Mid-Term Break by Seamus Heaney

With the title 'Mid-Term Break' Heaney suggests that this is a poem focusing on a childhood memory. This was, however, no happy break from school. The first stanza does not explain what the reason for the break was, but Heaney's wait in the sick bay sets up a feeling that something is wrong. The use of the word 'knelling' rather than 'tolling' for the school bell has connotations of death. We discover during the course of the poem that Heaney was returning home for the funeral of his younger brother who had been killed in a road accident.

The second stanza shows how devastating this tragic accident was for Heaney's family. Heaney remembers that he met his father 'crying- / He had always taken funerals in his stride'. The third stanza, in contrast, opens with a description of the baby of the family that 'cooed and laughed and rocked the pram', showing that in some aspects family life went on as usual amid the grief.

The third and fourth stanzas are linked by enjambment and by the description of Heaney's feelings on confronting those who had come to pay their respects. Heaney felt 'embarrassed / By old men' as they stood up, shook his hand and expressed their sorrow. It must indeed have been strange and probably uncomfortable for a young boy to find himself in a situation of reversed roles. He was aware of 'whispers' as acquaintances told strangers that he was the eldest child of the family and attended boarding school.

The fourth and fifth stanzas are also linked by enjambment and show how different Heaney's mother's reaction to the event was from his father's. As she held his hand she 'coughed out angry tearless sighs', conveying the sense that she was too upset to cry but sensitive to the need of her eldest child for comfort.

In the fifth stanza Heaney describes in a matter-of-fact way that the ambulance brought the 'corpse', giving a sense that at first Heaney could perhaps not think of the body as being that of his brother. The tone changes, however, in the sixth stanza as Heaney goes up alone to see his brother's body the following morning. He describes the presence of snowdrops and candles as soothing the bedside; this is a transferred epithet, as they actually soothed his feelings. Heaney again uses enjambment to link this stanza with the seventh, mentioning that his brother now looked paler than the last time he had seen him six weeks previously. He uses the metaphor 'Wearing a poppy bruise on his left temple', poppies being the colour of blood as well as a symbol of the dead. Heaney uses the word 'box' rather than coffin, and is reminded as he looks at his brother of the way he saw him in his cot. The final line of the seventh stanza tells us that the little boy had no 'gaudy scars' as the car knocked him to one side rather than running over him.

'Mid-Term Break' ends with a single line in contrast to the previous stanzas which are each three lines long. 'A four foot box, a foot for every year' describes poignantly how young the boy was and how tiny his coffin was. Heaney reserves the use of rhyme for the final two lines of the poem, where 'clear' and 'year' form a rhyming couplet.

The poem begins with factual statements almost devoid of emotion. It then moves through a phase of describing discomfort and difficult emotions in the presence of strangers, where the sentences become more complex. As Heaney reaches the point where he spends time alone with his brother's body, there is a feeling of calm. It is, however, extremely moving. Such a tragedy must have had a profound effect on Heaney and this poem conveys his feelings beautifully.

Revise the English and English Literature Anthology for AQA A

I must emphasise at the outset of this review that Revise the English and English Literature Anthology for AQA A is intended for pupils taking GCSE English examinations, but only those who are studying the AQA Specification A as is clear from the title. (AQA is an examination board.) Pupils will be supplied by their schools with the AQA Anthology itself (Oxford University Press, ISBN 0198318812); the Anthology is not available in online or offline bookshops, but if you did need to obtain a copy, you might find one on Ebay.

Tony Childs' book is therefore intended to assist with revision of the Anthology, by taking the poems and short stories one by one and asking questions that will guide pupils in the understanding and analysis of the works. The book opens with a six-page introduction that explains the aims of the book, how it can help with revision, and how to prepare for the examination. The summary stresses the importance of reading all the texts again before attempting to answer the questions in this book. There is also some guidance on sitting the examinations themselves, giving details of how long they last, how many questions there are, how to make a good choice of question, and how to plan an answer before starting to write.

The book is then divided into two main sections, Section 1 on English and Section 2 on English Literature: all pupils study at least half the poems in Section 1; all pupils study some of the poetry in Section 2; and some pupils study the prose in Section 2.

Section 1 English

All pupils have to study this section of the Anthology, although some schools concentrate on only Cluster 1 or Cluster 2, each of which contains eight poems. In the examination, there is a choice of two questions, one featuring poems from Cluster 1 and the other poems from Cluster 2. A pupil who has only studied one of the clusters will therefore not have a choice of questions. Cluster 1 contains poems by poets such as Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Chinua Achebe and Grace Nichols, whilst Cluster 2 has works by John Agard, Moniza Alvi and Tom Leonard amongst others. Some of these are written in non-standard English, and most are by poets of non-British origin.

