maccaig poems

Question 1

Name all 6 poems.

Answer 1

Visiting hour
Aunt Julia
Basking shark
Hotel room
Brooklyn Cop
Assisi

Question 2

Themes of Visiting hour

Answer 2

fear of the loved one dying, explored through his helplessness and emotional pain death- it is shown as inevitable and shows the poet’s pain and suffering
loss- explored through emotional detachment and his struggle to accept approaching death
Isolation- it is explored through the emotional distance, and the fact that they are unable to communicate with each other

Question 3

“the hospital smell combs my nostrils”

Answer 3

just as a comb brushes through hair, the smell assaults his nostrils, this suggests his heightened awareness to the overpowering smell.

Question 4

“I will not feel, i will not feel, until i have to”

Answer 4

Maccaig uses this repetition to emphasise the immense emotion he is feeling, shows how overwhelmed he is feeling and he is determined to block out his emotions.

Question 5

“green and yellow corridors”

Answer 5

these two colours relate to the feelings of sickness and suggest his sense of unease

Question 6

“vanishes heavenward”

Answer 6

this phrase shifts the tone to more death. the word vanishes suggests his lack of certainty about the dying process.

Question 7

“fruitless fruits”

Answer 7

shows the pointless nature of the traditional gifts

Question 8

Basking Shark themes

Answer 8

evolution- it is explored due to us and the shark evolving differently and the poet reflecting on who really is the monster.
loss- loss of belief, this experience has shifted the poet’s thinking and has made him reflect on our evolution.

Question 9

“so who’s the monster?”

Answer 9

this rhetorical question is used to show that this experience has made the poet think about humans superiority to primitive beings. this experience ha changed the writers thinking.

Question 10

“shook on a wrong branch of his family tree”

Answer 10

the word shook suggests that the poet was physically and metaphorically disturbed by this experience. the latter part shows that he is now less sure of his place in he evolutionary framework.

Question 11

“roomsized monster with a matchbox brain”

Answer 11

this metaphor is used to show the contrast between the colossal size and its tiny brain, suggesting the shark is pretty dumb.

Question 12

“thought made me grow pale”

Answer 12

this shows the physical shock that the poet felt at realising humanities insignificance

Question 13

“he shoggled me centuries back”

Answer 13

the word shoggled suggest he was taken out of a comfortable mindset and was forced to rethink humanity’s superiority and where we all evolved from.

Question 14

“rise with a slounge”

Answer 14

the word slounge is a made-up word, but it is a mixture of slow and lounge and describes the lazy, leisurely way the shark was moving. it explains the scary situation as this colossal beast is just appearing from the deep.

Question 15

“swish up the dirt and when it settles a spring is all the clearer”

Answer 15

this shows that the initial confusion and mixed feelings about this experience has led to greater clarity about evolution.

Question 16

Assisi themes

Answer 16

Suffering- the beggar is suffering, due to his ill and poor condition
Poverty- the beggar is very poor and struggling to lie and is in poor condition.
Hypocrisy- the church was set up to help people like the beggar, but is ignoring him

Question 17

“on tiny twisted legs from which sawdust might run”

Answer 17

this alliteration of t highlights the uselessness of his legs, the latter part highlights that he is not filled with flesh and blood but a worthless stuffing.

Question 18

“eyes wept pus”

Answer 18

This grotesque image is designed to shock the reader into seeing the pitiful situation the beggar is in, by our reaction be disgust, we are no better than the beggar.

Question 19

“A rush of tourists clucking contentedly”

Answer 19

This metaphor gives the impression that the tourists are mindless and happy to be led, which makes them blind to reality. this shows the contempt the writer feels for the tourists.

Question 20

“slumped like a half filled sack”

Answer 20

the sibilance of this simile is used to emphasise the poor condition of the beggar and suggests worthlessness.

Question 21

“ruined temple outside”

Answer 21

This imagery creates sympathy for the beggar, just as a temple is a beautiful place, so too is this saying that although the beggar’s rough outer appearance, he is good at heart.

