Mid-term Break
The poem explores the tragic death of the persona's younger brother. This poem is inspired by a real life event, as the poet's younger brother was killed in a car crash when he was four.
At the beginning of the poem, the persona is in school. There is a suspenseful and ominous tone, as the persona can sense that something is wrong. The school day is described as monotonous, dull and uneventful, as all he does is listen to the bells signifying the end of lessons. The "bells knelling classes to a close" are also indicative of funeral bells, foreshadowing the child's death.
After the school day comes to a close, the persona is driven home. Here he finds his extended family gathered together, grieving. They prepare for the funeral. At this stage of the poem the reader is not aware of whose funeral it is, only that it is someone very close to the family who is greatly missed. Friends and family members offer words of sympathy, such as the colloquial phrase "it was a hard blow."
The persona then has a flashback to a previous memory with his younger brother. It is here that we realize it is the brother who died. In his memory, his brother is loving and overjoyed to see him. The small child's life is characterized by laughter and happiness. This is a stark contrast to his death, which prompts intense sorrow and grief. The persona is then pulled out of his flashback by the sound of friends and family expressing their condolences.
The persona holds his mothers hand while he waits for the ambulance to arrive. At 10-o-clock the ambulance comes. The body of the small boy is pulled out of the ambulance - he is bound in bandages and clearly dead.
The next morning, the persona goes up to his deceased brother's room. He describes the things he can see in this room, such as snowdrops and candles, before he looks at his younger brother. He notices that the corpse is pale, fragile and bruised, but not excessively scarred. The persona describes that the body is placed in a small wooden box that is four foot long, representing his four years of age.
In this way, the poem occurs over a tight time frame. It takes place over the course of two days. The first day describes the family's preparations for the funeral, and contains a flashback with positive childhood memories. In the second day, the persona looks over the body of his deceased younger brother and laments his loss.
Mossbawn: Sunlight
The poet was born in Mossbawn, in a family farmhouse. The vivid descriptions of simple, rustic images in the poem makes it clear to the reader that the poet reminiscences days of his childhood in Mossbawn. "There was a sunlit absence" sets the tone of the poem, implying that the poem functions in absentia. Company, solace and affection are some of the 'absences' in the poem. The sun is described as 'torturous', the 'measling shins' indicate physical strain. Like a passive observer, the poet records everything in detail. The minute descriptions of his surroundings makes the reader almost touch and observe the surroundings of the poet. The poet is gifted with the ability to immerse himself deep into the ocean of memory, simply with the name of a local place.
Personal Helicon
In this poem, the poet explains the world to the reader through the images of wells and springs, which are symbols of life. The well seems to confine life in it. It is "so deep you saw no reflection in it." The shallow well may portray the poet at later stages of his life. As the poet introspects by looking into the reflection, the rat almost acts as an instrument for the poet's realization of the 'scaresome in him'. The poem ends with reference to Narcissus, whose myth has direct relations to the title. The myth of Narcissus locates itself on Mount Helicon. The springs of Mount Helicon are sources of inspiration.
The Peninsula
The poem takes the reader on a drive to a virgin territory - 'the land without marks' along with the poet. In the opening lines of the poem human emotions are beautifully portrayed- 'When you have nothing more to say', suggesting a sense of grief, joy, or even meaninglessness of life which leads to this speechlessness.The poem proceeds with stark contrasts between the darkness caused due to swallowing of the 'whitewashed gable' and the brightness of the 'glazed foreshore'. The peaceful Irish countryside presented in the poem parallels James Synge's description of Aran Islands in his play Riders to the Sea, complete with the natural images of birds, rocks and islands. However, this untouched landscape without any marks, makes it difficult for the traveller to distinguish one place from another; bringing in a sense of monotony. This natural form of the place is disrupted later in the poem, as the car drives throughout the body of the virgin land.
