ASSISI - annotated

Question 1

with his hands on backwards

Answer 1

connotations of something unnatural,
deformed - conveys horrid and grotesque
image of dwarf’s appearance

Question 2

sat, slumped like a half-filled sack

Answer 2

simile - suggests he can barely hold himself straight or
support himself, paints deformed, hunched figure.

sibilance - creates impression that he is deflated, empty.

Question 3

tiny twisted legs

Answer 3

alliteration of ’t’ makes phrase hard to say and
highlights deformity and has connotations of pain, suffering and discomfort dwarf feels

Question 4

from which Sawdust might run

Answer 4

comparison to sack continues as he is humanised and reduced to something filled with stuffing - he is
weak and lifeless as it is draining out of him. Lack of energy and vitality make clear through lack of
movement in the description.

Question 5

three tiers

Answer 5

suggests scale and grandeur of the Basilica - juxtaposition sets up contrast to the poverty
of the man begging. Clear disconnect between what
Francis believed and how he is honoured - through a lavish, expensive construction

Question 6

In honour of St Francis,

Answer 6

irony - brought in here as St Francis loved the poor and gave up his life of luxury to live in poverty with them. Evident hypocrisy as they have come to see the place but don’t buy into his values.

Question 7

brother Of the poor,

Answer 7

Parenthesis - stresses St Francis’ caring nature and
connection to the poor.

Question 8

talker with the birds,

Answer 8

Parenthesis - further stresses his kind and empathetic
connection with animals

Question 9

had the advantage

Answer 9

Derisive tone as he is in no position to feel advantageous - only thing worse would be to
be dead - maybe something he prays for.

Question 10

not being dead yet.

Answer 10

word choice - of ‘yet’ stresses that death comes to
everyone and that it will eventually take the
beggar as he is in a poor state of health.

Question 11

How clever it was

Answer 11

irony - emphasises the hypocrisy of the priest,
supposedly a man devoted to the teachings of the Bible yet who seems utterly unaffected by the sight of the beggar

Question 12

goodness of God

Answer 12

Alliteration - highlight priest’s corrupt nature as he does not exemplify this quality himself.

Question 13

suffering of His Son.

Answer 13

Alliteration - contrasts to the word on the end of the
previous line - stresses the poor condition of the beggar.

Question 14

I understood

Answer 14

Short sentence - speaker changes structure here to convey his cynicism of the priest and his actions - he can see their true motivations - money brought in by tourists

Question 15

cleverness.

Answer 15

ambiguous word choice - could mean the artist’s skill in bringing messages to life but could also mean the commercialisation of the church and history of St
Francis.

Question 16

rush

Answer 16

Connotations of chaos, crowds, business - shows
how many come to see the Basilica and yet do not help the beggar.

Question 17

clucking contentedly,

Answer 17

Extended metaphor and alliteration - compares tourist to hens - sounds recreates noises made by hens. Hen companions suggests blind, dumb obedience.

Question 18

fluttered after him

Answer 18

Connotations of ditziness and lack of focus and calm.
Negative impression creates as he sees them as foolishly being taken in by priests words, not thinking for themselves

Question 19

he scattered the grain of the Word.

Answer 19

Extended metaphor - priest holds the power as they hang on his every word. Value of ‘grain’ is for tourist, not the poor as Francis would’ve wanted.
Ironic allusion to the biblical Parable of the Sower in which Jesus uses the symbol of seeds to represent the word of God. While some of the seeds eventually take root and bear fruit, many are lost or ruined.

Question 20

It was they

Answer 20

Accusatory tone - speaker judges the tourists who left the beggar outside with no hint of concern or regard for his wellbeing

Question 21

ruined temple outside

Answer 21

metaphor - comparing the beggar to something sacred and holy which might once have been grand but is now crumbling and devastated. Religious links suggest he might be a religious man and yet gets no support from the church.

Question 22

whose eyes wept pus

Answer 22

Repetition of ‘whose’ and list stresses all the difficulties the beggar must suffer through. Repulsive
description, ‘wept’ connotes his sadness and dismay at his life.

Question 23

whose back was higher than his head,

Answer 23

Alliteration - creates hunchback image, stooped over - unsightly and so tourist ignore him.

Question 24

lopsided mouth

Answer 24

Again contributes to grotesque picture as
something so simple is unnatural. Creates a
deranged look to beggar.

Question 25

said Grazie

Answer 25

Italian word for thank you stresses beggar’s manners and makes him seem more human than the tourists, despite his off appearance.

Question 26

in a voice as sweet as a child’s when she speaks to her mother

Answer 26

Simile compares him to a child - innocence and sincerity of beggar shown through this comparison - makes us pity him and feel empathy for his situation.

Question 27

or a bird’s when it spoke to St Francis.

Answer 27

Poet stresses the dwarf’s inner beauty - comparison to a creature Francis would’ve loved connects him to the Saint’s morality. The spirit of St Francis doesn’t lie in the church but in the dwarf.