Visiting Hour (Higher Textual Analysis)
ANSWER FIRST THREE QUESTIONS
46. Look at lines 1—7.
Analyse how the poet’s use of language conveys his response to his surroundings. 2
47. Look at lines 8—18.
Analyse how MacCaig uses language to highlight his own sense of inadequacy. 4
48. Look at lines 19—38.
Analyse how the poet’s use of language emphasises the painful nature of thesituation for both patient and visitor. 4
46. Possible answers include:
• Opening line of the poem “The hospital smell” is blunt and matter-of-fact defining the odour universal to all hospitals.
• Unusual imagery of “combs my nostrils” combines the senses of touch and smell to convey the pungent nature of the odour. It is so strong it is almost palpable.
• Quirky word choice of “bobbing” is designed to disguise his discomfort/shut out the unpleasant reality he is facing/ The disembodied nature of “nostrils/bobbing” indicates how dislocated he feels at this point as he struggles to remain detached.
• Reference to unpleasant colours “green/yellow” connote sickness and echo his inner turmoil as he prepares to face the reality of his situation.
• Word choice of “corpse” hints at the seriousness of the patient’s position/his preoccupation with death. The impersonal terminology creates a darker tone, thus foreshadowing the inevitable.
• “Vanishes” has connotations of magic/make-believe/ disappearing forever suggesting that there is no afterlife and that, for him, death is final.
• Religious imagery of “vanishes heavenward” introduces the hoped for final destination for those, unlike him, who believe in an afterlife. Ironic imitation of the “soul’s” final journey is an observation conveying his view that this visiting hour will not be about recovery.
47. Possible answers include:
• Repetition in stanza 3 “I will not feel” emphasises the sharp contrast between the acuteness of his senses in his previous observations and his endeavours to keep his emotions entirely contained.
• “I” repeated three times illustrates the intensely personal difficulty he is experiencing in keeping his anguish in check.
• Climax of “until I have to” shows his acknowledgement of his own avoidance.
• Adverbs “lightly, swiftly” create a sense of immediacy and a change to a lighter tone. They suggest the tactful/sensitive/ deliberate way in which the nurses work. This contrasts with his feelings of inadequacy.
• Inversion of “here … there” echoes the busy and varied nature of the nurses’ demanding jobs yet they remain focused.
• Word choice of “slender waists” conveys their slight physical frames and sets up the contrast with the following expression - “miraculously … burden” - to highlight the poet’s admiration for their dignified demeanour whilst working in this difficult environment whereas he is struggling to cope.
• Word choice of “miraculously” has connotations of wonder and awe, suggesting he finds it inconceivable that the nurses could withstand so much emotional suffering.
• Word choice of “burden/pain” echoes the emotional and physical responsibilities of their job highlighting its exacting nature.
48. Possible answers include:
Patient
• Metaphor “white cave of forgetfulness” suggests that her reduced mental capacity offers her some protection/refuge from the horrors of her situation OR diminishes her insight into her own situations/lessens her ability to communicate
• Imagery of a flower/plant “withered hand … stalk” suggests her weakness and helplessness. The image is ironic as flowers are traditional tokens of recovery for hospital patients.
• The unconventional inverted vampire image “glass fang/ guzzling/giving” emphasises the reality that the patient is being kept alive medically as her body is decaying and death is imminent.
Candidates may choose to deal with this as word choice/ alliteration/onomatopoeia. All are acceptable approaches and should be rewarded appropriately.
• Imagery of “black figure/white cave” suggests the patient is dimly aware of her surroundings but the “black figure” who has now entered her environment symbolises her approaching death.
• Word choice of “smiles a little” indicates that the patient has, perhaps, accepted the reality of her situation/does have a sense of the caring nature of the visit
49. By referring to this poem, and at least one other by MacCaig, discuss how heexplores the theme of loss in his work.10
Higher Textual Analysis Ten Mark Questionsample
Define commonality – not just the theme/idea but the way in which a particular poem is an example of this theme for 2 marks
Give example from poem in front of you: 2 examples from the poem with quote and analysis to provide evidence that shows how a particular poem reflects this theme for 2 marks
Then six other examples of quote and analysis that reflects how this poem and at least one other poem shows the theme/idea. (6 marks - 1 each)
49. Question (Visiting Hour): By referring to this poem , and at least one other by MacCaig, discuss how he explores the theme of loss in his work. 10
Answer:
Commonality.
- The theme of loss is shared throughout the poems.
- In Visiting Hour relating to his feelings of hopelessness and despair about losing a loved one (sister or wife) in a hospital ward where he is unable to help.
- Aunt Julia – he feels frustration at the loss of an Aunt he never really got to know before she died and was buried in Luskentyre.
- Memorial - another poem about how he is haunted by losing a loved one (his sister).
(2 marks)
Example from Exam Text
i)InVisiting Hour we know he feels hopeless in his loss because he says “the distance of pain that neither she nor I can cross.” This means that as his wife is in a coma dying in pain and he feels hopelessly removed from her and unable to share her experience or help. There is a distance between them that only adds to his grief.
ii) Also his sense of loss and despair are a direct contrast with thenurses: “miraculously carrying their burden”. The nurses are used to losing patients and they have coping mechanisms but the poet feels in awe as he is unable to come to terms with his feelings of loss.(2 marks)
Examples from Other Texts
- In Aunt Julia – he feels loss because he could will never get the chance to speak to her and find out who she really was now she is dead: “silenced in the absolute black / of a sandy grave”. The word “silenced” implies that the poet is angry that he never got to hear her story from her own lips. “Absolute black” sums up the finality of her death, the poet, who has since learned some gaelic, will never be able to see or communicate with her again.(1 mark)
- In Memorial – he is haunted by her loss because he associates her with every city square, every mountain: “No sunrise, no city square, no lurking beautiful mountainbut has her death in it.”
These places have now been tainted with death and grief pervades everything / everywhere for the persona. (1 mark)
- In Aunt Julia – he is frustrated by her loss because he felt very secure with her although they could not communicate.”Hers was the only house where I've lain at nightin the absolute darkness of a box bed, listening to crickets being friendly.” The poet felt safe and secure with his aunt when he was a boy and this makes her loss all the more frustrating as he cannot thank her or get close to her now she is gone forever.(1 mark)
- In Memorial haunted by her loss because he could not communicate with her and experience death with her in her last moments: “How can my hand clasp another’s when between them is that thick death, that intolerable distance?” the poet is haunted by the fact he was unable to fully understand or feel what his sister was going through as she was dying and this has added to his grief.(1 mark)
- In Aunt Julia – we know is frustrated by her loss becausehe can only remember her in objects as he has none of her words:In “she was buckets and water flouncing into them” the poet uses a metaphor to show how here movement was similar to water.” In “welcoming me with a seagull's voice” we realise the poet remembers the sound of her voice but not the words. The poet’s memories are tinged by a frustrating lack of direct communication that would have allowed him to truly know who his aunt was.(1 mark)
- In Memorial we know he is haunting by the loss of his sister because he is unable to forget the moment of her dying: “Ever since she died she can’t stop dying”. The poet is forever thinking about his sister in the act of dying and this haunts him to the point where he can never forget his sense of despair and loss.(1 Mark)