Juxtaposition In Mid Term Break

‘Mid Term Break’ displays a negative discovery through the renewed perceptions of his mother and father after the confronted ideal of his younger brother’s death. The poet uses first person as well as juxtaposition to illustrate the confused poet at his mothers and fathers swapped roles. “He usually took funerals in his stride” suggests that his father is not his practical self. The context of this poem is set in the 1950’s which furthers this as father figures were supposed to be ‘patriarchal’ and not show as much emotion. Thus, the fathers feminie shift emphasizes the extreme experience that the poet’s family are going through. The juxtaposition also used in this poem furthers the confusion and discovery the poet undergoes through his parents.
The mother “coughing out tearless angry sighs” portrays the contrast between the parents, but also conveys how they link together. The father has let down his guard and therefore the poets mother has stepped up to be strong. Both techniques in the second and fifth stanza represent how the poet is observing for the first time a confronting ideal that has resulted in the personas patriarchal father and mother switching roles to deal with the pain.