The Context of "Mid-Term Break"
About the poem:
Seamus Heaney wrote this poem a year after the death of his younger brother Christopher. Seamus was fourteen when Christopher, age four, was hit by a car and killed. Seamus came back from boarding school for the funeral and “Mid-Term Break” reflects on that homecoming.
To learn more, read the essay on this poem.
Seamus Heaney wrote this poem a year after the death of his younger brother Christopher. Seamus was fourteen when Christopher, age four, was hit by a car and killed. Seamus came back from boarding school for the funeral and “Mid-Term Break” reflects on that homecoming.
To learn more, read the essay on this poem.
Definitions:
Pram: baby carriage
Stanched: to stop the flow of blood or other liquid from (a wound, leak, etc.)
Pram: baby carriage
Stanched: to stop the flow of blood or other liquid from (a wound, leak, etc.)
The poppy:
Poppies have long been used as a symbol of death because of their blood-red color. They can also symbolize the promise of resurrection after death. Poppies are also used to relieve pain (morphine and opium).