Midterm Break: Explain how the poet has used language to create mood and atmosphere in one poem you have studied.

... Mid-term Break Essay Question: Explain how the poet has used language to create mood and atmosphere in one poem you have studied. "Mid-term Break" is an autobiographical poem by Seamus Heaney about the death of a schoolboy's four-year old brother and the reactions and atmosphere surrounding it. Heaney uses plain matter of fact language to create mood and atmosphere for the poem. The use of 'sounds' is significantly used by Heaney to convey words of condolence. The heading of the poem - "Mid-term Break" is ironic. The reader anticipates a joyful holiday break, nevertheless, Heaney has chosen these words carefully and deliberately to shock the reader as they learn that this poem is not actually about a holiday, but in fact about the death of an infant. The subtle and ambiguous title ironically sums up what the poem is about - a "break" in the life of a schoolboy's younger brother. The

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