Imagery - Assisi

Question 1

Slumped like a half-filled sack

Answer 1

• a simile is used to compare the beggar to a sack
• Just as a half-filled sack is lumpy and misshapen
• So too the beggar is hunched over and seems incomplete

Question 2

The three tiers of churches

Answer 2

• A metaphor is used to compare the church to a wedding cake
• Just as a wedding cake usually has multiple layers and is extravagant
• So too the church is big and prosperous
• This suggests no expense has been spared in building the church but this goes against St Francis and allows MacCaig to highlight the hypocrisy of the church - they are more interested in making money than actually helping those less fortunate

Question 3

A rush of tourists, clucking contentedly, fluttered after him

Answer 3

• A metaphor is used to compare the tourists to chickens
• Just as chickens lack intelligence and are not smart so too the tourists are mindlessly wandering around following the priest and are not paying attention