Visting Hour: Stanza 1

Visting Hour: Stanza 1

‘Visiting Hour’: Stanza 1 - Theme - Mortality

Key Ideas

• ‘Visiting Hour’ by Norman MacCaig grapples with the theme of mortality.
• The first stanza introduces the hospital setting, establishing the surroundings of illness and death.

Symbolism

• The hospital, filled with the fading light of the day (“the round disinfectant trotted along”), represents the recurring representation of impending death.
• The smell of the ward, as depicted in “and a thousand wee deaths in hospital smell”, symbolises the pervasive presence of mortality.

Imagery

• MacCaig employs semantic fields associated with sickness and death (e.g., “smell of disinfectant”) to create a strong visceral image of the hospital environment.
• The comparison of the hospital’s disinfectant to a “trotting” animal subtly paints a picture of constant, unending death and suffering.

Language

• The poet’s choice of words like “stench”, “trotted”, and “smell” serve to depict the grim, unpleasant details of the hospital and health conditions, further enhancing the theme of mortality.
• The repeated use of the word “death” in the phrase “a thousand wee deaths” underscores the inevitability and ultimate universality of death.

Context

• The stanza sets up the harsh reality of a hospital visitation - the nervous anticipation, the oppressive smells of antiseptics - to convey the profound fear and dread associated with mortality.
• The theme of mortality serves as a backdrop to the exploration of human pain, resilience, and the struggle to make sense of life and death.

Summary

• In the first stanza of ‘Visiting Hour’, MacCaig uses vivid imagery, evocative language, and striking contrasts to explore the reality of mortality. Through his portrayal of the hospital and the emotions it incites, the poet offers a poignant insight into the human condition and our continuous struggle to grapple with the concept of death.