Hotel room, 12th floor Flashcards
Hotel room, 12th floor key themes
Violence
Dark vs light / good vs evil
Human condition
Poverty
“A helicopter skirting like a damaged insect”
Similie
Compares a modern, man made helicopter to a broken and small insect. Highlights how small the helicopter is in comparison to the Empire State Building which it is skirting
Also implies americas belief that size shows power (the bigger the better) which MacCaig is critical of
“That jumbo sized dentists drill”
Metaphor
Compares the Empire State Building to a dentist drill due to their similarly in shape. Literally a dentists drill often brings pain and fear to people. In this context it is an effective comparison as by comparing the empire state build to a mere dentists drill it highlights how unimpressed the speaker is by it as it suggests MacCaigs negative view of Americas belief that size shows power and that bigger is better
Word choice of “jumbo” connotes something large and oversized
Highlights the vast size of the building, and that in America, size equals power
“From foreign places”
Word choice of “foreign” connotes the unknown and alien like
Highlights that the darkness is something to fear starting the comparison between the dark representing evil
“Uncivilised darkness”
Word choice of “uncivilised” connotes brutal and savage behaviour
Highlights the danger that nighttime and darkness brings and how people feel unsafe in the area
“Darkness is shot at by a million lit windows”
Word choice of “shot” connotes violence and danger
Implies that the light is trying to battle with the darkness, which represents the fight between civil action and savagery
The word choice of “million” highlights the huge number of light fighting in this battle. However it is still not enough to drown out the darkness emphasising savagery will always win and our efforts to fight it are futile.
Metaphor
Literally the shot suggests firing a gun which is something used in battle and conflict. In this context it suggests battle between the darkness and the light which throughout this poem represent good vs evil. This is an effective metaphor as it high even with such a large number of lights fighting to drown out the darkness, it is still not enough emphasising savagery will always win and our efforts to fight it are futile
“Between a radio and television set”
Sentence structure
The use of a parenthesis adds in extra information confirming the speakers position as a helpless spectator listening to the terrifying sounds below him in the streets
Technology is used to try and drown out the sounds and also represents mankind’s progress. This contrasts with the violence that still takes place, since wild west times, despite advances in all other areas of life.
“The glittering canyons and gulches”
Metaphor
Compares New York City to the Wild West frontier and the streets and alleys in New York to the canyons.
Literally, canyons are somewhere where lots of violence and attacks took place in the Wild West. This is an effective comparison as despite the new modern wealth of New York, the streets and alleys are still remain a place where violence occurs
Word choice of “glittering” connotes shiny and pleasant
This makes the streets sound appealing even though they are violent
“Ambulances racing to broken bones”
Word choice of “racing” connotes trying to get somewhere quickly and hurrying
This highlights how urgent and serious the injures from the violence must be and they must be attended to immediately
“Broken bones” is a synecdoche, as a whole person is represented just by their bones
This highlights the severity of the injury and also dehumanises the victims by only referring to their injuries. This failure to describe or recognise the people affected by this violence highlights how desensitised the public have become to the cycle of this violence
“Harsh screaming” from “coldwater flats”
Word choice of “harsh” connotes an unpleasant sound and experience and “screaming” connotes immense pain or fear
Highlights that people are badly injured and suffering through a lot of pain due to the violence occurring during the night
“Coldwater flats” describes more primitive homes without access to hot water.
This is in extreme contrast to the part of New York described in stanza one (modern and wealthy). Suggests that technological advances are not benefiting all and highlights the great divide between the wealthy and those who are barely getting by
“Blood glazed on sidewalks”
Word choice of “glazed” connotes fully covered and a large quantity
Highlights the massive amount of blood left on the streets after a fight and suggests it will be there for a long time
Word choice of “glazed” also has more positive connotations such as decorative and shiny
This glamourises the violence that takes place in the city making it appear more attractive and appealing
“The frontier is never somewhere else”
Metaphor
Compares New York City to the dangerous Wild West frontier. Literally a frontier is a border between two countries where battle often takes place. In this context is is an effective comparison as it represents the boundary between the civilised world and violence.
Suggests that the boundary is not geological in this case but the frontier actually exists within us all as we are all capable of violence. Emphasises that violence is never far away as we are always surrounded by people
“No stockades can keep the midnight out”
Returns to the metaphor of darkness representing savagery as well as the metaphor of New York being compared the the Wild West.
Literally stockades were protective structures found in the Wild West, with walls made sharpened logs to defend an area. However even this is failing to keep the darkness out. This highlights MacCaigs pessimistic view that we cannot escape violence because it is within us all
“Continually ululating”
This word choice connotes a constant rhythm of noise coming from the streets below. This constant nature of the noise conveys how mankind are inherently evil and the causes of the savagery
