Bronwyn McCallum
Visiting hours
By Norman Maccaig.
The main themes of the poem “visiting hours” by Norman Maccaig are: death and its inevitability, helplessness, loss and isolation. All of which are made clear to the reader throughout the poem. The writer’s use of enjambment, word choice and imagery.
In verse one, the writer makes his way through the hospital. “My nostrils…go bobbing along green and yellow corridors”. This emphasises the fact that the “hospital smell” is overwhelming, which it works effectively as it informs the reader that the writer’s sense of smell is taking over his other senses. Also, the use of “green and yellow corridors” has unpleasant connotations as green and yellow are normally not very pleasant together, so we…show more content… It breaks up the verse and causes an abrupt pause. This gives the image of that he has finally reached where his loved one must be and has come to an abrupt stop to face the emotions he has been trying hard to convince himself that are not there. Following this “White cage of forgetfulness “gives the image of the loved one drifting in and out of consciousness. She is unable to communicate or know what is going on. This shows her to be cut off from the rest of the ward, as if she was in a cave. The curtains are white and above her head, this adds to the impression of her physical and mental isolations and her being…show more content… The use of the word “withered” and “stalks” are effectively used to give explain a flower. This suggests the poet does not believe the loved one is alive as she was once was, she is now empty and evidently dead.
The harshness of this idea is carried out through the phrase “glass fang”. This gives the reader an idea of a vampire draining blood from a person. The idea of the word choice is continued into the word “guzzling” as this emphasises the quickness of the draining although, this idea is reversed by the use of the positive word “giving”. The sound of the “g’s” in the alliteration makes it an onomatopoeia. This conveys the harshness of the process.
The idea of isolation is explored more effectively when the writer speaks of the distance of pain “neither she nor he can cross”. The use of the word “nor” isolates the words “she” and “he” from each other. Just like the distance of pain that isolates the two people from each other. The writer takes a new line for the phrase “can cross”, which gives the idea that there is even distance between these words, emphasising both there isolation from each other. They cannot communicate due to the woman’s current state. The writer is emotionally devastated by his grief but cannot communicate this to the woman due to her lack of