a whole.
The writer many adroit techniques to express this, but it's his clever use of word choice that really catches the reader's attention.
The use of the word 'knelling' creates connections with death early in the poem as it is usually a word used to describe bells rung at a funeral.
The role reversal shown in the poem is also extremely moving. As Heaney enters the porch he sees his father crying, and is extremely confused. The porch is symbolic of the claustrophobic feeling Heaney would have experienced when entering his house to find many strangers there, as we can picture the image of a small bewildered child in a sea of grieving adults.
The "old men standing up to shake my hand" is a further example of role reversal. People are treating Heaney like an adult as a show of sympathy and respect, indicative of how people react towards those who have lost a loved one.
The transferred epithet "snowdrops and candles soothed the bedside" in stanza 5 is particularly effective, as it contrasts greatly with the previous tone of the poem. This is reflective of the fact that now Heaney is alone with his brother and can show his true feelings about his death for the first time.
The reference to the "poppy bruise" his brother has on his head connotes remembrance, as poppies are the flowers traditionally used to commemorate the dead. This shows that even though Heaney is now an adult, he still thinks his brother.
This idea is also shown in the particular attention the poet pays to time in the text. His constant references to time "at two o'clock ... at ten o'clock ... the next morning" show that even the most insignificant details of that day are still etched in his mind, all these years later.
The isolation and simple structure of the last line of the poem adds to the dramtic effect, and is the ideal conclusion as it perfectly encapsulates the grief of losing a child.
I hope this was helpful, and I suggest that those wishing to pass on information to others researches the topic fully before passing on false advice and analysis.

| Posted on 2009-05-13 | by a guest

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The first poster's reading of the poem is dangerously shallow and misguided. This poem is an exquisitely crafted picture of grief. The title is completely ironic, of course. This was an unexpected absense from school - not a holiday from college. He was fetched from school by his neighbours because his brother had been killed. The 'baby' referred to is a younger child, not the brother who had died. The baby doesn't realise the enormity of what has happened, which the poet finds noteworthy enough to mention, which to me suggests that he did realise the enormity. He is not trying to soften the scene by mentioning the snowdrops and candles - he is contrasting the softness with the harshness of the reality - which is what we do with death all the time. His mother holding his hand suggests support and closeness - not distance. The fact that he allows his mother to hold his hand in company suggests he was aware of the support he was being offered and did not reject it (he was a teenager at the time - very unusual for a teenage boy to hold his mother's hand.)
Just the fact that, years later, as an adult, he could still describe this scene so vividly, suggests that he did not view this as anything enjoyable or holiday like at all. I have no idea where you got that from at all.

| Posted on 2009-05-12 | by a guest

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i'd like to inform those who have read the first post and took it to heart that this person has not done accurate research on the poem because the poet was only 14 when the accident happened, and was not in college, but in boarding school. this would only make him 10 when his brother was born and from my experience with ten year olds who have new younger siblings love them and can't get enough of them. so this analysis might be questionable

| Posted on 2009-04-09 | by a guest

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'Mid-Term Break' is obviously meant to be an ironic title. It's supposed to encourage the reader to think about holidays and relaxing before they read the poem. This in turn causes the main ideas of the poem to hit the reader harder than a foreboding title would have allowed.

| Posted on 2009-04-04 | by a guest

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If anyone was unaware that this poem was about death to the point where they had to leave a comment of thanks to the first poster for "giving a clear analysis," they have no business reading poetry anymore. This message of this poem is painfully transparent.

| Posted on 2009-04-01 | by a guest

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This poem clearly depicts the emotional sadness and grief that Heaney experiences after his brother's death. One would normally assume thay a mid term break is when you have a break from school and enjoy yourself or go on holiday, however Heaney has to attend the funeral of his younger brother who we cna deduce was four years old when he died: 'A four foot bok, a foot for every year.'(that he lived). Many of Heaney's poems are relecting on the theme of mortaltiy or include a sad tone.

| Posted on 2009-03-22 | by a guest

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Yes in the UK we have a mid-term break, but i think in this poem it means that the boy was in school and got a week off cause of his brothers death. Very good analysis by the way.

| Posted on 2009-03-18 | by a guest

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*look down*
Why are you being such a critic?...I don't see you contributing anything to the analysis that was given.
Thanks for the great analysis!, Gave me a much larger insight into understanding the deeper meaning of the poem.

| Posted on 2009-03-11 | by a guest

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In Britain, there is such thing as a mid term break, and although many of your insights into the poem seem correct, you seem to have only focused on the belief that you held from the first reading of the poem. If you look from different angles, the poem seems to highlight missing his younger brother, rather than feeling indifferent about his death

| Posted on 2009-03-02 | by a guest

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i hope the critic knows that in the UK, there is such thing as a mid-term, its about a week. get facts right!
good analysis though.

| Posted on 2009-02-01 | by a guest

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This was very useful and gave me and understanding of what the poets about and portrays a clear message.

| Posted on 2009-01-18 | by a guest

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The theme of the poem is that of a very detached poet from his brother and he does not show any outward sign that his brother's death was a hard blow.
Firstly, the poet only describes others feelings but does not describe his own. His father "had always taken funerals in his stride" (as the funerals he attended were not that of his family but other people's) but this time, he even succumbed to "crying" which reflects that he was deeply saddened byt the event. Additionally, the poet describes Big Jim Evans to feel that the car incident to be a "hard blow". On a literal level, it shows of the impact of car hitting the little brother whereas metaphorically, the incident could also show the emotional blow. His mother had "coughed out angry tearless sighs". What is the poet's choice of using "tearless"? 1) to show that she had cried too much until there was no tears left 2) she blamed herself for being the one who did not protect her child well and therefore, led to his death. On the other had, the poet did not seem to be too concerned about the death and this highlights the theme of a distanced relationship.
Secondly, the poet referred to his brother as a "baby" when he was already 4 years old. In line 18, the poet stated that it was the "first time in six weeks" he was seeing his brother. It suggests that the poet only had the fleeting memory of his brother as a baby and hardly ever sees him, therefore contributing largely to the fact that the poet was not grieving over his death because of their "stranger-ed" relationship. Notice the emjambment in line 12 "held my hand/in hers". It suggests that the poet was just as detached from his mother as his brother.
The corpse was "starnched and bandaged", in an effort to stop the bleeding, yet could this have been internal injury, as seen from the "poppy bruise" and "no gaudy scars" or could it be because he was bound so tightly?
"Snowdroops/and candles soothed the bedside" -> The poet is attempting to make the affair seem less harsh, more pleasant, more peaceful, more pleasant.
Notice the title "Mid-Term Break". Notice that you only return from college at the END of the term and not midway. Therefore, it suggests that the poem likens the death of his brother to that of a holiday, a day when he could get away from schoolwork, a day that he can enjoy. This contributes to the theme of distanced family relationship where he views his brother's death as a break from work, as a holiday for him to enjoy.

| Posted on 2008-08-08 | by a guest