📝Mid-Term Break – Seamus Heaney
đź“Ś Poet Bio:
Seamus Heaney, an Irish Nobel Laureate, often reflected on rural life, family, and memory. He drew from personal experiences, making private moments feel universal in emotional weight.
đź“Ś Summary:
“Mid-Term Break” recounts a young boy’s return from school after the sudden death of his little brother. Heaney presents the disjointed reactions of adults, the surreal experience of grief, and the final devastating image of the child’s body in a coffin. The poem moves from detachment to emotional climax.
Heaney’s restrained tone and careful structure reflect the confusion and pain of grief, especially through the eyes of a child. The poem’s final line, “A four foot box, a foot for every year,” delivers a haunting blow, encapsulating loss in a simple yet powerful way.
đź“Ś Themes: Grief, family, death, childhood, loss
đź“Ś Style: Narrative form, plain diction, enjambment, emotional understatement