'Visiting Hour' by Norman MacCaig

Quotes

'combs'

Personification. The smell hits him more than usual.

'the go bobbing along'

synecdoche. Sounds comical, his whole body is bobbling along the corridor.

'green and yellow corridors'

word choice. colours associated with sickness.

'what seems a corpse'

word choice. speaker is confused, dead bodies aren't moved during visiting hour.

'heavenward'

word choice. the direction of the lift

'I will not feel, I will not feel.'

repetition. He's fighting to keep his emotions in check.

'lightly, swiftly'

word choice. shows nurses' efficiency and speed.

'here and up and down and there'

syntax. Shows nurses are everywhere doing a multitude of jobs.

'their slender waists miraculously carrying their burden'

word choice. Shows admiration for the nurses, they do so much.

'so much... so many... so many'

repetition. emphasises how much the nurses have to deal with.

'ward 7.'

sentence structure. author pauses to compose hismelf before entering.

'a white cave of forgetfulness'

metaphor. room where she lies is being compared to a cave.

'a withered hand trembles on its stalk'

metaphor. comparison of her hand to a flower.

'eyelids to heavy to raise'

word choice. shows severity of her condition.

'a glass fang is fixed not guzzling but giving'

metaphor. compares intravenous to a vampire.

'the distance of pain that neither she nor I can cross'

metaphor. compares physical distance to emotional distance.

'black figure in her white cave'

metaphor. he is comparing himself to the grim reaper.

'clumsily'

word choice. he is overcome with emotion.

'the round swimming waves of a bell'

metaphor. noise compared to a swimmer struggling in the ocean.

'growing fainter'

metaphor. symbolic of him moving away for the last time.

'fruitless fruits'

word choice. he knows she will never get an opportunity to eat again.