In conclusion, the poets expresses their feelings, thoughts, and emotions through poetry. The poems “ My Papa’s waltz and “Those Winter Sundays” make readers understand the relationship of a father and son and proves that both of the speakers love their father but never got a chance to actually express their feeling for them and now, realizing their mistakes, they made in the past and regretting it. They both are very talented writers who knows the best way to communicate the meaning of their feeling in the poems and have control over
Childhood is one of the most relaxing and enjoyable times where we get the chance to do what we want. In the poem, ‘Mid-Term Break’ Heaney explores the theme of finality of death and grief in a range of ways throughout the poem. The poem is written from young Heaney point of view towards his infant brother’s death and how people reacted to this. While the title is full of positivity, Heaney explores the negative side of his childhood memories, of the death of his own brother. The title ‘Mid-Term Break’ suggests a holiday and a time of enjoyment.
‘Mid-Term Break’ and ‘Death of a Naturalist’ are two of Heaney’s poems that express the motif of death and other changes through reflection. ‘Mid-Term Break’ is a poem that highlights a distressing event in the early years of his life, the death of his brother. The poem explores the emotional aspect of the lead up and impact of the experience on him and his parents. The poem highlights the briefness of life and that there is ultimately an end. Focusing on the importance of cherishing every moment with loved ones.
However, instead of being greeted with a happy welcome from his family, he is forced to grow up very quickly after the death of his very young baby brother. Told from young Heaney 's own perspective, this poem is absolutely heartbreaking in the way it explores the theme of growing up, as well as the theme of, of change, and of death itself. I am fond of this poem, and prefer it to “The Early Purges” because of how Heaney deals with the theme of death, showing effectively how it strikes at any time, striking anyone, with it simplicity and finality, which Heaney further compacts using the punctuation and poetic techniques in this poem.
‘Mid-Term Break’ and ‘Death of a Naturalist’ are two of the many poems expressing the motif of death and change through reflecting on the life of Seamus Heaney. ‘Mid-Term Break’ is a poem that highlights a dreary event in the early years of his life, the death of his brother. The poem explores the emotional aspect of the lead up and impact of the experience on him and his parents. The poem highlights the briefness of life and that there is ultimately an end to everything. Focusing on the importance of cherishing every moment of life with loved ones.
His father is no longer portrayed as a sort of (super) man but as somebody who is vulnerable and struggling to cope with the situation; he is showing emotions which is something he does not or is even arguably capable of doing in ‘Follower’. In this poem, Heaney’s father is described to be “crying” on the porch of Heaney’s home. Heaney is not crying in this scene which shows a small reverse of roles in contrast to ‘Follower’ between Heaney and his father. Heaney is the one being strong and coping with the situation whilst his father is crying and struggling to compose himself in these circumstances. Mid Term Break also has the introduction of Heaney’s mother who he described to have “held my hand” and to have “coughed out” angry and tearless sighs.
Heaney primarily engages with death and loss in this poem through his use of sensuous imagery. Scents often trigger strong memories, which is the case with Heaney remembering his father’s tobacco in this poem. A pang of longing for his father can be seen when Heaney reaches into his father’s pockets and finds “nothing but chaff cocoons, a paperiness not known again until the last days” (13). Heaney’s father’s life is conjured up and remembered through objects like his suit and tobacco, things which he was once associated with. These things bring comfort to Heaney now that his father is gone because he can remember him by them.
We have studied six poems that share the theme of the loss and suffering which can bitterly affect the personal relationships between the personas. Poem at Thirty Nine by Alice Walker, written at the age of thirty nine, focuses on the relationship between her father and herself. The first line: “how I miss my father”, clearly shows that she misses her father, but he is dead. Comparatively Mid-Term Break by Seamus Heaney deals with the death of his four years old brother: “a four foot box, a foot for every year”. He is looking at the death of his brother in a sudden car accident, from the perspective of a child himself.
Death was something I always knew about, and watched it impact people around me, but had never personally experienced. I learned about death at a young age due to the fact that my mom’s father died when she was young. It was only natural that I would inquire about my other grandfather at some point, but it was never hidden. I don’t think I ever was told a formal definition of death, I think it was always a concept I just grasped. Coming from New York City, I experienced death in a grand way in 2001 with the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but even then, while I was sad alongside my city, I was too young to fully empathize with what had happened.
In the poem Mid-Term Break, Seamus Heaney explores the theme of death by expressing his family’s horrendous grief after the tragic accident that killed his four-year-old brother, Christopher. In contrast, the poem Because I Could Not Stop for Death, Emily Dickinson personifies death as a gentlemen, who courteously takes her on a carriage ride around her whole life, eventually concluding it at her grave. Dickinson and Heaney vividly convey the theme of death in a contrasting manner due to the different context and perspectives Seamus Heaney poignantly expresses the idea of death in the loss of his brother in a car accident through structural choices. There are eight stanzas in the poem, the concluding stanza having only one line. The six