Memorial

Question 1

What is the subject of the poem?

Answer 1

A sad, beautiful poem about they way in which the loss of a poet’s loved one pervades every aspect of this life. Her death is no in the past. The process of her dying stays with him constantly. The opening states “Everywhere she dies” and the final stanza reads “she can’t stop dying”. This poem is an elegy. Like an lament, a mournful poem especially for the dead. Sad and sombre feel.

Question 2

What is the structure of an elegy

Answer 2

• Lament, speaker expresses grief and sorrow
• Praise and admiration of the idealised dead
• Finally consolation and solace

Question 3

What makes the loss even more difficult for Norman MacCaig?

Answer 3

He was an atheist and as such, in the face of death, there were no easy comforts for him of promises of life or resurrection beyond the grave. For him death is presented as an awful finality “intolerable distance” and “ugliness”

Question 4

The form and structure of the poem

Answer 4

Written from a first person stance in the past tense, the poem is divided by stanzas into three main sections. The fluidity and looseness of the structure helps to reinforce the key message of the poem which focuses on death and the grieving process. Death of a loved one itself represented a formlessness, a loss of structure, the disintegration of close bonds of a love and affection.

Question 5

Central themes

Answer 5

Sense of unending grief that is felt when a love one dies

Loss and regret

Question 6

Tone of poem

Answer 6

Utterly hopeless in its despairingly bleak outlook
Nevertheless there is an occasional glimpse of optimism and beauty contained within the image of the crocus, which is “never carved more gently than the way her dying shapes my mind”
This seems to imply one of the abiding effects of his grief is that it will forever and indelibly continue to shape and impact on his creative work.

Question 7

What is the sentence structure in stanza one?

Answer 7

Blunt opening line - it immediately emphasises the constant impact of his loved one’s death, it introduces a negative feel and shows the closed mind to anything but grief of the speaker

Question 8

Paradox in stanza one

Answer 8

Doesn’t make sense ““Everywhere she dies” - For him her death is inescapable, everything around him makes him think of it

Question 9

Repetition in Stanza one

Answer 9

“Everywhere” - suggests the poet cannot escape the awareness of the death of is loved one

Question 10

Word Choice to show isolation in stanza one

Answer 10

“I go” - intensifies his negativity, he feels isolated and gives a sense of self pity. It shows he reads his negativity

Question 11

What do the simple and direct statements show?

Answer 11

The directness and bluntness of his feelings

Question 12

Juxtaposition in Stanza One

Answer 12

“I” and “she” suggest the strong bond between the two people

Question 13

Repetition of “No” - Anaphora

Answer 13

Nothing remains untouched by her death. Creates a heavy negative beat

Question 14

How is climax build up in Stanza one?

Answer 14

The climax is that even in the most beautiful surroundings her death is present.
Triadic Structure creates a sense of power. The places in the triadic structure are not usually places you would associate with death. A city square is usually a bustling and busy place with many people, a sunrise and mountain are associated with providing aesthetic pleasure because of their beauty. These places are now gained with her death, it undermines the beauty and as such life for him now is seen in a negative light. Grief pervades everything and is everywhere for the speaker.

Question 15

“lurking” present tense analysis

Answer 15

implies that his pain is still very present - it is there with him and around him all the time

WC “lurking” means be or remain hidden so as to wait in ambush for someone or something. Shows that her death is always there and it will always pop out of nowhere. Quite menacing and poses a threat.

Question 16

Enjambement/Word choice “but” analysis

Answer 16

It indicates a change in the direction and highlights contras of the beautiful surrounding with the pain of death.

“But has her death in it” - monosyllabic feel creates and emotional intensity due to “h” alliteration

Question 17

“The silence of her dying sounds through the carousel of language” - Analysis

Answer 17

“Language” = the words of sympathy he receives. The grief he feels creates a silence so intense that no words of comport make a difference to him. The silence of grief rings loud in his ears. Symbolically represents the sense of loss. Complexity of death is difficult to understand “dying sounds” - ambiguous

Metaphor “Carousel of language”
- Language is compared to something light hearted and frivolous. It creates tension as by contrast the “silence” of her death seems much more profound and serious. When a carousel goes round everything blurs into one and it is hard to get off. He cannot separate happiness from sadness as it is so overwhelming.

