"Mid-Term Break"

Paper Summary:

This paper opens with the full text of Seamus Heaney's poem "Mid-Term Break," after which the writer details the poet's unique style of writing. This paper discusses Heaney's use of iambic pentameter in the text, which serves as the sound structure for this particular poem. This paper examines Heaney's use of emotion, rhythm and literary imagery to convey the feeling of sadness throughout the poem. The writer of this paper also breaks down each line and stanza while clearly describing the author's intention.

From the Paper:

"In the first sentence, the speaker relates spending a whole morning in a college infirmary as bells outside sound the end of classes. The speaker states, "I sat all morning in the college sick bay." This first image shows the speaker as sympathetic rather than dispassionate. The fact the speaker spent "all morning in the college sick bay" indicates some sort of hardship, either physical or mental, resulting in that person's inability or lack of desire to move to a more comfortable location, such as a dorm room or cafeteria. This also introduces the concept of the speaker as an alienated character. The term "sick bay" connotes not only sickness but also contagion and quarantine. Also, the speaker was, "Counting bells knell classes to a close," suggesting a pessimistic, darkly shaded outlook. The word "knell" denotes "to ring slowly and solemnly, especially for a funeral...A signal of disaster or destruction" (American Heritage), thus adding a mournful tone to the poem reflected by the speaker spending the morning isolated in a college sick bay."

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