Assisi CEL Guide

1. Assisi CEL Guide S4

2. Today we are: • Looking at the structure of critical essays • Beginning to write a CEL for “Assisi”

3. The Essay Question “Choose a poem which creates an atmosphere of sadness and pity. Show how the poet creates the atmosphere and what effect it has on your response to the subject matter. You should refer to the text and such relevant features such as; word choice, imagery, tone, content...”

4. Paragraph 1 - Introduction • TAGL • + Brief summary of the poem (3 lines max) • You should all be able to do this comfortably by now!

5. Paragraph 2 • Point:You should introduce the first point, saying that the poem makes you feel pity or sympathy. • Evidence:You should use a quote from the poem and identify the technique being used. (simile/metaphor/tone…) • Explanation:Tell the reader what this evidence means/suggests. ‘Unpack’ the technique –explain its effect. • Evidence 2:You should choose a second quote from the poem and identify the technique being used. (simile/metaphor/tone…) • Explanation 2:Tell the reader what this evidence means/suggests. ‘Unpack’ the technique –explain its effect. • Link: Tie your answer back to the question by using keywords (pity or sympathy).

6. Example Paragraph One way an atmosphere of pity is created in “Assisi” is via the use of a metaphor in stanza 1.The man is described through a metaphor as having his “hands on backwards”. This makes the reader feel pity towards the man because it demonstrates how deformed he is. Immediately you are aware of how difficult every day tasks must be for him –whilst the rest of us take our mobility for granted. This man is reduced to begging on the steps of a church because he cannot find any other method of employment, which is incredibly depressing. Additionally, the man is “slumped like a half-filled sack”.This simile suggests he is perhaps hunch backed or at the very least, has terrible posture. It also gives the image of him having given up on life itself, as he is “slumped”. The atmosphere created by this is certainly one of pity as the man cuts an incredibly sad picture. Just as a sack of sawdust lies unattended, so to is the man. There is no one around him, he is seemingly alone and this makes the reader feel even more sorry for him. Therefore it is clear to see how an atmosphere of pity is developed in the first stanza of the poem.

7. Paragraph 3 • Point: You should introduce your point, saying that the poem makes you feel pity or sympathy. In Stanza 1 MacCaig causes the reader to feel pity for the dwarf by using enjambment to…. • Evidence: You should use a quote from the poem and identify the technique being used. (simile/metaphor/tone…) “over whom/he had the advantage/of not being dead yet.” • Explanation: Tell the reader what this evidence means/suggests. ‘Unpack’ the technique –explain its effect. MacCaig uses enjambment and dark humour in order to demonstrate the sadness of the man on the steps. It seems ridiculous that a man who is deformed and begging for money should have an advantage over anyone, least of all a saint… • Evidence 2: You should choose a second quote from the poem and identify the technique being used. (simile/metaphor/tone…). “I understood/the explanation and/the cleverness.” • Explanation 2: Tell the reader what this evidence means/suggests. ‘Unpack’ the technique –explain its effect. Enjambment is also used in the second stanza in order to reveal the irony of the frescos displayed inside the church. After all, the frescos are there to help the illiterate understand the Bible and to teach people to… This is ironic because the illiterate would be the very people in need of charity… The poet’s use of irony here leads the reader to feel sympathy for the dwarf because… • Link: Tie your answer back to the question by using keywords (pity or sympathy).Therefore the poet successfully creates an atmosphere of sympathy and pity through the use of enjambment, dark humour and irony.

8. Paragraph 4 • Point:You should introduce your point, saying that the poem makes you feel pity or sympathy. Use a linking word or phrase to demonstrate that you are continuing this idea. Eg. In the same vein… Additionally… Furthermore… • Evidence:You should use a quote from the poem and identify the technique being used. (simile/metaphor/tone…). “A rush of tourists, clucking contentedly” • Explanation:Tell the reader what this evidence means/suggests. ‘Unpack’ the technique –explain its effect. MacCaig uses alliteration in the third stanza to draw the reader’s attention to this particular line. He is comparing the tourists to chickens through the use of a metaphor and this is actually humorous because… It is an effective metaphor because it demonstrates that the tourists are hanging onto the Priest’s every word. Yet they don’t… • Evidence 2:You should choose a second quote from the poem and identify the technique being used. (simile/metaphor/tone…). “fluttered after him as he scattered/the grain of the Word.” • Explanation 2:Tell the reader what this evidence means/suggests. ‘Unpack’ the technique –explain its effect. The poet continues the metaphor in the next two lines but as well as comparing tourists to a flock of birds, he is also using religious imagery too. The “grain of the Word” suggests prayer or preaching, so the tourists are clearly listening to the Priest’s sermon. Yet when they exit the church they… It causes the reader to feel sympathy for the dwarf because… • Link: Tie your answer back to the question by using keywords (pity or sympathy).

9. Paragraph 5 • Point:You should introduce your point, saying that the poem makes you feel pity or sympathy. Use a linking word or phrase to demonstrate that you are continuing this idea. Eg. In the same vein… Additionally… Furthermore… • Evidence:You should use a quote from the poem and identify the technique being used. (simile/metaphor/tone…). “It was they who had passed/the ruined temple outside” • Explanation:Tell the reader what this evidence means/suggests. ‘Unpack’ the technique –explain its effect. This metaphor is significant because it does two things: it compares the dwarf to a temple and describes him as being “ruined”. Temples are traditionally religious buildings and so he is being compared to a church… Furthermore, the idea that he is ruined suggests the dwarf is beyond repair which naturally creates an atmosphere of pity. He is… • Evidence 2:You should choose a second quote from the poem and identify the technique being used. (simile/metaphor/tone…).“said Grazie in a voice as sweet/as a child's when she speaks to her mother” • Explanation 2:Tell the reader what this evidence means/suggests. ‘Unpack’ the technique –explain its effect. In the final stanza the poet shows the man on the steps in a different light, by using a simile to compare him to a child. Children are innocent creatures so this suggests that the man is also… • Link: Tie your answer back to the question by using keywords (pity or sympathy).

10. Paragraph 6 - Conclusion • You should sum up your evidence here. • Was the poem successful in making you feel pity and sympathy? • You should include the title of the poem, the poet’s name, reword the question and mention what techniques you have discussed. • “Assisi” by Norman MacCaig is a poem which creates an atmosphere of pity and sympathy. This is demonstrated through the use of metaphor…