Section 1 briefly explains how the English Anthology fits into the course, and then goes on to discuss what the examiners are looking for over the following two pages. It then looks at the poems one by one, giving a little information about the author followed in some cases by a glossary, and then the main 'Read and revise' set of questions. The questions are preceded by two or three sentences giving a reminder to read the poem and pointing out a basic feature of it, for example, 'Notice particularly the changing length of sentence' for Imtiaz Dharker's poem 'Blessing'. To give an example of the type of questions presented in this book, for Lawrence Ferlinghetti's 'Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes', Childs asks, 'Which details in the description of the scavengers contrast with the people in the Mercedes? Look for words and phrases, and think about their effect.' Whilst the book does not provide answers to these questions, they will guide pupils in their reading of the poems and show them the points that they need to look for. The questions are followed by 'Final thoughts', a brief summing up, for example 'Read the poem again. Much of the poem is at least half-joking, and is like a song. How does this change at the end?' sums up John Agard's 'Half-Caste'. Finally, there is a table suggesting which poems in the collection could be compared to the one in question.

After all the poems have been dealt with, Childs discusses how to go about comparing poems from different cultures and traditions. He takes 'Night of the Scorpion' and 'Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes' and draws up a plan giving notes on how they could be compared in terms of meanings and interpretations; linguistic, structural and presentational devices; language variations; and finally place and culture. The following two pages on Structuring a response to Poems from Different Cultures and Traditions considers the question 'Compare the ways in which the poets present people in Night of the Scorpion and one other poem of your choice from the selection.' It offers clear advice in the form of bullet points as well as a table of detailed notes. Pupils are always advised to end by stating which poem of the two they prefer and why.

Section 2 English Literature

All pupils have to study some poems from the Pre-1914 Poetry Bank; alongside these, some pupils study the poems of Seamus Heaney and Gillian Clarke, whilst others study those of Carol Ann Duffy and Simon Armitage. Most examination questions involve comparing two poems, either one by Heaney with one by Clarke or one by Duffy with one by Armitage, and referring in addition to two poems from the Pre-1914 Bank. The Pre-1914 Poetry Bank includes works by poets such as Walt Whitman, Robert Browning, Thomas Hardy, William Blake and William Wordsworth.

Section 2 opens, similarly to Section 1, by showing how the English Literature Anthology fits into the course and explaining what the examiners are looking for. The Assessment Objectives are explained, which include responding to texts critically, sensitively and in detail; exploring how language, structure and form contribute to meaning; and exploring relationships and comparisons within and between texts. Childs notes that examiners will be looking for an understanding of the texts and an ability to think about them and compare one with another.

The poems of Heaney, Clarke, Duffy, Armitage and those of the Pre-1914 Poetry Bank are then looked at in detail, one by one, in a way similar to that of Section 1. Questions include 'The person in the poem is violent. Find as many violent actions, thoughts or intentions as you can in the poem' (for Duffy's Education for Leisure), or 'In lines 4-6, find two examples of things being unusually sad and affecting – one stated, one implied' (for Heaney's Mid-Term Break). Some of the questions are broken down into several bullet points relating to the same aspect of the poem. Final thoughts sum up each poem, and again there is a table suggesting which other poems are suitable for comparison.

A sub-section on Comparing poems/ Structuring a poetry response explains a little about the choice of questions offered in the examination and what candidates might be asked to compare, for instance feelings, ideas, and the poets' styles of writing. A plan is given in the form of a table for the question 'Compare the ways that poets write about nature in four or more of the poems you have studied. You should write about The Field Mouse by Gillian Clarke and Storm on the Island by Seamus Heaney, and two poems from the Pre-1914 Poetry Bank'. Childs selects Tennyson's The Eagle and Clare's Sonnet from the Pre-1914 Bank. In the plan, one column is dedicated to each poem, and notes are then made on aggression connected with nature, feelings caused by nature, other issues, language, structure and form.

Prose follows the poetry: many pupils study a novel as a set text for English Literature, such as Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men', but the short stories in the AQA Anthology provide an alternative to the novel. Pupils do, however, have to compare two short stories from the selection in the examination. There are seven short stories altogether, the authors of which are Doris Lessing, Sylvia Plath, Ernest Hemingway, Joyce Cary, Graham Swift, Leslie Norris and Michele Roberts – all modern or contemporary writers.

Revision guidance for the Anthology Short Stories is presented in the same way as it is for the poems. Each story is looked at in turn through a series of questions (preceded again by a brief note on the author and a glossary where necessary). Final thoughts are followed by two examples of examination questions which require the story to be compared in some way to one of the others in the collection.

