Visiting Hour

Question 1

green and yellow corridors

Answer 1

Suggests discomfort as these colours have connotation of vomit

Question 2

combs my nostrils

Answer 2

Suggests that the smells associated with hospitals are invading his nostrils making him feel overwhelmed

Question 3

I will not feel, I will not feel

Answer 3

Suggests that the speaker is determined to not allow his emotions to overpower him

Question 4

trundled into a lift

Answer 4

Suggests that the speaker feels that the patient is being treated impersonally or being dehumanised

Question 5

Nurses walk lightly, swiftly

Answer 5

Suggests that the speaker admires the nurses efficiency while doing their job with easy, carefree quality to their movements

Question 6

slender waists miraculously carrying their burden

Answer 6

Suggests that McCaig is surprised that the nurses are able to carry this emotional baggage on such light frames as he struggle to prevent his feelings from coming out to the surface

Question 7

white cave of forgetfulness

Answer 7

Suggests that the patient is isolated and emphasises how distant form the speaker she now is

Question 8

withered hand

Answer 8

Suggests that comparing her body to a dying flower conveys how brittle and frail she has become but hints at her past vitality

Question 9

Arm wasted

Answer 9

Suggests that her arm is pale, lifeless, useless and is no longer functioning

Question 10

black figure in her white cave

Answer 10

Suggests that the contrasting colours show the different situations of the speaker and the patient

Question 11

Round swimming waves of a bell

Answer 11

Suggests that the speaker feels as though he is drowning in his emotions a he recognises the significance of this bell