Assisi

Question 1

Who and what does stanza 1 focus on?

Answer 1

The beggar, comparing his deformities to the beauty of the church.

Question 2

Who and what does stanza 2 focus on?

Answer 2

The priest. The speaker is on a guided tour of the church and feels patronised and recognises the irony/his isolation.

Question 3

Who and what does stanza 3 focus on?

Answer 3

The tourists as mindless followers, then back to the beggar, but this time MacCaig reveals his inner beauty. Ironic that the beggar outside the church reminds him the most of St Francis.

Question 4

What are the three key themes of the poem?

Answer 4

Hypocrisy (of the church),
Isolation (beggar vs tourists, speaker vs tourists and priest),
Human nature (we ignore those in need),
Suffering (the beggar is a dwarf ).

Question 5

Makes reference to a doll / mannequin / puppet.

Answer 5

“hands on backwards”

Question 6

Creates the impression that the dwarf cannot support his own body.

Answer 6

“sat slumped”

Question 7

Simile, metaphorically comparing the beggar to a sack, suggesting his worthlessness.

Answer 7

“like a half-filled sack”

Question 8

Emphasises the contrast - the church is large and well built whereas the beggar is almost destroyed / falling / broken.

Answer 8

“on tiny twisted legs”

Question 9

Suggests that the dwarf is not flesh and blood, but filled with worthless stuffing.

Answer 9

“from which sawdust might run”

Question 10

Makes the dwarf seem foreign, like he doesn’t belong in the church.

Answer 10

“outside the three tiers…”

Question 11

Describes the church as being excessive, ostentatious, and over the top.

Answer 11

“three tiers of churches built”

Question 12

Shows St Francis saw himself as being equal to the poor, he was their kinsman. Emphasises hypocrisy, St F was a good and holy man who lived a simple life but has had a large over the top church built in his honour.

Answer 12

“brother of the poor”

Question 13

Highlights the fact St F could preform miracles and he was pure and good.

Answer 13

“talker with birds”

Question 14

Wry / dark humour that makes the dwarf’s plight all the more sympathetic, yet sinister as it implies that although the beggar is not dead, he will die soon. His body cannot take this way of life. Overall helps to emphasise the hypocrisy of the church.

Answer 14

“he had the advantage of not being dead yet”

Question 15

Priest being patronising, condescending to tourists. Explain rather than tells, suggesting the priest thinks they won’t understand what they are being told.

Answer 15

“a priest explained”

Question 16

Priest acting like he’s intellectually superior.

Answer 16

“clever”

Question 17

Conveys the priests pompous, conceited nature and his belief that he holds an elevated position in society.

Answer 17

“that would reveal”

Question 18

Childlike, simplistic, as if he is speaking to a child (patronising).

Answer 18

“tell stories”

Question 19

Suggests they are unable to read or write (uneducated) the priest places himself above these people.

Answer 19

“reveal to the illiterate”

Question 20

Alliteration in these two phrases creates a slogan-like effect that suggests devaluating of the original message.

Answer 20

“the goodness of God and the suffering of His Son”

Question 21

Highlights the irony and hypocrisy. Priest is preaching while standing in his “three tiers of church” yet ignoring the poverty outside (i.e dwarf).

Answer 21

“suffering”

Question 22

Suggests the priests manipulative nature and trickery.

Answer 22

“cleverness”

Question 23

Portrays a flood of people not really paying attention.

Answer 23

“a rush of tourists”

Question 24

Alliteration which emphasises the stupidity of the tourists. They are mindless, happy and ignorant.

Answer 24

“clucking contentedly”

Question 25

Shows the tourists do not have a mind of their own.

Answer 25

“fluttered after him”

Question 26

Comparing the tourists to chickens and the priest to farmer feeding them, keeping them alive. They are lapping up his teachings as if he were a God in some respect.

Answer 26

“as he scattered the grain of the Word”

Question 27

MacCaig separating himself from the mindless tourists.

Answer 27

“it was they who passed”

Question 28

Describes the dwarf as a destroyed, run down building. Symbolises religion, the dwarf is holy inside although hideous outside. Helps create sympathy for the beggar. Can also represent his inner beauty as the outside appearance looks ravaged.

Answer 28

“ruined temple”

Question 29

Creates a grotesque image to shock the reader, but also show the pain and suffering the dwarf is facing.

Answer 29

“whose eyes wept pus”

Question 30

Appears like a monster.

Answer 30

“lopsided mouth”

Question 31

Shows the dwarfs humble / grateful side, even though he has been ignored he is still kind.

Answer 31

“said Grazie”

Question 32

Shows the goodness / innocence of dwarf. Contrasts with his hideous outer appearance.

Answer 32

“voice as sweet as a child’s”

Question 33

It is the dwarf who most upholds St F original value. And it is the dwarf, not the priest, whom MacCaig sees as being most like the holy saint. Last line of the poem focuses our attention back to St F to remind us of the real reason the church was built and highlights the irony that the priest and all the tourists have forgotten the original message.

Answer 33

“or a bird’s when it spoke to St Francis”