Assisi critical analysis

Question: Choose a poem that has something important to say to you by closely referring to the poet’s language, briefly explain why you consider the subject matter to be important, and go on to analyse how the writer conveys the importance of the subject. Refer closely to the text and at least to of the following: word choice, imagery, ideas, point of view or other appropriate feature.

In the poem Assisi written by Norman MacCaig there are many literary techniques which are used to illustrate the theme of the poem. In the poem a beggar sits outside the Church of St Francis in the Italian town of Assisi. The priest and tourists who are being shown Giotto’s famous frescoes ignore him. It illustrates to the reader how the poor and needy are ignored by the modern day church and people in general. The poem is mainly concerned with bringing to the readers attention the shallowness and commercialism of the Church plus the hypocrisy and loss of values of the present day Church and, by extension, society as a whole.

The poem is divided into three verses. Each character has there own verse which draws attention to the fact that very little contact ever takes place between them. The poem starts and

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The purpose of this description is to shock the reader into a reaction. The poem ends interestingly as St Francis is mentioned in the last line of the poem to remind us of the values, which have been lost in today’s society. It also serves as a reminder to the reader not to be so superficial when judging somebody. We are left with a positive vibe to finish on. The simile, “twisted legs from which sawdust might run” dehumanises the beggar and there appears to be no sympathy in the tone of this description. There is also an an ironic tone throughout the verse as the Word means the word of god and it is ironic how the priest is not spreading the ideals of St Francis who followed Christ’s example instead he favours the more commercial values of our scrupulous society.

“A rush of tourists, clucking contentedly,

fluttered after him as he scattered

the grain of the Word. For instance the long sentence at the beginning of the verse helps to show the reader what is happening and suggests the hypocrisy. Yet ironically he is outside the church of St Francis who loved and cared for the poor. He has understood the duplicity of the Church.

Norman MacCaig sends a strong and clear message across to the reader in this poem.

The enjambment of the word understood is significant as it means that the poet has understood much more than the lessons of the priest and his frescoes. Put simply MacCaig is trying to remind us that we should not judge people on appearances

The third verse is where we get a closer look at the tourist who are looking round the church. The man is compared to an inanimate object emphasising his deformities.

Approximate Word count = 1129
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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