The reference to “poppy bruise” in the final verse creates a sense of frustration and impotence that such a small looking blow could have such a devastating effect. The poppy, of course, is a flower associated with death and remembrance.
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AnswerWhat does the bumper knocked him clear mean?
We learn the cause of death is a road accident as 'the bumper knocked him clear'. The final line emphasises how tragic the event is as the coffin is so small, showing the youth of the victim. The stanza is only one line and nine words long to place a clear emphasis on how tragic and shocking the event is.
What does Heaney mean by the kneeling of the bells?
Sad irony when we realise the real reason he's not in school. "Counting bells kneeling classes to a close." (Line 2) "ll" sounds = onomatopoeic effect, echoes bells. "Knelling" = to ring solemnly, especially after a death. "All morning" (line 1)
What is the meaning of Mid-Term Break poem?
“Mid-Term Break” describes the aftermath of a tragedy: the speaker's four-year-old brother has been hit by a car and killed. But the poem doesn't spend a lot of time describing the accident or memorializing the dead child. Instead, the poem focuses on the way that other people respond to this tragedy.
How does Heaney make you feel sorry for the speaker in Mid-Term Break?
His use of various contrasts of life and death emphasize the death, and the remorse resulting from it. Also, his use of simple, impersonal language and effective sounds allows the reader to fully grasp the severity of this death. In turn, this helps Heaney to implicitly present his own feelings of sadness and sorrow.
What is a four foot box?
A four foot box, a foot for every year. The young Heaney has to wait all morning in his school's sick bay waiting for his neighbours to drive him home. The line “counting bells knelling classes” suggests the tedium of waiting for the morning to pass but it also suggests funeral bells that will echo later.
What does angry tearless sighs mean?
Here you notice that the stereotypical roles of the parents have been swapped around, with the father crying, and the mother “coughing out tearless angry sighs”. This really emphasizes the traumatising experience that this family are going through. It illustrates how painful a death of a loved one is for anyone. “
Why was the baby the lucky one that day?
7. Why was the baby the lucky one that day? The child is an innocent, oblivious to the events and grief which surround it. Why was the poet embarrassed by the old men shaking his hand?
Why does the poet choose the word kneeling when writing about the school bells?
The word “knelling” is used instead of ringing which hints at the mood; the bell which is bringing classes to an end reminds the boy of a church bell kneeling for a funeral and perhaps is forewarning him of the death he is about to face.
Is Seamus Heaney dead?
Does Seamus Heaney use language effectively in Mid-Term Break?
Heaney makes use of several literary devices in 'Mid-Term Break. ' These include but are not limited to alliteration, enjambment, caesura, and imagery. The latter is one of the most important techniques a poet can make use of in their work.
How is Mid-Term Break a moving poem?
How does Heaney make "Mid-Term Break" such a moving poem? In "Mid-Term Break," Heaney uses a variety of devices to make his brother's death moving. The imagery Heaney uses is arguably the most effective technique used in achieving this, although other techniques, such as enjambment are also used.
When all the others were away at Mass meaning?
• It is as if the only two people who matter are the poet and his mother. The rest of the family are 'the others' or the 'some' who cry and pray at the bedside. At the moment of his mother's death, the poet's grief brings him to a time and a place when he and she were alone together and were never closer.