Assisi Flashcards
STANZA 1
‘The dwarf’
Technique: Metaphor
Suggests that the beggar is small/insignificant/weak/vulnerable/diminutive stature.
Makes the reader feel sympathy for the beggar.
|n contrast with the elaborate three tiers of the churches
‘with his hands on backwards’
Technique: grotesque image/hyperbole
Exaggerates the extent of the beggars deformity.
Could also suggest the twisted position of his hands held out to beg.
‘Sat slumped like a half filled sack’
Technique: Simile/word choice/sibilance
Compares the beggar to a half filled sack.
This suggests that people see the beggar as lacking/incomplete. A dehumanising image.
‘slumped’ has connotations of defeated, worn out, struggling to stay upright.
This suggests his vulnerability and powerlessness.
‘on tiny twisted legs’
Technique: alliteration/word choice
repetition of the sharp ‘t’ sounds links to the sharp angles of the beggars deformed body.
‘Tiny’ - connotations of: being weak, vulnerable or fragile.
‘Twisted’ - connotations of: being contorted, out of shape, causing pain and suffering.
‘legs
from which sawdust might run’
Technique: extended metaphor
‘sawdust’
this is a waste of material, suggesting that the beggar has been discarded or swept aside by society.
This also compares the beggar to a puppet (old fashioned toys where filled with sawdust), making us think that he is under someones control/there is nothing liberating in his life.
‘OUTSIDE the three tiers of churches built in honour of st. Francis’
Technique: word choice/contrast/tone
‘outside’ has connotations of: neglected, left out, outcast
Suggests that he has been cast out by the church of st Francis.
St Francis was devoted to helping the poor and suffering (the beggar is poor and suffering). So the fact that the church of St Francis does not accept the beggar is ironic (tone) and creates a contrast in principles.
‘the three tiers of churches built in honour of st Francis’
Technique: contrast, juxtaposition, metaphor
Contrast between the grotesque, deformed, and diminutive beggar, and the grand elaborate church.
This is also a juxtaposition of the ragged beggar with the fancy church, which highlights the inappropriate nature of the tribute to St Francis as it is not in keeping with his values - to give up his possessions in favour of the poor.
Metaphor - compares the three levels of the church to the shape of a wedding cake (‘three tiers’) to highlight how fancy it is. ‘tiers’ also links to the different classes in a hierarchical society.
‘… , brother of the poor, talker with birds, …’
Technique: Ironic tone
This is ironic as it is reminding the reader of st Francis’ cause (to help the poor and suffering), even though the poor and suffering beggar, outside the church, is being ignored. So st Francis’ beliefs have been neglected.
‘… over whom he had the advantage of not being dead yet …’
Technique: Sarcastic/Bitter tone
This is used to emphasise the lack of hope for the beggar. The line builds to a climax on the word ‘yet’ which is sinister, suggesting that the beggar has not much longer to live.
Again there is an impression that the writer is criticising the poor attitude of society towards the beggar.
“A priest explained
how clever it was of Giotto
to make his frescoes tell stories
that would reveal to the illiterate”
Technique: Irony/Sarcastic tone
The purpose of the paintings is to help the
uneducated understand God’s message but here the
priest feels a need to explain them.
This suggests that the priest and the tourists themselves are failing to comprehend St Francis message as they are not demonstrating kindness to the poor, they are there only to admire the beautiful paintings.
‘Clever’ sounds sarcastic because of the above explanation.
“…the goodness of God
and the suffering
of His Son. …”
Technique: Alliteration
This draws our attention back to
the religious message that should be at the
heart of a pilgrimage to Assisi but which seems
to have been lost to commercialised tourism.
The simple language is also reminiscent of a
sermon.
“… . I understood
the explanation and
the cleverness.”
Technique: Caesura (sudden full stop in the middle of a line of poetry) Ironic/Cynical/Critical tone.
Forces us to pause and reflect on MacCaig’s perspective: That the priest is not teaching the meaningful morals of St Francis, but is using the elaborateness of the church get money from the tousists. This contradicts the beliefs of St Francis, as the priest is a selfishly looking for money, instead of giving to the poor.
This could also be used to provide a break between the priest’s explanation and MacCaig’s perspective, suggesting that MacCaig wants to separate himself
from the rest of the tourists: he sees the hypocrisy of the church whilst the church does not.
STANZA 2
“A rush of tourists, clucking contentedly,
fluttered after him as he…”
Technique: Extended Metaphor
The tourists are compared to a flock of chickens following the priest who is ‘feeding’ them information like a farmer would feed chickens grain.
This shows how pointless the priests words are as the information is heard but not digested fully. The true meaning behind St Francis’ message has been lost.
This description of the tourists highlights their apathy – they are more interested in looking like good Christians than really acting on it and doing something constructive to help.
“A rush of tourists, clucking contentedly,
fluttered after him as he…”
“rush”
“rush” suggests the tourists are hurrying through, not really taking the time to consider the true purpose of the church.
“A rush of tourists, clucking contentedly,
fluttered after him as he…”
“fluttered”
“fluttered”
Connotations: erratic, disorganised, aimless movements. Suggests that the tourists are mindless or stupid as they are not taking in the true meaning of St Francis’s message, even though they are persistent in getting more information from the priest.
