1. Norman MacCaig Visiting Hour The Scottish Text Poem 3
We are learning to:
Identify and explain the main ideas and supporting details of a text
Apply knowledge and understanding of language to explain meaning and effect, using appropriate critical terminology

2. Poem 1: Visiting Hour
In an interview MacCaig said that this poem was based on a visit he made to see his wife, who was very sick in hospital.
Interesting and original images are used as the poet describes his journey through the hospital corridors to Ward 7.

3. Context of the Poem
In Visiting Hour, the speaker describes a visit to a dying friend in hospital.
In the poem, the speaker is determined to maintain his composure in order to prevent transmitting his worry and fear to his friend.
This attempt to switch off his emotions, however, is ultimately unsuccessful and in the end he is forced to confront the reality of both his own and his friend’s mortality.

4. Stanza 1 MacCaig goes to visit dying relative in hospital.
Setting in stanza 1 confirms that the title is not ambiguous. MacCaig notices the smell of the hospital and the décor – yellow and green.

5. Form and structure
The poem is a stream of consciousness from a first person stance which allows us to experience the emotions of the speaker as he is feeling them.
It is written in free verse and the present tense, and follows the chronological order of the visit.
MacCaig often employs the techniques of enjambment and repetition in this poem to emphasise the central ideas.

6. Stanza one
The poem begins with a description of the speaker’s progress through the corridors of the hospital.
MacCaig chooses to mention unusual details (the movements of the nose) and the colours of the walls as he makes the journey.
MacCaig appeals to our sense of smell as he describes how The hospital smell/combs my nostrils. This is evocative, bringing to mind the pervasive smells with which we associate hospitals.
The metaphor helps to underline the strength of the smell in the air, by comparing it with a comb. Just as a comb brushes through hair, the odour assaults our sense of smell and is overwhelming.

7. Stanza one
As we read on, we discover this is part of the unavoidable reality of visiting someone in hospital: even if we try to suppress our emotions, the environment roots us in reality.
MacCaig uses the technique of synecdoche in the lines my nostrils/as they go bobbing along.T his is a technique using part of something to refer to the whole, in this case his nostrils to refer to himself - and emphasises how the overpowering smell of the hospital has blocked out his other senses.
At the same time the word choice bobbing has pleasant connotations, as though he is trying to trick himself into thinking the experience won’t be as bad as he anticipates.

8. Stanza one
Colour is also used to root the reader in the experience: the simple colour scheme is a concept familiar to most hospital visitors.
Here the word choices of green and yellow have connotations of sickness.
Whether we want to accept it or not, visiting a hospital is often a difficult experience and, despite the speaker’s intellectual attempt to avoid an emotional response, his senses force him to confront the reality of the situation.

9. The hospital smell combs my nostrils
Personification – smell overpowers his senses
combs – discomfort as the smell invades his senses
hospital – shows clear setting connotations of life and death

10. As they go bobbing along
bobbing along – assonance to emphasise he feels adrift, lost (in the hospital and without his friend/relative)
bobbing - shows that he is adrift, unsure of the direction

11. green and yellow corridors.
Connotation – sickness stresses his discomfort of the surroundings

12. Stanza 2
MacCaig passes by a patient who looks close to death before they are taken moved in a lift

13. What seems a corpse
Metaphor – patient appears dead, poet cannot believe it is still alive
What - like it is no longer human and cannot tell age/sex
corpse – continues negative tone suggesting there is little relation to life and the finality of death

14. is trundled into a lift and vanishes
Trundle – moves slowly past, not in a hurry
Juxtaposes the word “corpse”
Vanishes – will never be seen again/death

15. heavenward. Enjambment – word on its own for emphasis
Literal: Patient is being moved to a floor above
Metaphorical: poet expects patient to die and go to heaven, making light of it

16. Stanza 3
MacCaig wills himself not to get emotional in public.

17. I will not feel, I will not/ feel, until/ I have to
Repetition – poets thoughts laid bare as if chanting under his breathe to not show emotion as he is clearly upset
Reader feels sympathy for poet

18. Stanzas two and three
By the second stanza, the issue of mortality is evident as the visitor describes the progress of a dead body into a lift.
In the speaker’s mind, the rising lift becomes symbolic of the journey to heaven.
MacCaig uses a metaphor as the speaker describes how the patient vanishes/heavenward.

19. Stanzas two and three
The comparison of the lift's journey with a journey of a soul to heaven serves as a reminder of the inevitability of death.
A simple journey takes on a more symbolic significance as the visitor (though uncertain the patient is dead) applies a dark interpretation.
The use of enjambment in the final line heavenward emphasises and isolates this word and reinforces the finality and isolation of death.

20. Stanzas two and three
In the third stanza the speaker focuses on himself and the effect this situation is having on him.
The repetition of I will not feel is testament to the speaker’s determination not to allow his emotions to overpower him. We can imagine this shows the speaker’s fear of being overwhelmed– they worry they will break down, unable to cope with the painful reality of the situation. On the surface, this might seem rather cold but, in such situations, most people would try to maintain their composure and to prevent a particularly ill patient from seeing their fear and concern.
The use of enjambment especially emphasises the word “feel” and clearly conveys how desperately the speaker would like to remain numb.

