Scottish Text - Visiting Hour Flashcards
What is the main theme of ‘Visiting Hour’?
The inevitability of death and the struggle to control emotions.
What literary technique is used in ‘The hospital smell/combs my nostrils’?
Metaphor – the smell is compared to a comb, emphasizing its overwhelming nature.
How does MacCaig use synecdoche in stanza one?
He refers to ‘my nostrils’ instead of himself, emphasizing how the hospital smell dominates his senses.
What does the rising lift symbolize in stanza two?
A journey to heaven, reinforcing the theme of death.
What technique is used in ‘I will not feel’?
Repetition – emphasizing the speaker’s struggle to suppress emotions.
What does the word choice ‘lightly’ and ‘swiftly’ suggest about the nurses?
They move efficiently and seem almost unaffected by their surroundings.
How does MacCaig emphasize the emotional strain on nurses?
Through parallel structure: ‘so much pain, so/many deaths, so many farewells’.
What is the significance of ‘Ward 7’ in stanza five?
It marks a turning point in the poem where the speaker must face reality.
How is the patient’s hand described?
‘Withered and trembles’ – compared to a dying flower, emphasizing frailty.
What does ‘glass fang’ symbolize?
The intravenous drip, compared to a vampire’s fang, showing fear of medical equipment.
How does the final stanza highlight contrast?
The ‘black figure’ (visitor) contrasts with the ‘white cave’ (patient), emphasizing their different states.
What literary device is used in ‘the round swimming waves of a bell’?
Synaesthesia – sight used to evoke sound, showing the speaker’s disorientation.
What do ‘fruitless fruits’ symbolize?
The hopelessness of the situation – the gifts are useless as the patient won’t use them.
