Mid-term break essay PDF

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Poetry essay on Mid-term break...

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Poetry Essay: Mid-Term Break by Seamus Heaney

Heaney used both the title and imagery to covey the message of the poem. The message of this poem is that death changes things: how people act towards those mourning, how people in mourning will experience everyday situations differently, and how life changes because of loss. The title’s ironic as a mid-term break usually refers to a time that learners are excited about, a wonderful time. The break that the speaker’s taking from school, is filled with sorrow and pain, it’s a sombre time that the speaker isn’t looking forward to. The death of his sibling changed the excitement of going back home, into a dreadful experience. The poem starts with bells that’s knelling. The word knelling means ‘ring solemnly’. Sitting in the sick bay, even with bells foreshadows the sorrow that will be experienced. A bell ringing to signal the end of the day, is a wonderful time for learners, but for the speaker, this bell is counting off the time he has before he has left before experiencing great sorrow. Entering his home, he experiences the gathering of family and friends. Such a gathering is usually filled with laughter and entertainment, but all he’s experiencing is sorrow: his dad crying, older men are standing up to shake his hand to give condolence, even his mother is bereaved. Everything changed following death. Death doesn’t only remove a loved one, it changes how those close to the deceased experience life without him, and how others act during the time of mourning.

(250 words)...