Question 18

Metaphor “It’s a web/ on which laughter stitches itself”

Answer 18

Silence becomes “a web” on which laughter or loved one’s attempt to contour him and/or feelings of joy, is doomed to be stuck and not penetrate because neither comforting words nor language can penetrate his grief.

Question 19

How does stanza one end?

Answer 19

It ends with a rhetorical question “How can my hand clasp another’s?” which creates a pessimistic tone. Because rhetorical questions have no answer, it reinforces his continued isolation. The “h” alliteration creates a breathy tone. Word Choice “clasp” creates a sense of desperation.

Question 20

“Thick death, that intolerable distance” - analysis

Answer 20

“Intolerable” is an emotive word meaning unable to be endured, it shows the grief is so painful for him and he is distanced from the rest of the world. It is a disturbing image because death is given a physical form. Death is like a fog that we cannot get through.

Question 21

Word Order in Stanza two

Answer 21

The opening of the stanza is a subversion of the usual order by asserting “she grieves for my grief”. This reinforces the bond the two shared while she was alive implying she couldn’t bear to see him sad and suffering. She wanted to protect the speaker from the pain of her death.

Question 22

Positioning of “Dying”

Answer 22

“Dying” is emphasises and stresses the reality of the situation - she is dying, but tries to portray her death as part of the natural cycle.

Question 23

Imagery “That bird dives from the sun, that fish leaps into it”

Answer 23

Ambiguous image which is full of energy and life. Both images represent a reversal of the normal order of things. The bird should fly towards the sun, and the fish should dive into the depths of the sea away from it. Death, by implication, is seen as a reversal of the natural state of living.

Question 24

“No crocus is carried more gently than the way her dying shapes my mind” - Imagery

Answer 24

Her death is being compared to a crocus. SYMBOLISM
Crocuses are early flowers after winer period and it symbolic for beauty, hope and regeneration. It is a spring flower and therefore it can be equated with new life and a new beginning and a sign of hope. This suggests beauty and nature coming alive again. Her message is that death is natural and that life goes on - he must try not to suffer.
“crocus is carved” - Turns the natural image into a sculpture which is precious and valuable. All death is valuable and carved suggests created carefully with love.
The use of past and present tense in the stanza shows the event is over but the grief goes on. The longer sentence length shows he is more open.

Question 25

Change in the speaker in stanza two!!!

Answer 25

The use of dash creates a stark contrast and change of direction. The conjunction “but” also creates contrast. INTRODUCES THE CHANGE OF TONE!!!!!!!! The rest of stanza is dominated by negative mages and word choice conveying the bleakness of death. CONTRASTS with gentle and loving feelings before hand.

Question 26

Word Choice “black” in “black words”

Answer 26

Black is symbolic for death and misery, showing the words of well-wishers do not console but upset him deeply.

Question 27

“sound of soundlessness”

Answer 27

Ironic use of sibilance which creates a menacing hissing noise

Question 28

SYMBOLISM “nowhere she is continuously going into”

Answer 28

Chilling image of her going into a “nowhere” these black words “name”. Well-wishers refer to heaven, but this seems of little relevance to him. This is because the speaker is not religious and does not believe in life after death. Word Choice “continuously” reinforces the never ending nature of her death and his loss. Word Choice “nowhere” means nothings. There is no confronting sense of her presence still being with him. She keeps on disappearing into nothing as he relives the horror of her death again and again. This reinforces the never-ending nature of death. There is no positivity as he believes death is the end of everything.

Question 29

How does stanza three open?

Answer 29

Flat matter of fact statement “Ever since she died
She can’t stop dying” which mirrors the first line of poem, “everywhere she dies”
Use of both past and present continuous tense suggests he has made some sort of progress.
Within the poets consciousness she can’t stop dying - he is constantly tortured by this overwhelming experience and the death of his loved one. This sums of his continual experience of loss.

