Stanza one
The poem begins with a description of the speaker鈥檚 progress through the corridors of the hospital. MacCaig chooses to mention unusual details (the movements of the nose) and the colours of the walls as he makes the journey.
MacCaig appeals to our sense of smell as he describes how The hospital smell/combs my nostrils.
This is evocative, bringing to mind the pervasive smells with which we associate hospitals.
The metaphor helps to underline the strength of the smell in the air, by comparing it with a comb. Just as a comb brushes through hair, the odour assaults our sense of smell and is overwhelming.
As we read on, we discover this is part of the unavoidable reality of visiting someone in hospital: even if we try to suppress our emotions, the environment roots us in reality. MacCaig uses the technique of synecdoche in the lines my nostrils/as they go bobbing along.
This is a technique using part of something to refer to the whole, in this case his nostrils to refer to himself - and emphasises how the overpowering smell of the hospital has blocked out his other senses.
At the same time the word choice bobbing
has pleasant connotations, as though he is trying to trick himself into thinking the experience won鈥檛 be as bad as he anticipates.
Colour is also used to root the reader in the experience: the simple colour scheme is a concept familiar to most hospital visitors. Here the word choices of green
and yellow
have connotations of sickness.
Whether we want to accept it or not, visiting a hospital is often a difficult experience and, despite the speaker鈥檚 intellectual attempt to avoid an emotional response, his senses force him to confront the reality of the situation.