Assisi by Norman MacCaig - Literature Review

Through careful word choice and stark imagery the poet presents a vivid Vakantie in Assisi depiction of both the duality of man and the societal dichotomy of wealth and poverty.The poet immediately introduces this separation through the title. The priest's role has been diverted from that of a spiritual guide, to that of a tour guide and MacCaig uses a self-deprecating tone in this stanza to underline the palpable hypocrisy. He also reveals his contempt for a social duality; that great riches and great poverty often exists side by side. This is evident from the lines "... I understood/The explanation and/The cleverness". Enjambement is used by MacCaig to great effect here, showing his contempt for the priest's neglect, and by extension, society's neglect.In the final stanza, MacCaig uses other techniques to explore the main themes. Firstly, he uses an extended metaphor the priest as a farmer. He describes a "rush" of tourists "clucking contentedly". The word "rush" connotes an absence of deliberation, suggesting that the tourists are unaware of the irony of the situation. The use of the alliteration and onomatopoeia alludes to the tourists being simple-minded and unthinking, like chickens. The metaphor is extended by describing the tourists as "fluttering", conjuring an image of them blindly following the priest, ignorant of any hypocrisy. Another technique used by MacCaig to reflect the main themes is also used here: "... as he scattered the grain of the word". This corruption of a phrase used in the Bible is deliberately intended to echo corruption of the Church's values. It also reflects that, in the poet's opinion, the priest has forgotten his spiritual responsibilities and the tone is rather disparaging.In the close of the poem, MacCaig further displays his revulsion and a sense of injustice. He tells us "it was they who had passed/The ruined temple outside". The word "they" conveys an accusatory tone. The group had failed to notice the dwarf's suffering, too absorbed and shallow to realise how hypocritical they were being: it is here we learn that the poet is repulsed by this situation. The juxtaposition of "ruined temple" conveys a powerful message. The word "ruined" symbolises the dwarf's broken physical exterior, whilst in contrast, the word "temple" symbolises the dwarf's perfect and sacred interior i.e. his humanity.

The imagery of the dwarf in this last stanza is particularly poignant and successfully unites the poem's main themes. MacCaig, quite brutally, further describes the dwarf's physical appearance: "... whose eyes/Wept pus, whose back was higher/Than his head, whose lopsided mouth... "). This harsh depiction of the dwarf is employed to create a particular effect: to shock the reader into feeling pity; in fact, we are being defied to withhold it. In the final lines of the poem, MacCaig reclaims the dwarfs humanity by revealing his inner beauty. The simile "... voice as sweet/As a child's when she speaks to her mother/Or a bird's when it spoke to St Francis" very clearly displays the purity and innocence of the dwarf. The tone also represents the sheer injustice and unnecessary pain that is obviously a big part of the dwarf's life. Why should his suffering go unnoticed?Through a plethora of techniques, MacCaig successfully engages our sympathy and through exploration themes such as corruption and hypocrisy, we are forced to question what it means to be human.