“Assisi”

1. “Assisi” By Norman MacCaig

2. The Big Picture • I can analyse the poetic techniques used by MacCaig to effectively convey the message of the poem. • I can write a well-structured and appropriate critical essay about the poem.

3. Learning Intentions • To understand the central concerns of “Assisi”. • To analyse and explain the contrast contained within the poem.

4. The Poet – Norman MacCaig • Norman MacCaig was born in Edinburgh in 1910. • During the war MacCaig refused to fight because he did not want to kill people who he felt were just the same as him. • He therefore spent time in various prisons and doing landwork because of his pacifist views

5. He was great friends with Hugh MacDiarmid and other Scottish poets he met with in the bars of Edinburgh to debate, laugh and drink. • As he became older, MacCaig's fame spread and he received such honours as the O.B.E. and the Queen's Medal for Poetry. • By the time of his death in January 1996, Norman MacCaig was known widely as the grand old man of Scottish poetry.

6. The Title - Assisi • Does this word ring any bells?

7. Assisi - Italy

8. Assisi • Assisi is a city in Italy. • Famously, it is the home of St. Francis of Assisi. The founder of the Franciscan order of the Friars Minor, Francis emphasised simplicity and poverty. • Many of the stories that surround the life of St Francis deal with his selfless charity and love for animals as well as the saint's love of the natural world.

9. The grandiose, gorgeously embellished Basilica di San Francesco (Basilica of St. Francis) in Assisi is a rather incongruous memorial to a man who preached and lived a simple life of poverty, abstinence, and renunciation of worldly goods in search of greater spirituality.

10. Inside the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi – its priceless frescos are a major tourist attraction.

11. The dwarf with his hands on backwards sat, slumped like a half-filled sack on tiny twisted legs from which sawdust might run, outside the three tiers of churches built in honour of St Francis, brother of the poor, talker with birds, over whom he had the advantage of not being dead yet. A priest explained how clever it was of Giotto to make his frescoes tell stories that would reveal to the illiterate the goodness of God and the suffering of His Son. I understood the explanation and the cleverness.

12. A rush of tourists, clucked contentedly, fluttered after him as he scattered the grain of the Word. It was they who passed the ruined temple outside, whose eyes wept pus, whose back was higher than his head, whose lopsided mouth said Grazie in a voice as sweet as a child's when she speaks to her mother or a bird's when it spoke to St Francis.

13. Task What is the poem about? • In your own words,summarisewhat is happening in the poem? • What do you feel about: a) The beggar b) The priest c) The tourists 3. What kinds of ideas can we draw from MacCaig’s poem? (What is his attitude toward the situation?)

14. Contrast In the poem, MacCaig expresses his distain for the hypocrisy of organised religion. There is a discrepancy between what the tourists are taught and in the way that they act. • What does the Christian faith preach? • They are supposed to follow the example of Jesus. What was his attitude to the poor, the ill and the outcasts?

15. Do unto others as you would have done to yourself • Kindness • Humbleness • LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR • Charity • Caring • Giving • The first shall be last and the last shall be first

16. St Francis is the patron saint of animals and the environment. He was born and worked around Assisi. He is known for following Jesus’ example and helping the poor and outcast.

17. Why St. Francis? • St. Francis was born at Assisi in 1181. He was the son of a rich merchant. • After a care-free youth of fine clothes, partying and brawling, he turned his back on inherited wealth and committed himself to God. • He then lived a very simple life of poverty. He gave up his shoes and fine clothes and became like the people he wanted to serve. He begged, preached and built shelters and places of worship for the poor.

18. People with the contagious nerve/skin disease leprosy (which caused disfigurement and loss of limbs) were outcasts from society. • People would not touch lepers. Francis looked after them. • In other words, he was a good guy!

