POETRY OF NORMAN MACCAIG VISITING HOUR ANNOTATION Poets

POETRY OF NORMAN MACCAIG VISITING HOUR ANNOTATION

Poet’s Main Idea § This poem describes a hospital visit that Mac. Caig makes to a seriously ill female friend or relative. § He reveals the fear and anxiety that haunts him at the start of the visit § He also explores the pain and suffering of the woman he is visiting and shows that they are distanced due to the pain that she is in. § At the end of the poem there is a hopeless or despairing tone as he knows he can’t help her in the way he would like.

Reflective Nature of the Poem • In the interview ‘A Metaphorical Way of Seeing Things’, Mac. Caig maintained that poetry is a ‘psychological Optrex, it clears your eyes and you see things’. • Mac. Caig reflects throughout the poem on the ways that people try to distract themselves from death and illness and how this is futile.

Theme § Reflection on death and how we try to escape it by distracting ourselves but ultimately we have to face the reality of it. Death is inevitable § He also focusses on the suffering of the woman patient and how that isolates her from those she loves

Structure • Structure mimics his journey through the hospital • Begins with him trying to distract himself from the truth of the visit and then reflecting on the illness once he is confronted by it.

Stanza One The hospital smell combs my nostrils as they go bobbing along green and yellow corridors. Think about: - What happens in this stanza? - Why do you think the poet concentrates on the smell? - What is suggested by the description of the hospital?

A universal smell – something everybody will recognise Stanza One Establishes setting/know visiting someone ill Metaphor – emphasises strong smell and discomfort Synecdoche - All other senses are blocked The hospital smell combs my nostrils as they go bobbing along green and yellow corridors. Helps reader picture hospital Word Choice has connotations of sickness/illness Can’t escape the fact that he is in hospital Creates humorous picture – he is trying to distract himself from visit Bobbing also has connotations of lost/unsure/cast adrift

Stanza Two What seems a corpse is trundled into a lift and vanishes heavenward. . Think about: - What happens in this stanza? - What words or phrases could be shocking to the reader? - What is the effect of this image?

Unsure of what he sees/shows his distress Stanza Two Brutal description of body – shows finality of death/ Death is in his thoughts What seems a corpse is trundled into a lift and vanishes heavenward. Word is emphasised. Shows the inevitability of death Word Choice Slow moving/moving something heavy Disappears and doesn’t come back – as when someone dies Enjambment is used to emphasise three words. An attempt at humour but also shows his thoughts are focussed on death

Stanza Three I will not feel, until I have to. . Think about: - What is the poet wanting to do in this stanza? - What emotion is the poet feeling?

Stanza Three Repetition of I – shows his determination to not feel I will not feel, until I have to. Is on a separate line (highlighted by enjambment) – reveals that he is aware that he will have to address his feelings – can’t escape what is happening Repetition – makes statement feel like a mantra or chant – he is determined to put off his feelings about what is happening

Stanza Four Nurses walk lightly, swiftly, here and up and down and there, their slender waists miraculously carrying their burden of so much pain, so many deaths, their eyes still clear after so many farewells. Think about: - What is happening in this stanza? - How does the poet describe the nurses? - What is the poet’s feeling towards the nurses?

Stanza Four Word Choice Move elegantly and with purpose Nurses walk lightly, swiftly, here and up and down and there, their slender waists miraculously carrying their burden Shows amazement that nurses can cope with so much Contrast to slender Reveals weight of what they do/something to endure Syntax – reveals the fact that the nurses move quickly and are everywhere. The repeated use of “and” reinforces this Shows awe at what they do – they are like angels coping with their jobs Poet feels envy because he can not do the same

Stanza Four Lists the what they have to cope with – repetition highlights the amount they deal with – in contrast to Ma. Caig who can’t deal with one ill person of so much pain, so many deaths, their eyes still clear after so many farewells. Nurses don’t show any emotion despite the pain and suffering that they see/experience Euphemism for death – showing that he can’t escape these thoughts of death and dying

Stanza Five Ward 7. She lies in a white cave of forgetfulness. A withered hand trembles on its stalk. Eyes move behind eyelids too heavy to raise. Into an arm wasted of colour a glass fang is fixed, not guzzling but giving. And between her and me distance shrinks till there is none left but the distance of pain that neither she nor I can cross. Think about: - What is happening in this stanza? - How does the poet describe the woman? - What emotion do you think the poet is feeling?

Non-sentence. Caesura. Turning Point He (and the reader) shocked by ward He has to face his feelings Word Choice Decay/dry /shrivelled up/losing life She is weak due to illness Stanza Five Metaphor Bed/illness has isolated her and made her forget. Contrast to colours of before – highlights her isolation Ward 7. She lies in a white cave of forgetfulness. A withered hand Metaphor of flower – trembles on its stalk. Impersonal pronoun – body as empty shell usually romantic but now emphasises the illness of the woman

Stanza Five Emphasises illness/medication she is taking – she is unable to focus on the visit Word Choice – description Eyes move of her body due to illness behind eyelids too heavy to raise. Into an arm wasted Shocking imagery – of colour a glass fang is fixed, connotations of a not guzzling but giving. vampire. Highlights Harsh “G” sound – reveals his feelings – pointless and intrusive – even as it helps her. Guzzling emphasises the negative impression of the needle distress of poet seeing the woman in this way. Alliteration of “f” emphasises that it is fixed in place

Stanza Five Walking to the hospital bed – wanting to be close to her And between her and me distance shrinks till there is none left but the distance of pain that neither she nor I can cross. Metaphor – sense of futility – physical and emotional pain is a barrier to her connecting with people

Stanza Six She smiles a little at this black figure in her white cave who clumsily rises in the round swimming waves of a bell and dizzily goes off, growing fainter, not smaller, leaving behind only books that will not be read and fruitless fruits. Think about: - What is happening in this stanza? - What point of view is this stanza written in? - What is the final mood or emotion?

Stanza Six His visit has brought her some comfort. It is not clear if she recognises him (black figure) She smiles a little at this black figure in her white cave who clumsily rises in the round swimming waves of a bell Word Choice He is overcome by the experiences Repetition of cave imagery reinforces isolation Contrast between black and white highlights their differences Black – connotations of death, shows how ill she is/Mac. Caig is worried that she might die. Synaesthesia Less obtrusive than other senses – gentler sound Time going slower as he prepares to leave?

Stanza Six Vision blurs due to illness Also reinforces image if poet being clumsy due to distress he feels and dizzily goes off, growing fainter, not smaller, leaving behind only books that will not be read and fruitless fruits. Bitter despair and hopelessness Use of enjambment to focus on final image Oxymoron “fruitless fruits. ” Inability to help and so brings gifts that are useless He is helpless in the face of illness and death

An Overview of the Stanzas • Stanza One – Mac. Caig describes the smell of the hospitals – first hint at illness • Stanza Two – Tries to distract himself but reality of what he is doing influences what he sees • Stanza Three – Desperately tries to avoid any emotion • Stanza Four – Admires the nurses because they do what he can’t • Stanza Five – Reality hits (turning point of the poem. Shows the pain and suffering of the woman • Stanza Six – End of a hopeless and pessimistic tone. He cannot help the woman

Revision Tasks To help you remember the key points of the poem you should: q Write a summary of the poem showing how the poet moves from denying to facing his feelings q Identify a key quote for each of the following points: q A way in which the poet tries to distract himself q His admiration of the nurses q His shock and horror at seeing the woman q The hopelessness and despair he feels. q Write down and analyse any images used