Question 30

“She makes me her elegy”

Answer 30

Simple statement - an elegy is a song or poem associated with death. his grief is so raw, so deep and all-consuming that he identifies entirely with it to the exclusion of all else. Suggests that his whole life is dominated by her memory, that he is a living tribute to her.

Question 31

Word Choice “masterpiece”

Answer 31

It is used satirically to convey how successful his transformation into “ugliness: - a mascot for death, despair and despondency had been as he had been so badly affected.

Question 32

“Ugliness of death”

Answer 32

blunt and rural undermine any sense of comfort at the end

Question 33

Short and simple “I am her sad music”

Answer 33

Emphasises and sums up one of the central concerns of the poem. Pessimistic tone of poem to end.

Question 34

What is a conclusion we can draw about this poem?

Answer 34

It seems to imply one of the abiding effects of his grief is that it will forever continue to shape and impact his creative work.

Poetry “elegy”
Art “masterpiece”
Novel “true fiction”
Music “Sad music”

Question 35

What poem does this easily link with?

Answer 35

Visiting hour - uses natural imagery to explore human emotions

Question 36

Appealing to the senses

Answer 36

“Sound of soundlessness”
Metaphor “web on which laughter stitches itself” implied sound
Personification “thick death” - touch

Question 37

Man’s relationship with nature

Answer 37

The poet lists places where for him, her death is found “sunrise” “beautiful mountain” he feels her death most keenly in a natural setting which is significant because it links to the natural world and nature which is usually seen as a symbol of life, vitality and beauty but now for him, all natural images are tainted by her death.

Question 38

Change in the speaker

Answer 38

At the beginning the poet is sorrowful and devoid of all happiness. “Everywhere she dies. Everywhere I go she dies” and he says “a web on which laughter stitches itself”, he is stuck in a song hold from the pain of her death. He suggests that he is stuck in a deadly trap and can never be happy again.
Nature is seen as a more positive image “No sunrise, No city square, No lurking…” to “no crocus is carved more gently than the way her dying shapes my mind” he compares her death to something beautiful.
“Dying, she tells me” - enjambement is like an outpouring, more positive natural image follows
MOVE FROM PRESENT TO PAST & Present continuous - there is a change

Question 39

celebration of natural beauty

Answer 39

verbs “dives” and “leaps” - energetic, joyful and beautiful
celebrates power of sun to energise us
Symbolism of crocus
Metaphor “lurking beautiful mountain”

Question 40

Relationships

Answer 40

“Everywhere I go she dies”
Question “How can my hand clasp anothers””
Personification and Metaphor “her dying shapes my mind”
Metaphor “she makes me her elegy” - he is an embodiment of grief

The central theme is the sense of never-ending grief that is felt when someone you love its and a relationship ends. The poet is profoundly hit and hopeless at the end of this relationship,

Question 41

Theme of Loss

Answer 41

The list of places where death is found shows how he has lost his appreciation of natural beauty and nature because it is now tainted with her death
“a web on which laughter stitches itself” The profound sense of loss causes the poet to become entangled in her death - he has lost happiness
The poet is so affected by her loss that he constantly thinks about it “ever since she dies, she can’t stop dying” - constantly influences his thoughts

Question 42

Theme of suffering

Answer 42

“she grieves for me grief” - subversion of natural order, it implies she couldn’t bear to see hi suffering and so se suffered to. “web of which laughter stitches itself” - he is suffering to, he is trapped by his suffering, there is no escape for him.

Question 43

Fear of death

Answer 43

The loved one who died was scared for her death
“she grieves for my grief” - she knows the impactions that death will have on the speakers.
“everywhere she dies” - always will linger
“Black words”
“sound of soundlessness”
The poet describes the death ominously “that thick death, that intolerable distance” - thick suggests is is surrounding him like fog and emphasises the distance he keeps from others. Intolerable shows that he can’t bear the loss death has created.

Question 44

Acceptance of death

Answer 44

The poet becomes her “elegy” - the word choice shows how he has accepted her death by defining himself as a record of her death. Change in tenses
“I am” - repetition
“I am her sad music”