Poems

Question 1

Built like a Gorilla but less timid

Answer 1

Simile-opens with image of big , powerful man
Gorillas already brave, which are not timid but still less timid, shows he’s even more tutus he and not scared

Authoritative

Strong and tough to exterior- essential for job

Brave/Brutal

Question 2

Thin tissue over violence

Answer 2

Metaphor
Dividing line between civilisation and violence is paper thin / fragile in contrast to the cops description , highlights how easily it can be torn

Question 3

“Hiya honey” is no cliche

Answer 3

Cliché I something so overused it loses its value.
Suggests that cop is a ware if the constant there at of danger in his job and is genuinely grateful to return home

• Tender associations = contrast to previous description of the cop, invokes sympathy

Question 4

“What clubbings, what gunshots”

Answer 4

Suggests the nature of the brutal crimes that they have to deal with

Question 5

“between Pheobes Whamburger and Louies place”

Answer 5

Sound like stereotypical cheap/ sketchy eateries that exist in less than glamorous locations

The gunshots “between” suggest they may even be mafia hangouts

Pun in “whamburger” with the onomatopoeic sound of comic book punches landing

Question 6

“Who would be him, gorilla with a nightstick”

Answer 6

“Who would be him” - rhetorical question makes readers ask how we would feel in the cops position

Question 7

“the Empire State Building, that jumbo sized dentists drill”

Answer 7

Reciognizable YC landmark, sets the scene

Metaphor- compared the Empire State Building to something which causes pain or suffering , implies MacCaigs feelings towards the structure, and NYC which it represents

Question 8

“This morning I watched form here

Answer 8

Detached from the scene , personal pronoun also shows his POV

This morning also shows regency, and ties in with day/ midnight extended metaphor

Question 9

“Midnight has come in from foreign places”

“It’s uncivilised darkness is shot at by a million lit windows”

Answer 9

Personifies midnight as an intruder , disturbing the peace

Directly calls darkness uncivilised. Backs up analysis for all symbolism, starts symbol of darkness being uncivil

Imagery of constant battle between good and evil/ light and darkness

Question 10

“ambulances racing to broken bones”

Answer 10

An example to synecdoche which dehumanises the victims of the violence

Question 11

No stockades can keep the midnight out

Answer 11

Stockades reference back to America’s violent past and Wild West, comparing the current situation to then

Links back to extended midnight metaphor and good vs evil fight

Question 12

sat, slumped like a half- filled sack

Answer 12

“sat, slumped”-Alitteration draws readers attention to the beggars weakness, as if he can’t support his own body

Half filled sack shows how he is seen as an object, rather than an equal human, also lifeless and shapeless

Question 13

three tiers of churches

Answer 13

Shows how the church has failed greatly in honouring at Francis, building lavish , expensive monuments while the poor die outside its doors

Contrasting st francises message

Question 14

“clucking contentedly”

Answer 14

Metaphor ( and alliteration) - compares the tourists to chickens , stupidly and blindly following the priests word, while failing to follow the actual message, as shown by them ignoring the beggar earlier

Question 15

“lopsided mouth said Grazie in a voice as sweet as a child’s “

Answer 15

Shows he still has manners and gratitude despite all which he goes through/ his terrible conditions

Question 16

“ruined temple”

Answer 16

Shows how the beggar was and still could be something great and magnificent, yet has been neglected and destroyed over time, being a ruin of his former self

Question 17

“That roomsized monster with a matchbox brain”

Answer 17

Hyperbole + contrast, compares large body to tiny brain , patronising tone towards shark

Question 18

“So who’s the monster?”

Answer 18

Rhetorical Q- Is man the real monster ? Is there any real difference between them ? The shark may appear like a monster and seem to be due to its size , but metaphorically speaking man is the destructive one.

Question 19

“I could not answer her -

I could not understand her”

Answer 19

Repetition of “I could not “ empathises the frustration he felt in being unable to communicate and the language barrier present.

Question 20

“- I can see her strong foot”

Answer 20

Present tense- sense of immediacy and shows how vivid the memory’s were, and the impression still left on him by aunt Julia

Question 21

“She was winds pouring wetly “

Answer 21

Alliteration- empathises how she was one with nature and the environment around her.

Question 22

“very loud and very fast “

“Silenced”

Answer 22

Contrast and enjambment

Contrast- goes from very loud and very fast to silence, showing the impact of the death, and how shrinking it was

Enjambment -Silenced is placed around the beginning of a new line to empathise the death

Question 23

“welcoming me with a seagulls voice”

Answer 23

Connects her to natural world again

Shows how her shouting towards him felt welcoming and not harsh

Question 24

“combs my nostrils

as they go bobbing”

Answer 24

Synecdoche-
The nostrils represent the whole of maccaig, showing the overpowering nature of the hospital smell, and how it blocks out all other emotions.

A humongous , ridiculous image is used to distract from serious situation

Question 25

“I will not feel, I will not feel”

Answer 25

The repetition of I will not feel shows the difficulty which maccaig experiences in controlling emotions, as struggles to battle grief/ situation.

Question 26

“A withered hand trembles in its stalk”

Answer 26

Compared her to a dieing plant, withering shows how she is losing strength and will die, just as a withering plant does

Question 27

“black figure in her white cave”

Answer 27

Contrast-

He stands out in this environment as a well person. Shows how she is dying and he stands out as alive

Question 28

“their burden of so much pain, so many deaths “

Answer 28

Repetition to empathise the emotional strain and suffering that they see daily, and still continue despite this

Question 29

“and vanishes heavenward”

Answer 29

Gives the idea of death a sense of finality, and how after this visit this may be the end.

Immediately jumping to the conclusion of death shows the overwhelming emotions which maccaig is feeling

Question 30

“the harsh screaming from coldwater flats”

Answer 30

Poverty stricken areas where they could not afford hot water.
Shows the suffering they endure “ harsh screaming”

Question 31

Brooklyn Cop Quotes (6)

Answer 31

Thin tissue over violence

Built like a Gorilla but less timid

“Hiya honey” is no cliche

“What clubbings, what gunshots”

“between Pheobes Whamburger and Louies place”

“Who would be him, gorilla with a nightstick”

Question 32

Hotel Room 12th floor (7)

Answer 32

“the Empire State Building, that jumbo sized dentists drill”

“This morning I watched form here

“Midnight has come in from foreign places”

Linked

“It’s uncivilised darkness is shot at by a million lit windows”

“ambulances racing to broken bones”

No stockades can keep the midnight out

“the harsh screaming from coldwater flats”

Question 33

Assisi (5)

Answer 33

sat, slumped like a half- filled sack

three tiers of churches

“clucking contentedly”

“lopsided mouth said Grazie in a voice as sweet as a child’s “

“ruined temple”

Question 34

Basking shark (2)

Answer 34

“That roomsized monster with a matchbox brain”

“So who’s the monster?”

Question 35

Aunt Julia (6)

Answer 35

“I could not answer her -
I could not understand her”

“- I can see her strong foot”

“She was winds pouring wetly “

“very loud and very fast “
^
Linked
^
“Silenced”

“welcoming me with a seagulls voice”

Question 36

Visiting Hour (6)

Answer 36

“combs my nostrils
as they go bobbing”

“I will not feel, I will not feel”

“A withered hand trembles in its stalk”

“black figure in her white cave”

“their burden of so much pain, so many deaths “

“and vanishes heavenward”