19. What is Preached Like Jesus, you should care for the sick and needy. You should lead a meagre and humble life (St. Francis gave up his wealth) Faith and charity are the priorities, not wealth or self-importance. What is in Action Christian tourists visiting the City of a devout saint, feeling good about soaking in the Word of God and basking in the Holy surroundings. Not one, but a multitude fail put the Word into action, passing by someone who is truly needy; a defenceless, disabled innocent. Practice What You Preach

20. A Contrasting Point • The tourists cling on to the priests’ every word, “eating up” what he says. (MacCaig likens their following the holyman to the way that chickens flock after a farmer and greedily gobble the grain.) • The are happy to listen to the well-spoken priest and marvel at the gorgeous church. HOWEVER • They act as many do when passing a person who is begging, by ignoring them or perhaps staring but not by helping. You would think that being in a holy city and listening to the deeds of God, many would feel the spirit of charity and give willingly.

21. The Gilded Home of a Poor Carpenter Jesus was born in a stable and gave all he had, even his life to help people. Is an expensive church really the way to worship him?

22. The simple church Francis and this followers built and lived in is now inside a far grander basilica/church and is elaborately decorated.

23. The Significance of the Church (Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi) • Contrast in the way that Christian values are portrayed. • Showing worship has been equated to grand frescos and masterpieces rather than putting the Word of God into practice and giving to the needy. • The image of a defenceless outcast sitting in front of a grand church is ironic, and signifies what the poet believes to be wrong with organised religion.

24. Contrast: Grand Basilica and the “Ruined Temple”

25. The dwarf with his hands on backwardssat, slumped like a half-filled sackon tiny twisted legs from whichsawdust might run, outside the three tiers of churches builtin honour of St Francis Elaborate churches cost a lot to maintain Solid? Half a human being? Juxtaposition – the deformed, poor man and the beautiful, rich church – each highlight each other’s ugliness/beauty, weakness/strength?

26. The Image of the Man • What kind of imagery are we given of the dwarf? • What words are used?

27. MacCaig’s description of the man is negative and harsh. • What is our reaction to the disabled/deformed? • Do we look/stare? • Do we turn away? • Are we repulsed? MacCaig is forcing us to look. How will we respond?

28. The Dwarf is Outside the Church • What is ultimately strange about this placement?

29. Learning Intentions • To understand and explain the poetic techniques used by MacCaig to convey the central concerns of the poem.

30. Studying Poetry When studying poetry you should focus on four main areas: • Imagery • Word Choice • Structure • Stance

31. Remember • Imagery The comparisons used by the poet to create pictures. This includes simile, metaphor, personification… • Word Choice The words used by the poet to create a particular effect. (Why does the poet use one particular word instead of another?) This includes word choice alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, oxymoron…

32. Remember Structure How the poet puts the poem together. This includes rhythm/rhyme, sentence/line/verse length, enjambment, punctuation/parenthesis, repetition… Stance What the poet’s attitude to her/his subject is. This includes persona, tone/mood, irony, other techniques may reveal the stance through imagery, word choice and structure.

33. Do You Remember What Imagery Is? There are three types that come under the title of comparisons. This is where one thing is being matched up to another thing. • This comparison uses the words ‘like’ or ‘as’ in its structure. What is it? • This comparison states that that one thing ‘is’ the other. Do you recognise what technique this is? • This comparison gives an inanimate object a human quality. Can you remember what this technique is called?

34. Sound Techniques There are three sound techniques that help to create a sense of rhythm in poetry. Can you remember what they are? • This technique creates an image by repeating consonant sounds. What technique am I? • This technique is a type of word that sounds like the thing it is describing. Watch the spelling of this one! • This technique creates an image in the readers mind by repeating the vowel sounds. Do you remember what this technique is called?

35. Did You Know Them All? • You will need to remember these techniques when referring to any poem. Knowledge of these techniques will help you to analyse and explain the poem.

36. A Closer Look • In your jotter write down what you think each stanza is about. • Compare your ideas with your peers.

37. Annotating the Poem • In pairs, look over the poem and see if you can identify any techniques. • Mark these clearly on your poem then add them to a table in your jotters

38. The Table

45. Question 7. Choose a poem which creates an atmosphere of sadness, pity, or loss. Show how the poet creates the atmosphere and what effect it has on your response to the subject matter of the poem.

46. Question • Choose a poem in which there is a noticeable change in mood at one or more than one point in the poem. • Show how the poet conveys the change(s) of mood and discuss the importance of the change(s) to the central idea of the poem.