PMC Mid-Term Break
PMC Mid-Term Break
PMC Mid-Term Break
by Seamus Heaney
Mid-term Break
by Seamus Heaney
Context
In 1951, Seamus Heaney was 12 years of age
and he went to St. Columbs College in Derry
where he was a boarding pupil.
Whilst attending the college, Heaneys younger
brother Christopher was killed in a road accident
and this poem involves the poet recalling the
events that happened to him after this.
In what sense is the title misleading?
What effect does this have on the reader when they realise
what the subject reallyFis?
A neighbour then
arrived and took the
poet home, where it
becomes clear that
something
terrible has
happened. His father
was crying and this
was entirely out of
character and
the family friend Jim
Evans was there.
Old men greet the
child and shake his
hand.
Then the body
arrives.
Why is he in sick
bay?
Suggests the
boredom of
waiting, the
confused calm
before the storm
hard blow has a
double meaning
and emphasises
the nature of the
scene.
What are the two
meanings?
events to come
Stark image of a
distraught parent.
Hes unable to cope
as at other funerals.
Why?
the passage
of time and contrasts with
Wearing a poppy bruise on the left temple,
the slowness with which
He lay in the four foot box as in a cot.
No gaudy scars, the bumper knocked him clear.the poet experienced it
A four foot box, a foot for every year.
Assonance used by
Heaney. The short a
sounds could suggest
the abrupt end to his
brothers life.
Heaney doesnt seem
to see his brother; he
sees a corpse wrapped
in the failed attempts to
save him.
Change of scene
from the hectic,
embarrassing
business of
Heaneys return
home.
Heaney comes to
terms with the loss
and accepts the
corpse as his
brother.
The baby cooed and laughed and rocked the pramThese images are
When I came in, and I was embarrassed
symbolic, both for
By old men standing up to shake my hand
the family and the
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
reader, of new-life
and
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.
As a baby might,
sleeping. Again
the contrast
between the hectic
start and calm end
is obvious
Clear factual
understanding of what
has happened and
Heaney doesnt shy
away from that
as
Heaney bitterly jokes that
the coffin is a measure
for his life
Enjambment and
caesura used
until the the final
two stanzas. This
could suggest the
confusion of the
events
surrounding the
death and
Heaneys arrival
home
This is an incredibly
personal piece of
poetry.
As a reader, what is
your reaction to
The baby cooed and laughed and rocked the pramreading this poem?
When I came in, and I was embarrassed
By old men standing up to shake my hand
Heaney uses
contrasting images
and emotions
throughout this poem.
Why might this be?
of the final
stanza stresses the
calm, contemplative
nature of the young
Heaneys private
grieving
Comparisons
Cold Knap Lake / On the Train Both of these poems
deal with the idea of loss and the way death or the
prospect of death can affect people.
The Field-Mouse / The Man He Killed These poems
deal with loss and also question the suffering that has
taken place and its pointlessness.
On My First Sonne This poem concerns the loss of a
child and has been written to make sense of what has
happened more positive than Mid-Term Break.
Are there any other comparisons you can think of?
F
Themes
Childhood The poem involves the poet recalling an
event from his own childhood.
It involves the narrator growing up due to the terrible
nature of the experience.
Death / Loss The fact that the poem deals with the
death of a child, encourages the reader and narrator to
question the pointlessness of death.
Focus of the poem is on the reactions of people to death
and the way people attempt to make sense of the loss.
Memory Poem recalls an event from the past and this
links it to other poems in the collection that involve
looking back in order to see the present and future
clearly.
F
Review
Note the reactions of the two parents - how does
the reader react to this?
With whom, do you think, is the mother angry?
How does the poem contrast the fuss of the
homecoming with the calmness of the scene
when Seamus sees his brother's body?
What do you think is the meaning of the poem's
last line?
What is your reaction to this poem?
F