Visiting Hour Flashcards
The hospital smell combs my nostrils
Distinct opening line as uses sensory associations that many can relate to. Strong images of the prevalent smells which we associate with hospitals. This metaphor helps underline the strength of the smell in the air by comparing it with a comb. Just as a comb brushes hair, odor assaults our sense of smell and is so overwhelming that it has blocked his other senses
as they go bobbing along
Word choice of ‘bobbing’ has pleasant connotations and shows he is trying to trick himself into thinking that the experience wont be that bad.
green and yellow corridors
Simple colour scheme is a familiar concept to hospital visitors. It provides connotations of sickness and highlights the unavoidable reality of visiting someone in hospital - even if we try to suppress our emotions, the environment roots us in reality.
What seems a corpse
This highlights the issue of mortality as it describes the progress of a dead body in a lift.
into a lift and vanishes heavenward
A rising lift is symbolic of the journey to heaven. Symbolises significance as the visitor applies dark interpretation. The comparison of a lifts journey with the journey of a soul to heaven is a reminder of the inevitability of death. Enjambment emphasises and isolates the word ‘heavenward’ which reinforces finality and isolation of death.
I will not feel, I will not feel
Repetition is a testament of the speakers determination for him emotions not to overpower him. Shows his fear of being overwhelmed and that he is unable to cope with the painful reality. The word ‘feel’ is emphasised to convey how desperately he wants to remain numb.
I have to.
Use of ‘I’ shows he is focusing on himself and the effect this situation is having on him and his emotions. The monosyllabic structure of these lines emphasises the vulnerability of the persona.
Nurses walk lightly, swiftly,
Word choice reveals the efficiency with which they go about their jobs. Suggests an easy, almost carefree quality to their movements.
here and up and down and there
Word order suggests that the nurses are constantly on the move and the repetition of ‘and’ underlines this.
their slender waists
Speaker is surprised that they can cope with such a difficult job when they seem so delicate.
carrying their burden
A burden is a weight and their ability to carry this emotional baggage on their light frames is impressive. Contrasts with the poets struggle to prevent his feelings coming to the surface.
so much pain, so many deaths
Parallel structure emphasises the emotional strain of the nurses job. Helps us to understand the speakers incredulity (inability to understand) of the way the nurses are able to function when surrounded by so much pain and suffering.
so many farewells
Connotations of saying goodbye to someone embarking on a journey. While death is the final journey all of us must make, there is an implication that perhaps he will meet his friend again. This suggests his desire to believe in an afterlife.
so much pain, so many deaths, their eyes still clear after so many farewells.
Use of list indicates the full range of different situations that the nurses deal with: from illness to death.
Ward 7.
Short sentence punctuates the stark reality of the situation. From here, it’s impossible to escape death. This is the turning point in the poem as from now he must face the reality of the situation he has desperately been avoiding.
white cave of forgetfulness
Although the hospital walls were colourful, this metaphor describes the patients. It reveals isolation and a lack of sensory awareness in her current state. Emphasises how distant from the speaker she now is.
A withered hand
Comparing her body to a dying flower conveys how brittle and frail she has become. Implies hope as just how flowers and plants die and go on to seed, there is a possibility for regrowth and a new life. Shows his belief in the afterlife.
trembles on it’s stalk
Dehumanizes the women. Suggests her body is merely an empty shell and the person she once was has gone. This idea links back to cave imagery.
Eyes move behind eyelids too heavy to raise
There is life in the lady lying in the bed, but it is weak. She lives in a place where the persona cannot access her.
glass fang
Memorable image of the description of the needle in the patients arm. Compares the IV drip to a vampire leaves a shocking thought for us. Shows how frightening the speak finds the medical equipment attached to the patient.
not guzzling but giving
Unlike a vampire fang which is designed to drain blood, this needle is “not guzzling but giving.” The hard sound of alliterative ‘g’ conveys a sense of bitterness. Suggests the medications is both intrusive and ineffective.
Lines 27-30 “And between her and me…..she nor I can cross”
The context of these lines emphasize the tragic separation that exists between the persona and the woman he is visiting.
black figure in her white cave
Contrasting colours show the different situations of the speaker and the patient. The visitor ‘black’, bold and stands out against the white surroundings whereas the patient looks weak and insubstantial (without strength). Highlights the distance between the two figures as one is alive and one is near death.
clumsily rises
Word choice of ‘clumsily’ emphasises the physical effects that this harrowing experience is having on the persona. He is so upset and dazed that he cannot stand easily.
