Mid Term Break Poem

The poems Mid-Term Break by Seamus Heaney and Full Moon and Little Frieda by Ted Hughes both vividly recount very personal events in the poets’ lives. Mid-Term Break is a reflection upon the aftermath of the death of Heaney’s four-year-old brother Christopher in a car accident whilst Heaney was away at boarding school. Full Moon and Little Frieda is a dramatisation of Hughes’ daughter’s delighted reaction to seeing a full moon. In both poems, the poets have employed various poetic techniques such as contrast, imagery, and emotive language in order to create mood and atmosphere, thus eliciting a profound emotional reaction from the reader.

In the opening stanza of Mid-Term Break, Heaney’s careful use of diction establishes the poem’s generally

Meanwhile, Mid-Term Break has a much clearer structure; all stanzas in the poem except the last – which consists of but one line – are tercets. Towards the end of the poem, Heaney reveals that ‘the bumper knocked him [Christopher] clear. / ', and in the last stanza, Christopher’s coffin is described as '/A four foot box, a foot for every year ' Christopher had been alive. This is the only instance of rhyme within the poem – the almost complete lack of rhyme evinces the poem’s sombre mood – and connects the act that took Christopher’s life with the shortness of his life. The break in structure cuts off the poem abruptly, much like Christopher’s life had been. The alliteration and repetition emphasise the shortness of Christopher’s life, and the reveal of his brother’s youth hits the reader hard and allows them to mourn the death alongside the poet.

In conclusion, Mid-Term Break by Seamus Heaney and Full Moon and Little Frieda by Ted Hughes are both emotionally cognitive and impactful poems. By thoughtfully implementation language, establishing a strong atmospheric presence throughout, and creating 'sounds ' with onomatopoeia and alliteration, both poets successfully creating