Following the detailed analysis of each story, Childs gives guidance on comparing short stories with regard to both content and style. Structuring a Prose Response on the following two pages shows how to 'Compare two stories where characters face difficult situations'. Taking Lessing's 'Flight' and Roberts' 'Your Shoes', Childs defines the four main points to consider and shows how to make a plan in table form giving notes on these four points.

Sample answers and commentaries give three responses to the question 'Doris Lessing uses pigeons to represent something else. Write about how she does this, and how the author of one other story in the Anthology uses the same technique.' One of the sample answers was awarded a Grade A, one a Grade C, and the third a Grade E. Each sample answer is followed by a commentary.

The Glossary on the final page gives definitions of terms such as alliteration, paradox, refrain and syntax.

This is probably the best book available to assist in studying and revising the AQA Anthology. Whilst it does not provide answers to the questions asked, the nature of these questions gives a clear idea of what needs to be considered for each poem or short story and assists in giving a sound understanding. Even an able pupil who understands a poem or story well, however, may not be confident in comparing it with another work in the Anthology, and Childs' book gives plenty of advice in this area. There is a bonus for those studying the poems of Cluster 1 for English, as well as those studying the poems of Heaney and Clarke for English Literature, as some of these are focused on when showing how to structure a response to the poems.

I have used this book on a one-to-one basis both when introducing a pupil to a poem or short story for the first time and for the purposes of revision. I have also lent it to one or two more able pupils who were aiming at a Grade A for English and English Literature, and they were able to gain a stronger insight into the Anthology by using this book on their own. I do think it would be difficult for a less able pupil to use the book without a tutor or parent guiding them, but for a parent who does wish to help, this is an ideal book. No-one is likely to be using every single sub-section of the book, but even so, if it results in achieving even one grade higher, £6.50 seems a small price to pay. I would definitely recommend this book as a study guide or a revision guide for the examinations in question.

Revise the English and English Literature Anthology for AQA A

by Tony Childs

Heinemann, 2002

Paperback, 252 pages

ISBN 0435102885

Price £6.25 (Amazon Marketplace from £2.25)

Death of a Naturalist - Seamus Heaney

Heaney's poem 'Death of a Naturalist' focuses on his experience of collecting and watching frogspawn as a child, and his reaction when the spawn turned into frogs.

In the first ten lines of the poem Heaney uses vivid imagery to describe the setting and its sights, smell and sounds. The phrase 'flax-dam festered' in the opening line combines assonance and alliteration, and begins to create the atmosphere of decay. 'Heavy headed' at the end of the second line again uses assonance and alliteration in one phrase to describe the flax that had rotted. The heaviness is emphasised further in the third line, where the flax is 'weighted down by huge sods'. The idea that hot weather has caused the decay is expressed in line four: 'Daily it sweltered in the punishing sun', a personification of the oppressiveness of the sun. A gentler image focusing on sound is created in 'Bubbles gargled delicately' in line five. The movement of flies is described with a metaphor: 'bluebottles / wove a strong gauze of sound around the smell', a fascinating image combining different senses. Line seven hints at the beauty of the scene with its 'dragonflies, spotted butterflies'.

In line eight Heaney makes the first mention of frogspawn with the metaphor 'warm thick slobber', which as a child was 'best of all' to him among the offerings of nature. In line nine he uses the simile 'grew like clotted water' to describe his impression of it. The poem then switches to an account of how Heaney collected frog spawn every spring, filling 'jampotfuls of the jellied / specks', imagery that again combines alliteration and assonance. The jars were arranged both at home and at school, then carefully observed as the specks turned into 'nimble-/swimming tadpoles' – another example of assonance.

Lines fifteen to twenty-one (the end of the first stanza) are a very childlike account of how the schoolteacher, Miss Walls, taught Heaney's class about frogs and frogspawn. Simple, childish language features in this section, such as 'the mammy frog laid hundreds of little eggs'; there are four clauses each joined by 'and' in this sentence, just as though it were written by a child. The final sentence of the first stanza continues in the same style, telling us that frogs are yellow in sunny weather but 'brown / In rain'. The last, brief two-word line of the first stanza seems to underline the fact that this is the end of a period of innocence and that a change is forthcoming.

