Post by mcf on May 1, 2018 19:30:48 GMT
The poem ‘Assisi’ describes MacCaig’s trip to the town of Assisi, in the centre of Italy. While here, MacCaig visits the church of St. Francis of Assisi, who was an important figure in Christian history. St. Francis was famous for his love of animals, as well as for his work with the poor. Despite being a wealthy man, St. Francis spent some of his life begging in Rome, in order to better understand the life of the poor. For the rest of his life, he lived in poverty, and he founded the Franciscan order, a religious group within the Roman Catholic Church who believed in living in poverty. There are still Franciscans today who believe that money leads individuals away from a truly religious experience.
To learn more about St. Francis of Assisi watch this (short) biographical video, by clicking here. This will give you an isnight into what drove MacCaig to write his poem.
Stanza One
The poem begins with a shocking and engaging image of a ‘dwarf with his hands on backwards’. Although this may be a metaphor to refer to the fact that the beggar has his hands facing upwards, asking for change, it also suggests that he may be deformed. The idea of his hands being ‘on backwards’ also subtly references the idea of God creating man, by suggesting that the beggar was simply built incorrectly. The second line dehumanises the beggar, saying that he ‘slumped like a half-filled sack’. This emphasises the sense of emptiness and incompletion that the beggar feels. In addition, sackcloth is an important part of the Christian tradition, and some monks wear sackcloth clothes in order to remain uncomfortable and to symbolise their penance (repenting of sins). This is the first link MacCaig makes between the beggar and the idea of religious purity. MacCaig continues the idea of the physical deformity of the beggar, stating he has ‘tiny twisted legs’. This is juxtaposes with the magnificence of the building ‘three tiers of churches’, and begins a recurring contrast between the beauty of the church and the physical deformity of the beggar. MacCaig also introduces the technique of irony (which runs throughout the poem) by stating that the enormous church was build ‘in honour of St. Francis, brother of the poor’. MacCaig also states that St. Francis could talk with birds, which is an idea he picks up later in the poem. The stanza ends on a pessimistic line, saying that the only ‘advantage’ enjoyed by the beggar was that he was not dead. Even this is left open, as MacCaig ends the line with ‘yet’, implying that the beggar will perhaps not have long left before he dies.
Stanza Two
The second stanza sees MacCaig touring around the inside of the church, being shown around by a priest. The key theme of this stanza is hypocrisy, as the priest is seemingly unaware of the fact that there is a beggar outside this glorious (and expensive) building, dedicated to a man who believed in helping the poor. The priest is characterised as an arrogant man, explaining ‘how clever it was of Giotto’ (a painter) to paint pictures to teach the illiterate poor about the stories of the Bible. The subtle irony here is that the Church spent money on paintings, rather than teaching the poor to read. This would suggest that they were more interested in creating an ornate church rather than really caring for the poor. Ironically, even though these frescoes ‘tell stories’, the priest is still forced to explain it, suggesting that it might not have been as clever as it seems. The key moment of hypocrisy in the stanza comes when the priest talks about the ‘suffering/of His Son’ (Jesus). The use of enjambment is important in creating a short pause after ‘suffering’. This makes it seem as if the priest is about to talk about the suffering that still exists, although he does not. This reinforces the fact that the priest is blind to the suffering of the beggar outside. MacCaig finishes the stanza with a sardonic (cynical mocking) tone, ‘I understood/the explanation and/the cleverness’. This suggests he is aware of the hypocrisy of the priest, as well as feeling that the priest does not understand the real message behind the art.
Stanza Three
In the final stanza, MacCaig moves from attacking the priest to attacking his fellow tourists, who are equally unaware of the irony of celebrating St. Francis whilst also ignoring the beggar. MacCaig uses animal imagery (specifically bird imagery) in this stanza, thus echoing the idea of St. Francis being able to talk to birds. He describes the tourists as ‘clucking contentedly’ after the priest as he ‘scattered the grain of the word’. He is referring to them here as chickens, being herded around unthinkingly. It is clear MacCaig feels that they are just blindly visiting the church without taking in any of the core messages of St. Francis. MacCaig draws the link with the beggar in the next line when he describes him as ‘the ruined temple’. This emphasises the juxtaposition between the glorious church they have just toured round, and the crippled beggar outside. MacCaig continues to use graphic imagery to describe the beggar and to shock the reader, giving him ‘eyes [that]/ wept pus’, his ‘back higher than his head’ and his ‘lopsided mouth’. All of these help the reader to build a vivid picture of the beggar, which makes it even more amazing that the tourists do not notice him. In addition, the three deformities of the beggar contrasts with the ‘three tiers’ of the church outside which he sits.
Towards the end of the stanza, MacCaig gives the beggar some money. This causes a change in both tone and imagery towards the man. The beggar says ‘Grazie’ (thank you in Italian) and is described as having a voice ‘as sweet/ as a child’s’. This not only makes the beggar a more sympathetic character than the priest or the tourists, but also highlights the idea of all humans being ‘God’s children’. The beggar’s voice is also described as being like a ‘bird when it spoke/to St. Francis’. This is the clearest link between the beggar and the work of St. Francis in the poem. MacCaig is saying that although the tourists are chickens, they are not capable of speaking to St. Francis (and show no willingness to do so). By contrast, the beggar is able to communicate with St. Francis, and therefore represents a purer figure.
