Mid-Term Break

The effect of the pun "And Big Jim Evans saying it was a hard blow" is to link together the accident that killed the speaker's little brother and the profound effect it's had upon his family.

The phrase "wearing a poppy bruise on his left temple" refers to the large bruise on the head of the speaker's recently deceased brother. The boy has been knocked down and killed by a car, and the...

“Mid-Term Break” features several unusual and ironic elements. The title suggests a typical school holiday, but the poem recounts the speaker's brother's death, creating a stark contrast....

It is unusual that the speaker use the word "knelling" to announce the closing of classes because the verb knell refers to the ringing of a bell, such as a church bell, to announce a death or...

Heaney sets the tone in the opening line of “Mid-Term Break” by referring to the speaker's illness when he was a boy. The young lad is sick, which adds to the somber tone of a poem that deals with...

The theme of "Mid-Term Break" is the profound impact of death and loss. Heaney's poem illustrates how the tragic death of his younger brother taints what should be joyful reunions, turning moments of...

Heaney uses such poetic techniques as understatement, dead-pan tone, foreshadowing, imagery, allusion, consonance, symbolism, and alliteration to show sadness in the poem "Mid-Term Break."

In “Mid-Term Break,” the speaker is embarrassed by the old men shaking his hand, because he doesn't like being the center of attention, especially at such a difficult time. He also doesn't feel that...

The setting in "Mid-term Break" evokes emotions by contrasting the expected joy of a school break with the somber reality of the narrator's experience. The anticipation of a happy reunion is replaced...

A line-by-line analysis of "Mid-Term Break" by Seamus Heaney reveals the poet's journey through grief over his younger brother's death. The poem starts with Heaney at college and transitions to his...

In "Mid-Term Break," the child's death occurs when he is hit by a vehicle, as indicated by the line "the bumper knocked him clear." The serious injuries, including a "poppy bruise" on his temple,...