Assisi Flashcards
Main theme of poem
Hypocrisy of the church - they build expensive ornate churches in memory of a man whom famously helped and lived the poor and in the process of this ignore the poor whom the expenses of the churches could help
The dwarf with his hands on backwards.
WC- dwarf, derogatory word to describe somebody very small, suggests that the beggar is very small and therefore not in same level as others
The dwarf with his hands on backwards
Metaphor ha ds on backwards suggests not on correctly that he is deformed giving a negative impression of the beggar
Slumped like a half filled sack
Simile - suggests that the beggar is lacking something
On tiny twisted legs
Alliteration draws attention to phrase,
Wc of twisted has conveys the extent of the deformity as twisted suggests forced out its proper shape
Outside the three teirs of churches
Outside is enjambed draws attention to the word.
Outside suggests he is not allowed into the church - he has been ostracised and marginalised.
Had the advantage of not being dead yet
Yet is positioned at the end of the stanza emphasising that his advantage of life over St Francis will be temporary as they will die soon.
Reveal to the illiterate the goodness of god
Word choice of “illiterate” suggest inability to read and information can only be passed to them via spoken word or pictures in this case, perhaps the money and time spent in the creation of this artwork could’ve been used to teach them how to read.
Explained how clever it was of Giotto
Word choice of clever suggests great intelligence- in this case the priest is talking about the artist rather than god as they should - showing priest has became tour guide rather than spiritual leader
I understood the explanation and the cleverness
far shorter sentence than the long one referring to the priest - it’s blunt and bitter, used to show the speakers contempt for the priest.
A rush of tourists
Word choice of rush suggests carelessly and clumsy, shows that the the tourists are following the priest without thinking
Clucking contendedly
Alliteration emphasises phrase- word choice of clucking meaningless and unthinking noise. Suggests that the tourists are not thinking about the hypocrisy of the church.
Contentedly suggests the tourists are more than happy to do this
Fluttered after him
Wc of fluttered suggests tourists are more than content to follow the priest and his ignorance for the poor.
A rush of tourists…..grain of the word.
Extended metaphor compares tourists to chickens and the priest to a farmer.
Tourists can be seen as brainless and thoughtless.
Scattered the grain of the word
Word choice of scattered suggest careless - the priest hasn’t thought about the message he is conveying
