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Midterm Break Analysis

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The use of language and structure to present the speaker’s eventual affirmation of his family role in Digging and Mid-Term Break

Through the poems ‘Digging’ and ‘Mid-Term Break’ of Seamus Heaney, he explores one’s eventual affirmation of his role in the family despite the initial disappointment and guilt. “Digging” reflects on the traditional peat extraction which was commonly used for fuels by farmers during Heaney’s time. This emphasises the legacy of his family in relation to farming. The title ‘Digging’ underlines the metonymy in the last line, substituting Heaney’s pen to his forefathers’ spades. ‘Mid-Term Break’ conveys a distressing family incident, although conversely mid-term breaks are normally associated with a joyful mood. Heaney expresses the moment of loss and the disorientation of the family members as a result of the tragic event.
The flashbacks in ‘Digging’ successfully highlights the heritage of the speaker’s family’s inveterate farming business as the poem presents both past and …show more content…

The first five stanzas of the poem revolve around the speaker’s emotional turmoil via various literary techniques throughout the poem. The onomatopoeia “knelling” is the sound of a bell ringing, especially in funerals, foreshadowing death and creating an ominous atmosphere. Elements of guilt appear as the speaker is described to be “embarrassed” as old men stood up to shake his hand and “whispers” secretly informed the visitors that the speaker was the eldest son and that he was “away at school” as if it was a secret. This implies that the speaker felt ashamed and guilty by the fact that he was absent his brother died. Just as disoriented he is, the speaker is shown to keep a cruel distance from “the corpse” as he fails to come to an acceptance of his death. This again reinforces Heaney’s intent that he was disheartened and bewildered from the initial shock from his brother’s tragic

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The word “silence” in the last line of the stanza is also a reference to death, but the speaker is not concerned because she has “fingers”, or memories to “caress her into silence”. The last stanza is the longest because the speaker has many hopes for future generations. She aspires for her future generations to adore the century quilt, just as she does. The speaker reminisces on past events from her childhood and grandmother to exemplify the memories she hopes her descendents will experience just as she did. The memories were told with great imagery and detail.

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The tone throughout this poem gives off feelings of grief but also hope. The tone, in the beginning, is macabre with the statement, “The ache” (Line 3). This indicates that his father is in pain, emotionally not literally. It makes the reader empathize with those in pain. It also makes the reader think about why the person may be in pain.

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Through the words reflecting melancholy and sorrow, we can sense the narrator's self destruction due to the death of the woman he loved. As one examines the figurative language of the poem, one finds that its form and

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A family’s judgment has a big hold an individual, therefore self-expression is hard especially when that way of life is denied. Eventually one has to choose: fulfill family expectations or stray away to a new path. Breaking away from family can be hard, even hurtful. In “Digging” by Seamus Heaney, the narrator chooses a different lifestyle than those of his ancestors. He chooses to write instead of dig for he has “no spade to follow men like them.”

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