Visiting Hour

'Visiting Hour', by Norman McCaig, is a poem where there are several noticeable changes of mood. These mood changes are crucial to the reader's understanding of the McCaig's feelings towards death, the central idea in the poem, and are shown through the writer's skilful use of techniques such as word choice, imagery and sentence structure.

The poem is set in a hospital, where McCaig is going to visit a sick relative (possibly his mother), who is terminally ill. In the hour of visiting time the poem follows not only the writer's physical journey towards the ward where his relative is, but also his mental journey towards his acceptance of death. It is part of the dramatic impact of the poem that the setting is concentrated into a small space (Ward 7) and a limited period of time (one hour).

The first mood described in the poem is one of fear and anxiety. McCaig uses imagery: 'the hospital smell combs my nostrils as they go bobbing along' to help the reader empathise with his state of mind. The use of personification suggests how strong the disinfectant is, helping the reader to smell it. This image is effectively extended through the use of synecdoche, as McCaig's nostrils are used to represent his whole body. This successfully demonstrates that the smell is so strong it is overwhelming, and this helps the reader to understand the writer's fear that his visit will be as overwhelming as the smell and he may not be able to cope. The sense of fear is also enhanced through word choice: 'bobbing' and 'green and yellow corridors'. 'Bobbing' has connotations of the motion of waves, effectively helping the reader to understand that McCaig is feeling sick with anxiety and fear, an effect which is reinforced by the choice of colours: 'green and yellow' which have connotations of sickness. This also conveys, not only the writer's own feeling of sickness, but also the illnesses he is surrounded by in the hospital, and the knowledge that his journey along the corridors is taking him closer to his sick relative. This helps the reader to empathise with McCaig's fear, and begin to understand the theme of death.

In the third stanza, the mood changes to determination: 'I will not feel, I will not feel, until I have to.' This is a stanza on its own, which draws attention to the writer's determination to control his emotions and stay strong for his dying relative. The repetition of 'I will not feel' emphasises his strong emotions, an idea which is further shown through the use of ‘I’ showing how personal the experience is, and eliciting a sympathetic response from the reader by showing his sense of isolation. McCaig's determination is also conveyed through the staccato rhythm, created by the repetition and short

Visiting Hour Model Essay Page 1 phrases, which reflects the sound of his footsteps, showing a sense of purpose to his internal monologue as he repeats the phrase in time with his walk. The theme of death is also conveyed through: ' ... until I have to', showing that the writer realises that at some point he will have to accept that his relative is dying, but is determined to avoid this for as long as possible. The mood of determination is reinforced by the next stanza, where McCaig's admiration for the nurses in the hospital. He describes them as: 'miraculously carrying the burden of so much pain, so many deaths... so many farewells' . The word choice: 'miraculously' shows how he is struggling with his emotions, as it suggests that he fmds it astonishing that they can cope with the difficult 'burden' of : 'so much pain, so many deaths ... so many farewells'. The idea of the' burden' is reinforced through sentence structure, as the repetition suggests how difficult McCaig believes it would be to maintain professional distance while surrounded by death and illness like the nurses do, showing how he admires them, and is determined to be able to cope like they can.

The mood of horror conveyed in the fifth stanza helps the reader to understand another stage in the writer's journey towards acceptance of death. When McCaig reaches the door of the ward where his relative is, he uses caesura through the use of a short sentence: 'Ward 7.' The full stop creates an abrupt halt, showing that he has arrived at his destination, but also suggesting that he is pausing to prepare himself for the shock of seeing his relative. Horror is shown through imagery: 'a glass fang is fixed, not guzzling but giving'. The metaphor, comparing the intravenous drip to a 'glass fang' suggests horror, as it reminds the reader of traditional vampire literature or horror films. This is developed through the choice of the word 'guzzling' which also has connotations of horror, but the alliteration of 'not guzzling but giving' draws attention to the fact that the drip is seeking to put in life, not draw it out. This allows the reader to understand that the writer's feeling of horror is not caused by the drip, but by the experience of seeing his relative dying, linking to the main idea of the poem.

The final mood of the poem is acceptance of death, helping the reader to further understand the theme. Towards the end of the fifth stanza McCaig begins to convey acceptance through his description of 'the distance of pain that neither she nor I can cross'. The use of the phrase 'distance of pain' demonstrates his acceptance that the space between them is not physical but mental, as he is right beside her but cannot help her. They are separated both by her physical pain as she approaches death and his mental anguish as he

Visiting Hour Model Essay Page 2 struggles to accept that his relative is dying. The mood of acceptance is further conveyed through the role reversal of McCaig and his relative, who: 'smiles a little at (him)'. This is ironic, as the word' smiles' suggests that she is trying to comfort the writer and help him accept her death, whereas the reader would expect the dying woman to be the one in need of comfort. This effectively shows acceptance through her understanding of death, but McCaig still struggles to reach full acceptance as he 'clumsily rises' and 'dizzily goes off. The word choice shows that McCaig is overcome with emotion and, as he feared, cannot cope with the realisation that his relative is going to die. The feeling of being overwhelmed is enhanced through the description of the writer rising' in the round swimming waves of a bell'. The metaphor compares the sound of the bell announcing the end of the visiting hour to 'round swimming waves', which creates an image of a whirlpool, suggesting that the writer feels as though he is drowning in the strong emotion he is feeling. This helps the reader fully understand McCaig's difficulty in accepting his relative's death. Full acceptance is not reached until the final three lines, as he exits the ward: 'leaving behind only books that will not be read and fruitless fruits'. This phrase provides a link to his earlier mood of determination not to admit that his relative was dying, as he has brought books and fruit, yet he now realises and accepts that the books 'will not be read' and the fruit is 'fruitless'. The oxymoron 'fruitless fruits', positioned at the end of the last line of the poem draws attention to the futility of his earlier refusal to accept what was happening, and effectively conveys the main idea of the poem through McCaig's acceptance of his relative's death.

In conclusion, Norman McCaig has effectively conveyed several moods: fear, anxiety, determination, admiration and horror, leading to acceptance. These mood changes are important as they allow the reader to empathise with McCaig and fully understand the central idea of death. These mood changes are effectively conveyed through language, especially through word choice.

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