Comparison of On my first sonne and mid-term break

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Comparing and Contrasting

“On My First Sonne” And “Mid-Term Break”

The two poems, “On My First Sonne” by Ben Jonson and “Mid-Term Break” by Seamus Heaney, are both about the death of young children and how the aftermath affects the recently deceased family. The poems are written from two different points of view. A father who loses his 7 year old boy “Seven yeeres tho’ wert lent to me” and a brother who 4 year old brother dies “A four foot box, a foot for every year.”

The first obvious language contrast is that “On My First Sonne” is written in old English, whereas “Mid-Term Break” is written in a conversational modern way.

The first line of “Mid-Term Break” “I sat all morning in the college sick bay” has two separate meanings. “Morning” as in before afternoon or “morning” as in grieving.

In line 6 Heaney says “And Big Jim Evans saying it was a hard blow” illustrates that even a strong, tough man is sad about the death of this 4 year old.

The 3rd stanza is full of different techniques. Rule of 3 “The baby cooed and laughed and rocked the pram” is written because people tend to remember lists of three i.e. lights, camera, action; ready, set, go. The 2nd line’s first half “when I came in,” connects to the first line as a description. The rest of the stanza “and I was embarrassed by old men standing up to shake my hand.” is a reaction to that description. That same line is also an enjambment with the first line of the 4th stanza “And tell me they were “sorry for my for my trouble.”” This connects the 2 stanzas together while slightly changing the subject from his first reaction to him getting a bit more settled into his surroundings.

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In Line 15, the subject of the poem refers to his brother as “the corpse, stanched and bandaged by the nurses.” To illustrate that the brother has past away and the body is just a shell, not the actual brother.

Personification is the main technique used in the 6th stanza “Snowdrops and candles soothed the bedside”. The snowdrops and candles probably make the room appear calmer and softer rather than having harsh, bright colours.

“A poppy bruise on his left temple,” is written because a poppy is a symbol of remembrance. We wear poppies on Remembrance Day to remember the people ...

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