ENGELS
Poetry: Mid Term Break
Mid-Term Break
BY SEAMUS HEANEY
I sat all morning in the college sick bay
Counting bells knelling classes to a close.
At two o'clock our neighbours 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
Poetry: Mid Term Break
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.
Poetry: Mid Term Break
Type: Lyric= Expressing the poet’s personal
feelings, but also an Elegy= funeral speech/
song
Mood : Melancholy/ mournful (Except the line
about the baby)
Tone: Sombre/ sad
Rhythm: Iambic Pentameter
Rhyme: Blank/ free verse except the last
rhyming couplet
Poetry: Mid Term Break
Title
Title: Ironic, one expects a poem about a holiday, but instead it is
about death
Break: Fractured family/ cutting ties between him and his brother/
end of a life
Stanza 1:
I sat all morning in the college sick bay I= personal pronoun, his own account
(isolation from his family?)
All morning= mentions time
college sick bay = room at school (he is 10)
where the sick children sit
Counting bells knelling classes to a close. Alliteration of C: repeated sound like bells
ringing. Hard sound= harsh death
Knelling: School bells ring, funeral bells
knell= foreboding atmosphere.
Repetition of L- sound: slows down poem,
reinforces mournful atmosphere
At two o'clock our neighbours drove me home. two o'clock: Specific time, progression of
time from morning.
Neighbours: Unusual- something was wrong
Assonance of O: Long, drawn out sound,
sad, mournful
He might have been feeling bored/
apprehensive/ sad. He was not sick,
but his brother had died so he had to
wait there for someone to fetch him
from school
He had nothing else to do, so he had
to sit alone in the sick room and
count the bells signalling the end of
classes.
The fact the he remembers specific
times indicates trauma. One
remembers exact details like times
during stressful events.
Stanza 2:
In the porch I met my father crying— In the porch: He is home now- setting has
changed
father crying: Unusual for his father to cry,
upsetting
He had always taken funerals in his stride— in his stride: means to cope easily
And Big Jim Evans saying it was a hard blow. Big Jim Evans: Neighbour or family friend-
close knit community
a hard blow: pun (double meaning)
Literal=the boy was hit by a car
Figurative= family emotionally hurt by death
The dash indicates the
speaker was very upset
seeing his father crying.
Men in the 1950s didn’t
show much emotion
Crying is unusual for him, he had
always been strong, now broken
Big Jim probably didn’t mean to
be insensitive, but he is awkward-
doesn’t know what to say to the
family of a dead child
Stanza 3:
The baby doesn’t understand that
she lost a brother, she is just
happy to see her eldest brother
(the speaker). The rhythm changes
from slow paced to fast and
bouncy because the baby is happy
Usually a child would stand up
and greet a grown up, but now
the men are standing up and
shaking his hand as a sign or
respect and condolences. He
doesn’t know how to react.
Maybe death forces him to grow
up too soon, which is implied by
the fact that men now greet him
as an adult
Stanza 4:
And tell me they were 'sorry for my trouble'. And: Enjambment
'sorry for my trouble': Euphemism: death
Whispers informed strangers I was the eldest, Repetition of “s” sound is called sibilance
(onomatopoeia of whispering). People
whisper out of respect. Contributes to
muted atmosphere
Away at school, as my mother held my hand Alliteration of “h”: emphasises that his
mother relied on him: coming of age- he has
to comfort his parents
Death is not just a bit of ‘trouble’,
euphemism is used because
people feel awkward talking
about death
People he didn’t know (friends of
his parents??) were whispering
about him
Stanza 5:
In hers and coughed out angry tearless sighs. angry tearless sighs: overcome with anger
and grief, cannot cry anymore. Anger is one
of the stages of grief
At ten o'clock the ambulance arrived ten o'clock: specific time again. Shows
progression of time.
Repetition of A= assonance (slows tempo,
emphasises the words, short sound may
indicate abrupt end to boy’s life
With the corpse, stanched and bandaged by the nurses. The corpse: The speaker distances himself
by not saying “my brother”
Stanched: To stop blood by using thick
bandages
Who is the mother angry with?
Herself? The father? The child who
died? God?
The ambulance came to the
speaker’s house with his brother’s
bandaged body. In many cultures
(including Irish Catholic in the
50’s, it is customary to display the
body before the burial so that
people can say good-bye
Stanza 6:
Next morning I went up into the room. Snowdrops Next morning: time progression
Into the room: where his brother’s body
was displayed
Snowdrops: small white flowers that appear
early spring. They could symbolize life after
death/ a young child who died- the flowers
are small and pale just like the child
And candles soothed the bedside; I saw him Snowdrops and candles soothed the
bedside: Personification, actually soothed
the people coming to view the child
Him: No longer refers to his brother as “the
corpse”- maybe a step to acceptance and
peace?
For the first time in six weeks. Paler now, six weeks: time is mentioned again. He was
away at school and hadn’t seen his brother
for a long time. Does that make him feel
guilty? Sad? Angry?
Paler: Lack of blood flow, he is dead (whiter)
Mood: the speaker appears calmer. He
has a private moment with his dead
brother. He never expresses his own
emotions throughout the poem, but
there is a sense of grief and loss
When he last saw his brother he
was still alive. Now that he is dead
he loos pale. The speaker looks for
differences since he last saw him
Stanza 7:
Wearing a poppy bruise on his left temple, Wearing a poppy bruise: the shape and
colour of the bruise remind the speaker of a
poppy (a small red flower)- it doesn’t seem
to be part of him.
Left temple: Where the car hit him
probably/ where he fell
He lay in the four-foot box as in his cot. Four foot box: coffin
As in his cot: simile, very effective- looks like
he’s sleeping
He, him/ his: No longer refers to his brother
as “the corpse”- indicates acceptance
No gaudy scars, the bumper knocked him clear. Gaudy: Impressive/ bright/ horrible
Bumper knocked him clear: We find out that
his brother died in a car accident
Flower images (poppy and snow
drops): Flowers are fragile and do
not last long- just like the boy’s life
was short. Flowers also symbolise
beauty and hope (life goes on)
Important line: he doesn’t look
dead, just asleep. Not scary
Very shocking. Finding out how he
dies at the end of the poem is very
effective as it builds suspense
Stanza 8:
A four-foot box, a foot for every year. Four-foot box: the coffin is very small-
young child
Alliteration of F: emphasises how small the
boy was
Every year: He was only four years old
This line is placed alone for
emphasis and dramatic effect. It is
the only line in the poem that
rhymes with another. It creates a
feeling of deep sympathy with the
reader_ the brother was so young
and small. Finally we understand
the father’s sadness and the
mother’s anger.