Appreciation of "Mid Term Break" by Semaus Heaney

... Appreciation of "Mid Term Break" by Semaus Heaney The opening stanza is set in the boarding school, with a young boy, waiting in sick bay. The very first word in the poem is "I", and this immediately brings the reader into the poem we identify with the poet. "I sat all morning in the sick bay" we are aware that all is not well. This feeling of apprehension is emphasized with the second line of the opening stanza, "Counting bells knelling classes to a close". Heaney uses alliteration to emphasize the funereal sound of the tolling bells and the feeling of time dragging. The hard "c" sounds point to an ending, whereas the long, gentle "l" sounds suggest a drawn out passing of time. The stanza begins with the "morning" in line one, but it is "two o'clock" when the neighbors arrive in line three, showing that hours have passed while

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