In Seamus Heaney's poem, "Midterm Break," Heaney contributes to the depressing/saddening tone through his straight-forward diction. Plain, simple, and concise words are used to give the serious efect Heaney is reaching for.
Mid-Term Break is about a college student who is disconnected with his family. The death of his baby brother/sister puts him in an awkward situatuiion in which the author feels out of place, not knowing whether he should act like a crying baby or resreved old man. n This is amplified through the absnce of descriptive words.
Throughout the poem, it is evident that adjectives and descriptors are not commonly used; adjectives are rarely used to boost the saddening effect, like "angry tearless sighs," or gaudy scars." The lack of description, reinforces how awkward the situation it is for the author, and also puts him into contrast of the crying/laughing baby and old men.
In conclusion, the overall tone of the poem is that of grief, but the grief is not felt through all, specifically the author, do to the disconnect between him/her and their family. The author does not know how to react, so he/she simply describes the situation as is, without heavy description and focus on mood.
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2 comments:
I agree with you. I espcialy think that the speaker was confused about how he feels in the poem. The attitude totally changes through lmost every stanza of the poem. From sad, happy, resrved, angry, and when he sees his younger simbling dead but as something more soft instead of gaudy. This is one of the main aspects i pointed out in my spoken commentary of this poem.
I also agree with you. I think that there's very little use of adjectives and descriptors, however although there is the interaction between the baby and the old men that can show how the speaker doesn't know how to act, what about the interactions with the other people such as his mother, father, strangers and neighbors?
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