21. Stanza 4
Praises the nurses for their strength and ability to carry on after seeing so many deaths.

22. Nurses walk lightly, swiftly,
Nurses glide purposefully and elegantly

23. here and up and down and there
Unusual syntax (word order) emphasises the number of nurses there are and have the ability of omnipresence (everywhere at once)

24. Their slender waists miraculously
Amazed that they can deal with death and suffering with such slight frames
Miraculously – admiration of nurses abilities, links with image of heavenward and omnipresence

25. Of so much pain, so/ many deaths…/ so many farewells
Repetition – stresses amount of times nurses have to deal with unpleasant things, which supports the respect (envy?) poet has for them

26. Eyes still clear
Remain strong
Not crying

27. So many farewells.
Euphemism – a word or phrase that makes a serious/terrible event sound less harsh farewell = death
The purpose of his visit is to say goodbye
Will possibly meet again suggesting his desire to believe in the afterlife at such troubling times

28. Stanza four
The focus of the poem now moves onto the nurses in the hospital.
MacCaig’s word choice reveals the efficiency with which they go about their jobs. The adverbs lightly and swiftly suggest an easy, almost carefree quality to their movements.

29. Stanza four They move here and up and down and there.
The word order suggests they are constantly on the move - the repetition of the word “and” underlines this.
The adjective slender, used to describe their waists, helps us to understand why the speaker is so surprised by their ability to cope with their difficult job as they seem so delicate.

30. Stanza four
The speaker describes the nurses burden: a burden is a weight and their ability to carry this emotional baggage on such light frames is astonishing for the speaker, who struggles to prevent his feelings from coming to the surface.

31. Stanza four
The parallel structure of so much pain, so/many deaths and so many farewells emphasises the emotional strain of the nurses’ job.
This, like the word choice, helps us to understand the speaker’s incredulity at the way the nurses are able to function so efficiently when surrounded by so much pain and suffering.
For the speaker, death is something that is difficult to deal with, while for the nurses it is something they must confront every day.

32. Stanza four
The final line in this stanza draws attention to the word farewells which links to the next and reminds us of the main purpose of the speaker's visit.
This word has connotations of saying goodbye to someone embarking on a journey.
While death is the final journey all of us must make, there is an implication too that perhaps he will meet his friend again, suggesting his desire to believe in an afterlife.

33. Stanza 5
Arrives at ward 7 where his friend/relative is. She appears close to death and does not seem to recognise the poet.

34. Ward 7. She lies
Non-sentence and caesura (sentence stopping part way through a line) is abrupt. Jolts the reader in the same way that the poet is affected
Turning point of poem as now MacCaig must face his emotions

35. In a white cave of forgetfulness
Metaphor – the curtains and sheets are cave-like conveying her isolation
Forgetfulness – ambiguous the room shows no sign of previous patients or she is losing her memory or MacCaig wishes to forget the image

36. A withered hand/ trembles on its stalk
Metaphor – woman’s body is frail and brittle, by comparing it to a dying flower (stalk)
Withered – deteriorated state
Trembles – emphasises old age of the woman
Its – pronoun dehumanises woman, suggesting MacCaig does not see her as human but her body is merely an empty shell, while she is effectively dead

37. Eyes move behind eyelids too heavy to raise.
Emphasises how ill the woman is
Syntax of missed pronoun (her) emphasises that the woman does not seem truly human/alive to the poet

38. Into an arm wasted of colour
is wasting away
no longer used

39. glass fang is fixed
Metaphor – suggesting the I.V. canula in arm is like a vampire draining her life-force. The horror of the image shows the poet is shocked and distressed
Alliteration – (“fang… fixed”) emphasises that the I.V. has to remain to support her life but MacCaig is horrified by it

40. Not guzzling but giving
Horror at “glass fang” image is continued by the word “guzzling”, but reversed by the word “giving”.
The alliteration of the guttaral “g” sound conveys the harshness of the poet’s feelings towards it – pointless and intrusive

41. the distance of pain that neither she nor I/ can cross
Metaphor – too painful to admit she is dying so neither talk about it
Sense of futility/uselessness
Acknowledging her physical pain and his emotional pain

42. can cross.
Alliteration Guttural “c” sound emphasises the unpleasant situation
Enjambment – emphasise that it is not possible for MacCaig to show his emotions.

43. Stanza five
The use of caesura– a pause that breaks up a line of verse– in the opening of this stanza illustrates the immediate, inescapable simplicity of the situation: Ward 7. 
We have followed the speaker’s progress along the corridors of the hospital and this ward is his destination.

44. Stanza five
It is significant: the short sentence punctuates the stark reality of the situation, and from here on in, it will be impossible to escape the spectre of death.
This is a turning point in the poem as now he must confront the reality of the situation he has been so desperate to avoid.

45. Stanza five
While the walls of the hospital corridor were colourful, MacCaig uses a metaphor to describe the patient’s white cave of forgetfulness.
This reveals the isolation and lack of any sensory awareness in her current state and also emphasises how distant she is now from the speaker.

