'Assisi' by Norman MacCaig

Quotes

‘dwarf’

Word choice. A derogatory term.

‘hands on backwards’

Hyperbole. Exaggerates the severity of his physical condition.

‘slumped’

Word choice. Shows severity of his physical condition and mental state.

‘Sat…slumped…sack’

Repetition. Sounds like deflation.

‘like a half-filled sack’

Simile. He is seen as incomplete, insignificant in society.

‘tiny twisted’

Word choice. Emphasises size and uselessness.

‘sawdust might run’

Metaphor. Seen as someone fake, a puppet, he’s being dehumanised.

‘outside’

Word choice. The man is being rejected by the people he should be accepted by.

‘three tiers’

Word choice. Description of church, and it’s ostentatiousness.

‘built in honour…of the poor’

Word choice. Shows sacrificial nature of St Francis.

‘talker with birds’

Word choice. Shows St Francis’ humility and gentleness.

‘not being dead yet’

Sentence structure. There is no joy in his life, the only thing he has over St Francis.

‘explained’

Word choice. Materialistic, focusing on appearance of the church and frescos. Sharing in his knowledge of the church’s appearance.

‘clever’

Word choice. Highlights superior attitude and arrogance of the priest. He doesn’t think it was worth educating the illiterate so they frescos didn’t have to be made.

‘stories’

Word choice. Speaking as though the tourists were children.

‘reveal to the illiterate’

Word choice. Priest sounds patronising and condescending rather than humble towards those who cannot read.

‘suffering’

Word choice. He is a hypocrite and has lost the Bible’s meaning, not caring for others. He doesn’t understand what he’s saying.

‘cleverness’

Word choice. Highlights priest’s cunning, MacCaig understand this.

‘rush’

Word choice. Shows the tourists are walking hurriedly.

‘clucking contentedly’

Metaphor. Tourists being compared to chickens.

‘the grain of the word’

Metaphor. Words are being compared to chicken feed.

‘they’

Tone. Accusatory, scorn

‘the ruined temple’

Metaphor. The dwarf is being compared to a dilapidated building.

‘grazie’

Word choice. Shows his true character.

‘wept pus’

Word choice. Shows the dwarf is unwell.

'a voice as sweet as a child's'

Simile. Compares his innocence to a child's.