Part one of term paper
Death in the family is shocking, and it is even more appalling when it is unforeseen and when it takes a child. Three poets have written from personal experience three renowned poems on this theme. Margaret Atwood wrote “Death of a Young Son by Drowning”, Seamus Heaney gave us “Mid-term Break”, and Ben Johnson penned On My First Son. ...

Part two of term paper
... but also the speaker’s attitude.” Death of a Young Son by Drowning” and “On My First Son” are both straight- forward titles. Looking at them, the reader discerns immediately the focus of the poem. Mid-term Break, conversely, is a title that leads the reader to believe that the poem most likely is about a normal carefree vacation and break from school. The author of this poem used this title ironically. He anticipated the reader’s expectations, and took the poem in a different dire ...