Death In Mid-Term Break, By Seamus Heaney

“Mid-Term Break” a hateful disapproval against death, written by Seamus Heaney, a poet that was affected by the painful tragedy of Heaney’s infant brother Christopher’s sudden passing. He shockingly portrays death as the aftermath experienced leading to physical and mental agony permanently engraved in one’s soul. Emily Dickinson, an introvert who rarely enjoyed the excitement of public life thus refuses to encounter everyone that came to visit, takes on a distinctive interpretation of death in “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”. Unlike Seamus Heaney, Dickinson presents her obsession of death in the poem evoked by the deaths of several close family members shortly after her isolation from the world, this is identified when Dickinson personifies

Heaney restricts rhythmic patterns for a somber view towards death, yet Dickinson did otherwise in comparison for an engaging outcome. "Mid-Term Break" ratifies a three line stanza structure constantly, but concludes with a single line "a four-foot box, a foot for every year.” The sudden change in format accentuates the misfortune of Christopher’s death since the coffin size is equivalent towards the age of the victim, only four years old. Concluding with a single-lined stanza emphasizes the poet 's emotions of regret, nostalgia, and fatalism due to the unexpected death of his own brother. Free Verse structure generates a melancholy mood, with a delicate touch of silence as it incorporates frequent uses of full stops in between each word or phrase. Enjambment is used to present emptiness and sadness that the speaker feels during the grief of his brother 's death. An example is “At ten o’clock the ambulance arrived -- With the corpse, stanched and bandaged by the nurses”, this quote exaggerates how slowly time passes by since “two o’clock” when all the happiness in one’s life dissipates. Contrary to Heaney, Emily Dickinson maintains the consistency of her stanzas to convey her calm acceptance towards the regularity of losses she had witnessed during her lifetime. She examines the rhyme structure of ABCB, with the rhythmic

Sound literary devices such as assonance and alliteration have been encountered in the poem to indicate funeral sounds and time being prolonged due to mourning and being in anguish towards his brother’s death. “Counting Bells” denotes patiently waiting time to stop as rapidly as possible enabling grieve and time alone, it reinforces a depressing and anguished tone to the devastating news of his brother’s sudden death. An onomatopoeia provokes lament towards the situation is “Bells Knelling”, this phrase contrasts with what is expected, since school bells are never associate with death, but this day is significantly and horrifically different from any other, thus provides an illusion towards solemn rings due to the loss of his brother. “The baby cooed and laughed and rocked the pram” juxtaposes with “He lay in the four-foot box as in his cot” to emphasize the tragedy faced by Heaney 's family, since originally a “cot” and “pram” is depicted as a place of safety to the youth and undeveloped is now displayed as the deathbed of his beloved brother, a four-year-old child. Heaney illustrates the devastating physical consequences and mental burden composed by death, this is seen when the persona 's brother is found “wearing a poppy bruise on his temple” which simply connotes ways the family grieves towards the loss,