46. Stanza five
The patient’s hand seems fragile, MacCaig’s word choice detailing how it is withered and trembles.
By comparing her body to a dying flower he conveys how brittle and frail she is now, as well as hinting at her past vitality.
However, there is also an implicit hope that, just as flowers and plants die and go to seed, so too there is the possibility for regrowth and new life, again revealing the speaker’s desire to believe in some kind of afterlife.
The use of the pronoun its instead of she here serves to dehumanise the woman, suggesting her body is merely an empty shell and she is no longer truly alive. This idea of emptiness and hollowness links back to the cave imagery from earlier in the stanza.

47. Stanza five
One of the most memorable images from Visiting Hour is the description of the needle in the patient’s arm as a glass fang.
The comparison of the intravenous drip to a vampire is shocking and shows how frightening the speaker finds the medical equipment attached to the patient.
However, unlike a vampire’s fang which is designed to drain blood, this needle is not guzzling but giving. Nevertheless, the harsh sound of the alliterative g conveys a sense of bitterness as the speaker feels the medication is both intrusive and ineffective.

48. Stanza 6
He leaves at the end of the hour in a heightened state of emotion leaving behind some books and fruit as a present.

49. She smiles a little
Switched perspective – now from her P.O.V. and is comforted by visit from MacCaig. This helps MacCaig to cope

50. black figure in her white cave
Metaphor – MacCaig appears blurred in her sight and refers to the universal image of death (MacCaig leaving, death appearing)
Metaphor – the emphasis on her isolation in the hospital bay now that MacCaig is leaving

51. clumsily MacCaig is overcome with emotion and dazed by the experience
She views MacCaig as childlike

52. round swimming waves of a bell
The bell rings gently to signify the end of the visit/ her life
The sound envelops in a less obtrusive manner than the smell of the hospital in the first stanza

53. growing fainter,
Shows the woman’s vision is blurry as she sees him grow fainter as he walks away.

54. and fruitless fruits
Enjambment – last line shows the bitter despair at the hopelessness
Oxymoron – emphasises the pointlessness of the prolonged death and his inability to help – bringing fruit has been “fruitless”/pointless

55. Stanza six
In the final stanza, the visit ends and the speaker describes his departure through the eyes of the patient.
Contrast becomes an important feature in this stanza.
The distance between the two figures (one alive, one near death) is highlighted in the description of theblack figure in her white cave.
These contrasting colours show the different situations of the speaker and the patient. The visitor,black, is bold and stands out starkly against the white surroundings. The patient, on the other hand, looks weak and insubstantial.

56. Stanza six
In the line the round swimming waves of a bell, the poet uses the technique of synaesthesia where one sense, in this case sight, is used to evoke another, the sound of the bell marking the end of visiting hour.

57. Stanza six
For the speaker though, this bell has much deeper connotations since it represents the last time he will see the patient.
The imagery of the swimming waves could imply he feels as though he is overwhelmed or drowning in his emotions as he recognises the significance of this bell.
This sense of confusion and grief is reinforced by the word choice of dizziness in the next line as he clumsily rises and makes his way out of the ward.

58. Stanza six
The final image of the books and the oxymoronic fruitless fruits, stand as reminders of the proximity of death.
Just as the speaker attaches negative connotations to the patient in the lift and the needle in the patient’s arm, so he recognises the pointlessness of the gifts left for the patient.
Neither the books nor the fruit will fulfil their intended purpose: the former will remain unread, the latter uneaten. As final images, these offer a final reluctant recognition of the hopelessness of the situation.

59. Main Ideas (Themes)
Fear is one of the central concerns of MacCaig’s poem.
From the opening stanzas, it is obvious the speaker fears his inability to control his emotions.
He knows the patient he visits is in a poor condition but also recognises how powerful and unpredictable emotions can be.
The speaker's is not unwilling to feel upset but anxious that he will be able to cope with the feelings. This is a natural human reaction and one which most readers will recognise.

60. Main Ideas (Themes) Another prominent theme is death.
More specifically, MacCaig’s poem explores the inevitability of death as the speaker is forced to confront his own mortality as well as that of his friend.
The speaker visits someone who seems particularly ill and, as a consequence, death dominates their thoughts.
Even when walking along a corridor or arriving at the patient’s bedside, the speaker cannot avoid interpreting images in a negative way.

61. Themes
This shows us that part of the human condition is recognising the transitory nature of our existence.
Though MacCaig’s poem is a painful reminder of the fragility of life, it should also encourage a greater appreciation of life itself.

62. Links to other poems
Because of its PERONAL and EXPERIENCE related content – Visiting Hour can be linked to:
Aunt Julia– both poems describe an experience / a character vividly
Basking Shark– both poems describe an incident that leaves them thinking about more powerful ideas (death / evolution)
Sounds of the Day* – both poems explore a normal experience with greater feelings behind it – loss etc.
Assisi – both poems utilise vivid imagery when describing a character / person and the more significant ideas related to them (death and illness / religion and hypocrisy)
Memorial* – both discuss the loss / potential loss of someone
*Best poems to link