Second Stanza Heaney example essay topic

Seamus Heaney The Early purges and mid-term break Compare and contrast Seamus Haney's poems, 'The early purges' and 'mid-term break', commenting on any similarities between them. What lesson do the children in each poem learn? Seamus Heaney was born on the 13th April 1939 in a small town in Ireland. He was the eldest of nine children and was part of a catholic family. His family owned a farm and that was their business, but Heaney didn't follow that.

He decided to follow his dream and become an English teacher and also became a poet. Heaney has written many poems. Two of them are the 'Early purges' and 'Mid-term break'. Both poems are about Heaney's childhood and both seem to show important periods during his life. 'The Early purges' is a poem about farm life and what happens on a farm.

In the poem it shows a lot of emotion from Heaney but also it shows the way that Heaney starts to accept what 6 goes on, on a farm. The poem also shows that adults are an influence to young children and those adults can teach us important things about life. The main point of the story is about the dearth of animals on a farm. The first stanza of 'The early purges' opens with a shocking statement, "I was six when I first saw kittens drown". This shows that Heaney was only six when he had seen his first sign of death. This sentence by itself shows that the killing of the animals traumatizes Heaney.

In the second line the statement "Scraggy wee shits" is used by Dan ~Taggart. The shows that Dan Taggart hasn't remorse or sentiment for killing the animals. The use of an oxymoron 'Frail metal sound' catches the readers attention. This does it by showing how weak the cats are against the bucket. In the second stanza, it opens with the description of what the kittens are doing. It says "soft paws scarping like mad".

This is an alliteration and simile in use here and they show that the kittens are weak and that they can't escape from the bucket even though they are trying their hardest In the stanza there is another oxymoron in use as it says "A tiny din" and it also says "Soon soused" which now suggests that the kittens are now dead because that have totally stopped moving and wriggling and trying to escape they are now silenced. In the third stanza it says it says "Sure isn't it better for then now". This show that Heaney sees the exact opposite of Dan as he suggests that the kittens have been put out of their misery but Heaney sees them as miserable and compares the to wet gloves. In the stanza the words "glossy and dead" would normally imply that an animal is healthy yet is used ion the contrast that they are dead. In the fourth stanza it states, "Suddenly frightened, for days I sadly hung round the yard, watching the three sogged remains turn mealy and crisp as old summer dung". The wet effect is used once again with the word 'sogged'.

More imagery is used in the form of a simile. The simile helps to imagine crisp and meal items, the items meaning the kittens. Heaney relies on the idea that 'we' will imagine these and use them to relate to other things in our lives. 'For days I sadly hung' also implies sentiment and that Heaney does have feelings for the animals. In the fifth stanza Heaney starts to realize what farm life is like by witnessing other animals being killed. An example of this is 'snared rabbits, shot crows or with a sickening tug, pulled hens necks'.

These give the images of death more and more in Haney's life and gives the effect that Dan Taggart has no sentiment what so ever. In the sixth stanza it starts to show that Heaney is becoming more like Dan Taggart and starts to even talk like him. It says 'Displaces false sentiment'. This means that Heaney is now getting rid of phoney feelings. The statement 'Bloody pups' comes into play and is used in the means that Heaney is now fully used to what happens and has realised that here is nothing that he can do about it. This also 'Re echoes' what Dan Taggart is like?

This shows that Dan Taggart is an influence on Heaney in what he does. In the final stanza it shows that Heaney has finally come to terms with what has happened with the animals and accepts that it is daily life. There are different tones, which are being used. The aggressive, blunt and repulsive tone of the poem demonstrates Heaney's feelings. In Mid-term break Heaney's poem is one again about death, but this time it is his brother. The title of the poem suggests a break between tow terms in school as if it is being cut short.

This can also be taken as the fact that Heaney's brother's life has also been cut short. The first line of the poem tells you where Heaney is when he receives the news. In the second line of the stanza 'Counting bells, bells knelling classes to a close' is used, to show that time is going very slow for Heaney. The word 'Knelling' also implies a funeral because knelling are ten heard here. The atmosphere here is already sad because of the description that is used.

In the second stanza Heaney is greeted by his father. Upset and crying Heaney writes that his father "Had always taken funerals in his stride" yet at this one is father is full of anguish more important to him meaning that this is someone close to him. In the third line of the second stanza it says 'And big Jim Evans saying it was a hard blow' Jim means 'blow' in a metaphorical way yet it is received as a pun and it still affects Heaney as it is a literal blow to Heaney's brother. In the third and fourth stanzas Heaney's unease and discomfort is shown in two places. The first time is when he first arrives at the house and sees the baby who cooed and laughed, this then reminds him of his young innocent brother. The second time is when 'Old men' who get up to shake his hand.

This was 'rare' for Heaney as the men have 'accepted' Heaney. They treat him as an equal. In the fifth stanza it says that his mother 'Coughed out angry tearless sighs'. This shows that she is heart broken and that she has to cough out her remaining emotions because there is little sorrow left.

In the remanding lines of the stanza an ambulance arrives with a corpse, "Stanched and bandaged". The arrival is sudden and bring of the memories about his brother. The body of his brother is just his shell and there is no like, his brother's soul brought the body top life, now it is 'Limp' and bored. This body wasn't Heaney's brother and he now has to come to terms with it. The sixth stanza talks about Heaney going to see his brother on his own. Firstly it says 'Next morning I went up into the room.

Snowdrops and candles soothed the bedside'. This shows that the room and tone is now alot calmer and that and that Heaney is able to grieve in private. 'Snow drops's ignifies peace and beauty once again emphasising the calmness of the scene, secondly it says 'I saw him for the first time in six weeks, paler now'. This shows that Heaney has been away for a long time and the first time that he has had to spend with his brother, he isn't alive. In the final stanza it says 'wearing a poppy bruise on his left temple'. Firstly this implies the bruise or the mark that has been left after the accident and secondly it shows that the bruise could be moved.

That is the thought of Heaney, although it can't, Heaney just wants his brother back. The last line of the stanza says 'The bumper knocked him clear'. This means that a car hit him. At the end of the poem there is a line on its own. In it, it says 'A four foot box, a foot for every year'. This implies that Heaney's brother was only four years old when he died.

Young and innocent just like the kittens in the 'Early Purges' From both poems there are many lessons that can be learned. Farm life and daily life cannot be changed if that is how it goes. People and animals do die but you must always try to keep your head up high and keep your own mind. I enjoyed the 'Mid-term break' poem the most.

The reasons for this are that I think it is more effective in the description that are used. The use of a simile and alliterations helped me imagine just what Heaney was feeling and I also found that Heaney realty shared hi true feelings when writing the poem. To me that is very important.