Visting Hour Flashcards
'’hospital smell combs my nostrils’’
Metaphor
- the smell is overpowering- it becomes a comb brushing through nose hair.
- Poet established a playful mood at the beginning.
’’ go bobbing along’’
Synecdoche:
- of course, not just his nostrils are moving along, as the image would suggest.
- This emphasises the powerful nature of ‘the hospital smell’’, since it has blocked out his other senses.
'’Green and yellow’’
Word choice
- The colours have connotations of sickness, which further stresses the poet’s discomfort in these surroundings.
'’corpse’’
‘‘vanishes’’
‘‘Heavenward’’
Enjambment:
- poet uses enjambment to highlight words associated with death.
’’ I will not feel, I will not feel’’
Repetition:
- poet seems to be chanting to himself- trying to control his emotions.
'’Here and up and down and there’’
Structure
- the unusual word order is emphasising the number of nurse he sees and their activity.
’’ Miraculously’’
Word choice
- Poet admires the difficult job nurse have facing death regularly.
- Suggests he cannot understand how they do it.
’’ of so much pain, so many deaths’’
Repetition
- of ‘‘so’’ stresses the frequency of the nurses’ unpleasant dealings.
’’ Ward 7 ‘’
- A minor sentence draws attention to this turning point in the poem.
- The speaker has arrived at his destination.
’’ white cave of forgiveness’’
Metaphor:
- suggesting the white curtains or sheets are cave like.
- this shows the isolation of the woman, and the poet’s exclusion from her.
’’ withered hand trembles on its stall.’’
Metaphor
- suggesting the woman’s body is brittle and frail, by comparing it to a dying flower.
’’ withered’’
‘’ trembles’’
‘‘wasted’’
Word choice ‘’ withered’’, ‘’ trembles’’, ‘‘wasted’’ all suggest the patient is close to death.
'’Bobbing’’
Word choice
- has pleasant connotations, as though he is trying to trick himself into thinking the experience won’t be as bad as he anticipates.
'’guzzling but giving’’
Alliteration
- the harsh sound of the alliterative g conveys a sense of bitterness. The speaker feels the medication is both intrusive and ineffective.
'’black figure in her white cave.’’
Metaphor:
- contrast in colours highlights distance between patients and visitor.
'’black figure’’
- could relate to grim reaper - returning to death theme.