Visiting Hour Quotes

Question 1

combs my nostrils

Answer 1

metaphor- compares a comb which can often get caught in hair to the unpleasant smell getting caught in the speakers nose.

Question 2

green and yellow corridoors

Answer 2

word choice- green yellow suggest vomit, phlegm, pus emphasising the speakers discomfort

Question 3

i will not feel, i will not feel

Answer 3

repetition- draws attention to speaker talking to themselves suggestion they are trying to take control of their feelings and deny them as they are too painful

Question 4

their eyes still clear

Answer 4

word choice- still clear suggests after everything the nurses have seen they choose not to let it affect them and power through their job- emphasises speakers admiration for nurses as they set example for how he should act

Question 5

white cave of forgetfulness

Answer 5

metaphor- bed screened off by white curtain compared to cave = isolation she is cutoff from the rest of the ward like a cave

Question 6

round swimming waves of a bell

Answer 6

word choice - wave suggest back and fourth movement repetitive - emphasises rythmic cycle of illness getting better and worse

Question 7

distance of pain that neither she nor i can cross

Answer 7

metaphor - suggests patient and speaker and kept apart by physical and emotional pain as collectively it forms a barrier suggesting isolation