Mid-Term Break Theme

How do the poets Emily Dickinson and Seamus Heaney convey a sense of death in the two poems; and “Because I Could Not Stop For Death” and ”Mid-Term Break”

The poem “Because I Could Not Stop For Death”, by Emily Dickinson, reveals the calm acceptance of death whereas “Mid-Term Break”by Seamus Heaney, is a poem that shows his attitude towards the death of his younger brother. I’ve chosen to do these 2 poems because of the theme “death”. “Mid-Term Break” is a poem that recaps the experience Seamus’ brothers death, whereas “Because I could Not Stop For Death” talks about being dead for centuries and how death is seen as a person. These poems allow me to look at the different ways death is portrayed.

The main theme in “Mid-Term Break” is about

From the title of the poem, we can see that Dickinson has revealed to the reader instantly, that the poem is going to be dull and gloomy as she uses the word ‘death’ and ‘death’ is often associated with the loss of something or someone close. In the second line of the first stanza, we notice that death has been personified in the phrase “He kindly stopped for me“. This is linked with being a gentleman and this could imply that death is something not to feel scared about but instead, to feel

She uses “We” as a reference to death and the narrator, which makes us aware that the carriage is moving and not still. Dickinson uses a literary device, ‘personification’ to show the beauty of nature in the phrase “Setting Sun”, implying that she’s on her way to a peaceful afterlife. This is possibly used to show the reader that it is a symbol for the end of life.

In stanza 4, Dickinson uses personification in the phrase “For only Gossamer, my Gown – My Tippet – only Tulle –“. Dickinson emphasizes that her gown is made of “Gossamer” and her “Tippet” which is only made of “Tulle”, which isn’t enough to warm her up. This suggests that Dickinson wants the reader to feel that the objects are alive through the use of personification.

Both poems convey the theme of death; the poets Seamus Heaney and Emily Dickinson present the conclusion differently. Dickinson has created a very negative representation of death as it is about the death of a young family member, whereas Dickinson, gives a more calm, relaxing feeling as she gives her opinion on what she thinks will happen after death and is optimistic as she talks about Eternity in his final sentence.

To conclude, I think that both poems successfully served their idea by giving the reader the feeling or idea that the poet wanted to