Norman MacCaig Assisi Stanza 3

"Clucking contentedly, fluttered after him as he scattered the grain of the Word"
1. Metaphor
  1. Comparing priest to a farmer scattering feed for chickens
2. "grain of the Word"
  1. Ironic Allusion to the biblical Parable Jesus told.
3. The tourists are blindly obedient to the priest
"The ruined temple outside"
1. Dwarf directly juxtaposed with the church
2. Metaphor
  1. A temple is something revered, significant and beautiful but has become ruined due to neglect, much like the beggar
"said Grazie in a voice as sweet as a child's when she speaks to her mother"
1. Simile
  1. Comparing the beggar to a child emphasises his innocence and his gratitude for the smallest kindness
    1. This forces the reader to feel pity not only for the beggar's physical difficulties but also for his vulnerability and helplessness
"Whose eyes wept pus, whose back was higher than his head, whose lopsided mouth"
1. Structure
  1. MacCaig lists the beggars deformities
2. Creates incredibly vivid image of the beggar
"Or a bird's when it spoke to St Francis"
1. Structure
  1. MacCaig ends with St Francis as the final image
2. St Francis demonstrated the true teachings of Christ, by showing that every living creature, no matter how insignificant, is worthy of compassion

Resource summary

	Created by lorynduffus almost 9 years ago