The key technique used in this poem, therefore is juxtaposition (direct comparison for contrast). MacCaig juxtaposes the deformity of the beggar with the beauty of the Church; the work St. Francis did with the poor and the fact that the priest ignores the beggar; the uncaring attitude of the tourists with the spiritual nature of the beggar; and the nobility of suffering with the comfortable and unaware attitudes of almost everyone in the poem.
Hope this helps.
To learn more about St. Francis of Assisi watch this (short) biographical video, by clicking here. This will give you an isnight into what drove MacCaig to write his poem.
Stanza One
The poem begins with a shocking and engaging image of a ‘dwarf with his hands on backwards’. Although this may be a metaphor to refer to the fact that the beggar has his hands facing upwards, asking for change, it also suggests that he may be deformed. The idea of his hands being ‘on backwards’ also subtly references the idea of God creating man, by suggesting that the beggar was simply built incorrectly. The second line dehumanises the beggar, saying that he ‘slumped like a half-filled sack’. This emphasises the sense of emptiness and incompletion that the beggar feels. In addition, sackcloth is an important part of the Christian tradition, and some monks wear sackcloth clothes in order to remain uncomfortable and to symbolise their penance (repenting of sins). This is the first link MacCaig makes between the beggar and the idea of religious purity. MacCaig continues the idea of the physical deformity of the beggar, stating he has ‘tiny twisted legs’. This is juxtaposes with the magnificence of the building ‘three tiers of churches’, and begins a recurring contrast between the beauty of the church and the physical deformity of the beggar. MacCaig also introduces the technique of irony (which runs throughout the poem) by stating that the enormous church was build ‘in honour of St. Francis, brother of the poor’. MacCaig also states that St. Francis could talk with birds, which is an idea he picks up later in the poem. The stanza ends on a pessimistic line, saying that the only ‘advantage’ enjoyed by the beggar was that he was not dead. Even this is left open, as MacCaig ends the line with ‘yet’, implying that the beggar will perhaps not have long left before he dies.
Stanza Two
The second stanza sees MacCaig touring around the inside of the church, being shown around by a priest. The key theme of this stanza is hypocrisy, as the priest is seemingly unaware of the fact that there is a beggar outside this glorious (and expensive) building, dedicated to a man who believed in helping the poor. The priest is characterised as an arrogant man, explaining ‘how clever it was of Giotto’ (a painter) to paint pictures to teach the illiterate poor about the stories of the Bible. The subtle irony here is that the Church spent money on paintings, rather than teaching the poor to read. This would suggest that they were more interested in creating an ornate church rather than really caring for the poor. Ironically, even though these frescoes ‘tell stories’, the priest is still forced to explain it, suggesting that it might not have been as clever as it seems. The key moment of hypocrisy in the stanza comes when the priest talks about the ‘suffering/of His Son’ (Jesus). The use of enjambment is important in creating a short pause after ‘suffering’. This makes it seem as if the priest is about to talk about the suffering that still exists, although he does not. This reinforces the fact that the priest is blind to the suffering of the beggar outside. MacCaig finishes the stanza with a sardonic (cynical mocking) tone, ‘I understood/the explanation and/the cleverness’. This suggests he is aware of the hypocrisy of the priest, as well as feeling that the priest does not understand the real message behind the art.
Stanza Three
In the final stanza, MacCaig moves from attacking the priest to attacking his fellow tourists, who are equally unaware of the irony of celebrating St. Francis whilst also ignoring the beggar. MacCaig uses animal imagery (specifically bird imagery) in this stanza, thus echoing the idea of St. Francis being able to talk to birds. He describes the tourists as ‘clucking contentedly’ after the priest as he ‘scattered the grain of the word’. He is referring to them here as chickens, being herded around unthinkingly. It is clear MacCaig feels that they are just blindly visiting the church without taking in any of the core messages of St. Francis. MacCaig draws the link with the beggar in the next line when he describes him as ‘the ruined temple’. This emphasises the juxtaposition between the glorious church they have just toured round, and the crippled beggar outside. MacCaig continues to use graphic imagery to describe the beggar and to shock the reader, giving him ‘eyes [that]/ wept pus’, his ‘back higher than his head’ and his ‘lopsided mouth’. All of these help the reader to build a vivid picture of the beggar, which makes it even more amazing that the tourists do not notice him. In addition, the three deformities of the beggar contrasts with the ‘three tiers’ of the church outside which he sits.
Towards the end of the stanza, MacCaig gives the beggar some money. This causes a change in both tone and imagery towards the man. The beggar says ‘Grazie’ (thank you in Italian) and is described as having a voice ‘as sweet/ as a child’s’. This not only makes the beggar a more sympathetic character than the priest or the tourists, but also highlights the idea of all humans being ‘God’s children’. The beggar’s voice is also described as being like a ‘bird when it spoke/to St. Francis’. This is the clearest link between the beggar and the work of St. Francis in the poem. MacCaig is saying that although the tourists are chickens, they are not capable of speaking to St. Francis (and show no willingness to do so). By contrast, the beggar is able to communicate with St. Francis, and therefore represents a purer figure.
The key technique used in this poem, therefore is juxtaposition (direct comparison for contrast). MacCaig juxtaposes the deformity of the beggar with the beauty of the Church; the work St. Francis did with the poor and the fact that the priest ignores the beggar; the uncaring attitude of the tourists with the spiritual nature of the beggar; and the nobility of suffering with the comfortable and unaware attitudes of almost everyone in the poem.
Hope this helps.