The second stanza of twelve lines is much shorter than the first and has a very different tone; the feeling of change is signalled by the opening phrase 'Then one hot day'... Unpleasant imagery begins with fields described as 'rank / with cowdung'. At the end of line two and the beginning of line three the frogs are seen as 'angry' and have 'invaded the flax-dam': they have taken over in a war-like gesture. As Heaney approached he heard a 'coarse croaking' that was a new sound in that setting; in line twenty-six he uses the metaphor 'The air was thick with a bass chorus' to describe how the sound filled the place. Frogs are everywhere and they are ugly, 'gross-bellied', pictured with assonance in the phrase 'cocked / on sods'. Their flabby necks are described by Heaney with the simile 'pulsed like sails'. The sound of their movements is expressed by onomatopoeia: 'slap and plop', which obviously disgusted Heaney who felt that these were 'obscene threats'. In line thirty their stance is described by the simile 'Poised like mud grenades', an image that echoes the war-like connotation of the word 'invaded' in line twenty-four. Heaney again voices his distaste for the sound of the frogs in the phrase 'their blunt heads farting'. He could not face them, and in line thirty-one he 'sickened, turned and ran', such was his revulsion. He personifies them as 'great slime kings' and in the following line states that they had assembled at the flax-dam for revenge: 'gathered there for vengeance' for stolen frogspawn. Heaney's final line expresses how far his imagination as a child took hold: 'if I dipped my hand the spawn would clutch it'. This is a nightmare image where the spawn becomes powerful and grabs the child, reversing the original roles.

The structure of the poem, where the first stanza is almost twice the length of the first, resembles that of Heaney's 'Blackberry-Picking'. Both poems describe an enjoyable childhood experience in the first stanza which turns sour in the second, linking form to meaning. The feeling of disillusion and disappointment following pleasure is a common theme in these two poems. 'Death of a Naturalist' links language to meaning as well, the vivid imagery of the second stanza creating a marked contrast with the simple, childlike wording of lines fifteen to twenty-one. There is a wealth of description here and we can sympathise with the child's disgust of the creatures that evolved from his precious jars of frogspawn.

Blackberry picking - Seamus Heaney

This is one of Heaney's poems that centres on memories of his childhood, growing up on a farm in the Irish countryside. Here he recalls the annual experience of picking wild fruit in late summer.

Heaney uses assonance in his phrase 'glossy purple clot' to describe the first blackberry that ripened and stood out from others pictured with the simile as being still 'hard as a knot'. Heaney compares the taste of the first ripe berry to the sweetness of 'thickened wine'. He uses the metaphor 'summer's blood' to express the redness of the juice that led to a desire for more: 'lust for picking'. The reference to blood is the first suggestion of a less enjoyable or innocent experience.

The second part of the sixteen-line first stanza tells how they collected all the containers they could lay their hands on: 'milk-cans, pea-tins, jam-pots'. The rhythm of the list is repeated two lines later in 'hayfields, cornfields and potato-drills' whose bordering hedges offered the fruit for picking. Onomatopoiea in the phrase 'tinkling bottom' suggests the sound of the first few berries hitting the metal of the cans they were dropped into. An ominous picture is painted in the description of the ripe fruit on the top: 'big dark blobs burned like a plate of eyes'. Perhaps this reflects the vivid imagination of a child. The macabre imagery increases at the end of the first stanza, where Heaney uses the simile 'sticky as Bluebeard's' to describe the blackberry juice covering the palms of the children's hands as if it were blood, thus echoing the earlier metaphor of 'summer's blood'.

In the shorter second stanza, the pleasures of picking and tasting the first ripe berries soon fade away. The berries were 'hoarded' in the byre, but very quickly begin to go mouldy. The mould is described as a 'rat-grey fungus': the inclusion of the word 'rat' in the metaphor emphasizes the distaste of this deterioration. The smell and taste are focused on too. 'Stinking' makes no bones about the unpleasant smell, and the original sweet taste of the blackberries turns sour. The following line reminds us that the poet is speaking here as a child: 'I always felt like crying. It wasn't fair...' Then once again the smell is recalled: 'all the lovely canfuls smelt of rot'. In the last line, Heaney remembers that he always hoped the blackberries would last once they had been picked, but inside realised that this was impossible.

It is interesting to compare this with another poem of Heaney's, 'Death of a Naturalist'. Both of them centre on childhood memories that begin as innocent, pleasurable experiences rooted in nature, but both end in disillusion. Nature's beauty and sweetness do not endure. The desire for the experience ends in revulsion. There is even a parallel in the structure of the two poems with the extended first stanza followed by a more compact second one that describes a change, the moment of disillusion and disgust.

Heaney addresses all the senses with his imagery and hints here and there among his initial admiration and enjoyment that things are perhaps not all they seem. The innocence of childhood and the wonders of nature are transient, and disappointment has to be confronted.