Visiting Hour (by Norman McCaig)
Analysis
Verse 1 (lines 1 – 4)
Setting and character are established
“the hospital smell combs my nostrils as they go bobbing along”
an example of synecdoche – where the nostrils come to represent the whole of him
a humorous image – will form a contrast with the seriousness to be faced later in the poem
word choice “hospital” and “green and yellow” bring connotations of sickness at the start of the poem
“the hospital smell” his first impression is of the overwhelming smell of the antiseptic, his journey inside the hospital will be as overwhelming as the smell
Verse 2 (lines 5 – 7)
The person has his first brush with death
The person on the trolley is dehumanised
“what seems a corpse”
Word choice “trundled” conveys the noise of the trolley (onomatopoeia), but also the emotionless way it is handled – it simply “vanishes heavenward” into “the lift”
Verse 3 (lines 8 – 10)
The poet’s emotions begin to break through and he tries to keep them under control
Word “I” (first person narrative to evoke personal response from the reader) shows his isolation
The repetition and short phrases created by the punctuation give a staccato rhythm and reflects his footsteps
Repetition also reflects his determination: “I will not feel, I will not feel” (internal dialogue)
Verse 4 (lines 11 – 18)
“Nurses walk lightly, swiftly” – the poet admires their efficiency
“here and up and down and there”
Inversion (unusual word order) is used to create the effect of the randomness of their jobs, the lack of routine, the need to react to what is happening
Repetition of “and” suggests that their work is never done
Word choice “miraculously” – again suggests the poet’s admiration not just for their physical labour but for the way that they professionally handle the huge emotional “burden” which is emphasised by repetition (and alliteration) of “so”: “so much pain, so many deaths … so many farewells”
“their eyes still clear” suggests not only that they are not crying, but they are keeping professional distance and judgement
Verse 5 (lines 19 -30)
“Ward 7.” The poet uses caesura – the full stop creates a halt, creating the effect of the poet arriving at the ward (but also pausing … thinking … bracing himself)
“she lies in a white cave of forgetfulness” (metaphorical or figurative image to describe being surrounded by white sheets and curtains)
The patient is in a coma (a literal cave of forgetfulness)
The word choice “white” has connotations of innocence, this creates sympathy for her
It also has connotations of cleanliness – furthering the idea of the “hospital smell”
The cave isolates her from the rest of the ward
“A withered hand trembles on its stalk” – a metaphorical image comparing the arm to the stalk of a flower suggesting the woman’s frailty, how ill she is, and the fact that she is at the point of death: “eyes move behind eyelids too heavy to raise” “arm wasted of colour”
“a glass fang is fixed not guzzling but giving”
The poet uses a vampire (horror film) metaphor to describe the drip
the horror is extended in the word choice “guzzling”
alliteration of “guzzling but giving” draws attention to the fact that the drip is seeking to put in life not draw it out
the fact the woman is in a coma isolates the poet from her, her illness separates the two of them
“the distance of pain that neither she nor I can cross”
Verse 6 (lines 31 – 38)
“she smiles a little at this black figure in her white cave”
The word “smile” suggests possible recognition of the poet, but also acceptance of the inevitability of here death
Word choice “white” and “black” show how isolated and different they are now to each other
The poet can not cope “who clumsily rises” – suggesting that he is overcome and upset
It is a relief when the visiting hour bell goes: “dizzily goes off”
The poet then reflects on the experience: “growing fainter, not smaller, leaving behind only books that will not be read and fruitless fruits”
Two oxymoron: “books that will not be read”“fruitless fruits” (alliteration)
Show his frustration, show his lack of acceptance his anger at the experience
How disorientated and distressed he is at his relative’s death
Ian Yule (4.07)