Question 22

Hotel room 12th floor themes:

Answer 22

isolation- through the detachment from the hectic, violent streets below
violence- through the sounds and things that he sees, the loud sirens, and screaming
materialism- the contrast between the civilised nature of his hotel room with all tech gadgets and the violent streets below
Evil- there is lots of violence and pain

Question 23

“to the broken bones and harsh screaming”

Answer 23

this use of synecdoche is used to emphasise the violent present and conjures up a harsh image of pain. the screaming backs this up. this isn’t just a scream of pain but a deep, disturbing, and raw one.

Question 24

“helicopter skirting like a damaged insect”

Answer 24

this simile is used to highlight how small the helicopter looks, the word insect suggests that it is annoying and buzzing around. Not only is it annoying, but it is also damaged, suggesting that it is just an inferior copy of nature.

Question 25

"The wildest of warwhoops continually ululating through the glittering canyons and wildest gives gulches"

Answer 25

"wildest" gives the connotations of uncivilised and perhaps violent culture. this is backed up through the alliteration of w, as these are the war cries of the native Americans, the cities building represent the canyons of the wildest west.

Question 26

"And no stockades can keep the midnight out"

Answer 26

The image concludes the poem in a pessimistic tone and links to the main theme of evil, this suggests that evil is everywhere and it cannot be stopped

Question 27

Brooklyn cop themes

Answer 27

human nature- the cop is portrayed as violent and unpredictable Isolation- the cop is emotionally and psychologically detached due to his dangerous job violence- it is depicted as being unavoidable as a cop, he is animalistic and aggressive loss of civilised behaviour- used to show that at any moment, the cop could be thrust into a violent situation.

Question 28

"Never get back to?"

Answer 28

this question is used to emphasise the danger of his job and makes the reader think about if they could do it. the word never emphasises the finality of death.

Question 29

"thin tissue over violence"

Answer 29

this quote shows the cops' bravery and shows us that violence is never far away and could arise at any moment. just as a tissue is thin and easily breakable so to is this showing the thin line between peace and violence.

Question 30

"and who would be who have to be his victims?"

Answer 30

This question is used to show Maccaig questioning what kind of a person would mess with a police man and what would they have to do for him to resort to violence. emphasizes that this is a society that breeds violence.

Question 31

"like a gorilla"

Answer 31

this simile is used to emphasise the violent and animalistic nature of the cop, creating an intimidating picture of the cop.

Question 32

"should he plunge through into violence"

Answer 32

the word plunge suggests that a violent situation could arise at any moment, suddenly and rapidly.

Question 33

Aunt Julia themes

Answer 33

Loss is explored through the poet's frustration and regret over not getting to fully communicate with his aunt isolation- is explored through the communication barrier and shows his frustration as he never got to communicate with her, and now it is too late relationships- the relationship between him and his aunt is deeply affectionate but bound by the language barrier

Question 34

"she was winds pouring wetly"

Answer 34

this metaphor is used to highlight that Aunt Julia embodies the force of nature and shows her becoming intertwined with nature.

Question 35

"i could not answer her, i could not understand her"

Answer 35

this repetition of could not highlights to us how incomprehensible Aunt Julia is and immediately establishes the main theme of frustration in language barriers.

Question 36

"she was buckets and water flouncing into them"

Answer 36

here we see Maccaig compare his aunt once again to the natural elements, this also shows that she collects her water in the traditional way, the word flouncing shows the vibrancy of Aunt Julia's personality.

Question 37

"She wore men's boots."

Answer 37

this shows the practical nature of aunt Julia's personality

Question 38

"getting angry, getting angry"

Answer 38

The repetition of anger suggests the sheer amount of frustration he feels that he never learned her language to communicate with her, and now he never will be able to as she is gone.

Question 39

"she lay silenced"

Answer 39

this short sentence emphasises the finality of death, the word silenced is a sharp contrast from how she was described earlier in the poem, so we can tell that she has sadly passed away.

Question 40

"to stub an oar on a rock"

Answer 40

this immediately creates action with the word "to". the word oar reinforces the setting and shows we are out at sea, this first, but suggests this encounter was sudden. the work Rock reminds me of just how a rock is hard and solid so too is this giant sea creature.

Question 41

"decadent townee"

Answer 41

Townes are people who choose to live away from nature in towns or cities. the word decadent I used to imply that these people have no other purpose in their lives other than luxury, this is used to suggest that people from cities and towns have lost their connection with nature