visiting hour

Question 1

“the hospital smells// combs my nostrils// as they go bobbing along // green and yellow corridors

Answer 1

enjambment- metaphor- overpowering smell- evocative- pained relayed to reader
“bobbing”- at sea- seasickness, uneasy and unsteady movements
“yellow”- connotations of illness- speaker in bad frame of mind

Question 2

themes (7)

Answer 2

fear of inability to control emotions, illness, death, fragility of life, connected to surroundings, compassion, relationships

Question 3

“what seems a corpse // is trundled into a lift and vanishes heavenward”

Answer 3

“what seems a corpse”- simile-occupied with notion of death- subconscious makes him see a corpse
“trundled”-wheeled along- seeing everything with a negative tint
“heavenward”-metaphor-slight hint of positivity-comfort that friend is going to heaven

Question 4

i will not feel, i will not feel, //until i have to

Answer 4

punctuation represents breathing
repetition-emphasises not wanting to feel
“i have to” on own line as he understands feeling is inevitable

Question 5

“nurses walk lightly, swiftly, // here and up and down and there,

Answer 5

impressed by nurses- hardworking and quick

syntax-gives effect that they are everywhere

Question 6

“their slender waists miraculously // carrying their burden // of so much pain, so // many deaths their eyes // still clear after // so many farewells.”

Answer 6

carrying pain of death- seen nightmarish things
impressed by nurses mentality
repetition of so- emphasises and reinforces

Question 7

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 fang is fixed // not guzzling but giving.”

Answer 7

caesura- realisation of journey to ward- has to feel the pain now
“forgetfulness”- metaphor- bed to cave- lonely isolated-can’t even open eyes
“withered hand”- metaphor- hand compared to flower- flowers are fragile, easily wilted or blown away
“wasted”- wc- skin changed colour- dilapidated and frail
fangs usually suck blood- rejuvenating her life - alliteration reinforces

Question 8

“and between her and me // distance shrinks till there is none left // but the distance of pain that neither she nor i // can cross

Answer 8

can’t share each others pain- his mental anguish- her physical pain
enjambment- highlights farness between each other mentally

Question 8

“and between her and me // distance shrinks till there is none left // but the distance of pain that neither she nor i // can cross

Answer 8

can’t share each others pain- his mental aguish- her physical pain
enjambment- highlights farness between each other mentally

Question 9

“she smiles a little // at this black figure in her white cave // who clumsily rises // in the round swimming of waves of a bell // and dizzily goes off, growing fainter, // not smaller, leaving behind only // books that will not be read // and fruitless fruits

Answer 9

“black figure”- contrasts hospital- lack of health sees only a little bit
“white cave”- isolated
“clumsily rises”-disorientated- can’t communicate effectively
“dizzily”- messed up state of mind- no real closure
“books that will not be read”- too weak to read
“fruitless fruits”- too far gone for fruits to help-oxymoron