How does Heaney make "Mid-Term Break" such a moving poem?

Heaney's use of enjambment is another clever technique used by the poet to make the poem so moving. Throughout the poem, Heaney often ends lines mid-sentence (e.g. "the ambulance arrived/With the corpse.") This use of enjambment suggests to the reader that Heaney is having difficulty in controlling his emotions. This explains why some lines end mid-sentence-because Heaney is in such emotional distress that he 'accidentally' ends a line mid-sentence. This invokes sorrow and empathy from the reader. Both these feelings invoked by the reader also make the reader feel saddened, hence making the poem moving.

The description of Heaney's mother is a very moving description. The reader is told that Heaney's mother "coughed out angry, tearless sighs." The fact that Heaney's mother is "tearless" shows us that his mother has cried so much now that she has no more tears left to give. In addition, Heaney cleverly uses the words "coughed out" to show the reader that Heaney's mother has to go very deep now to find the "tearless sighs" as she is in severe emotional distress. This clever description used by Heaney reminds the reader of the loving and caring attitudes of mothers, so in this way, the reader can almost feel the distress the mother is in.

Lastly, Heaney's description of the baby also makes the poem very saddening. In the poem, Heaney has written, "The baby cooed and laughed and rocked in the pram." The fact that the baby is oblivious to anything that is happening shows the reader the innocence of young children. This innocence of the baby, therefore, could be compared to the innocence of the child who has died. This makes the situation even worse as it enables the reader to later realise that an innocent life has unnecessarily been lost.

In "Mid-Term Break," Heaney's powerful and concise descriptions of the situation make the poem very moving. The descriptions invoke sorrow and pity from the reader, both of which make the reader feel saddened about the situations described in the poem.