Hotel Room 12th Floor
Norman MacCaig
Hotel Room, 12th Floor
Norman MacCaig
a radio and a television set, and
hear
the wildest of warwhoops
continually ululating through
This morning I watched from here
a helicopter skirting like a damaged the glittering canyons and gulches –
police cars and ambulances racing
insect
to broken bones, the harsh
the Empire State building, that
jumbo size dentist’s drill, and landing screaming
on the roof of the PanAm skyscraper. from coldwater flats, the blood
glazed on the sidewalks.
But now midnight has come in
from foreign places. Its uncivilised
The frontier is never
darkness
is shot at by a million lit windows, all somewhere else. And no stockades
can keep the midnight out.
ups and acrosses.
But midnight is not
so easily defeated. I lie in bed,
between
‘Hotel Room 12th Floor’ – Norman MacCaig
1) Write down the following, giving two pieces of evidence for each one:
a) At what time is the poem being written?
b) Where is the poet? (inside and out)?
2) How does the setting (in time and place) contribute to the mood of
the poem?
3) Look closely at lines 2-4
a) To what does the poet compare the helicopter in lines 2-3?
b) Write down two ways in which these two things are alike.
c) How does the comparison help us to appreciate the size of
the Empire State Building?
d) To what does the poet compare the ESB in line 4?
4) a) What do these two images have in common?
b) What do they suggest about the poet’s attitude to the
ESB?
c) What do you think the poet might be using the ESB to
symbolise?
‘Hotel Room 12th Floor’ – Norman MacCaig
5) How does the image in lines 8-9 continue the theme
established in lines 2-4?
6) Look closely at lines 11-15.
a) Name two sources of the sounds which the poet hears
outside in line 13.
b) How does the poet use word-choice to help us to imagine
what these sounds are like?
c) What do you think the poet wants these words to remind
us of?
d) How does the poet continue this imagery in line 14?
e) How does the poet’s position at this point in the poem
add to the effectiveness of this imagery (lines 11-12) ?
‘Hotel Room 12th Floor’ – Norman MacCaig
7) Look closely at lines 16-18.
a) What is the poet concerned about in these lines?
b) How does it continue the theme established earlier in the
poem?
c) The poet uses a part to refer to the whole in these lines:
‘broken bones’, ‘harsh screaming’ ‘blood glazed on the sidewalks’.
What does this suggest about the way that the poet thinks the
police and paramedics see the people who are described here?
8) Look closely at lines 19-21.
a) How does the poet continue the imagery used previously in
the poem in these lines? Quote in your answer.
b) Is the ending of the poem optimistic or pessimistic? Give
evidence.
Structure: Verse 1 –
ANXIETY - attack on
materialistic society
Impersonal
surroundings isolation
Hotel Room, 12th Floor
Sense of time – sense of immediacy
Narrative Stance:
Verse 1 – poet
describes sights seen
from hotel room
window
This morning I watched from here
a helicopter skirting like a damaged insect
the Empire State building, that
jumbo size dentist’s drill, and landing
5 on the roof of the PanAm skyscraper.
Simile – size of ESB is suggested by
comparing the helicopter with an insect,
even from the 12th floor.
Looks / sounds like a bluebottle sprayed
with insect spray, going round in circle –
unpleasant connotations
Real
buildings credibility
Metaphor – dentist’s drill – shape
Jumbo size – height ESB symbolises
civilisation. It is the pride of the US, but
is attacked by the poet. It represents
materialism and is a monument to the
American way of life which the poet is
attacking
Hotel Room, 12th Floor
This morning I watched from here
a helicopter skirting like a damaged insect
the Empire State building, that
jumbo size dentist’s drill, and landing
on the roof of the PanAm skyscraper.
Imagery – these disparaging comparisons reveal the poet’s
contempt for what he sees as the American desire to have the
biggest of everything. Both images depict / are connected to
suffering. The poem goes on to identify the causes of this
suffering and its effects in verse 2
Time – connected to
evil
Multiracial
society?
‘shot at’ –
Wild
West
imagery,
violence
But now midnight has come in
from foreign places. Its uncivilised darkness
is shot at by a million lit windows, all
‘Darkness’ and
ups and acrosses. ‘Lit’ and ‘darkness’ ‘midnight’
contrast
Metaphor – window frames in the form of
the cross – reference to Christ suffering,
dying to save civilisation
The ‘light’ is trying to
fight off the
‘uncivilised darkness’
– religion is making a
vain attempt to
counteract the evil.
suggest evil
‘Darkness’ and
‘foreign places’ –
reflect the poet’s
anxiety
The poet’s anxiety is
clear – he feels
society is beyond
redemption
Structure: Verse 2 – FEAR – human suffering
and isolation in the midst of ostentation
and wealth
10
Narrative Stance: the poet
tries (unsuccessfully) to hide
under the bedclothes from
the noise of the violent
streets
But midnight is not
so easily defeated. I lie in bed, between
a radio and a television set, and hear
the wildest of warwhoops continually
ululating through
the glittering canyons and gulches –
‘But’ links verses 1 and 2, suggesting
that violence in this society is a product
of materialism
Ululation - a long, wavering, high-pitched sound
resembling the howl of a dog or wolf with a trilling quality
But midnight is not
so easily defeated. I lie in bed, between
a radio and a television set, and hear
the wildest of warwhoops continually
Alliteration ululating through
Repeats
idea of
evil
10
intensifies
the glittering canyons and gulches –
‘Wild West’ imagery –
the fearsome shrieks
of Native Americans
in ‘Cowboy and
Indian’ films – shows
the uncivilised nature
of street violence
Lights
reflecting
on
windows
The poet is in
bed on the 12th
floor, with the
TV and radio
on, trying to
blot out the
noise from
outside suggests how
loud it is
Metaphor - The city streets - with
high buildings on both sides resemble the Wild West landscape
and the areas used in films for
ambushes, suggesting that the
streets in the city are just as
dangerous
Police and ambulance
sirens are described as
‘the wildest of
warwhoops continually
ululating’
15
This shows
the isolation
and suffering
of the poor in
the midst of
the wealth
and show of
the city
(represented
by the ESB)
violence on the
streets means that
the victims require
the emergency
services
police cars and ambulances racing
to broken bones, the harsh screaming
from coldwater flats, the blood
glazed on the sidewalks.
Victims who
have lain
unattended
Highlights
poverty –
flats without
hot water
These are examples of SYNECDOCHE,
where a part of something is used to refer
to the whole thing. In this case, part of the
People fight and kill person is used to represent the whole
each other on the
person i.e. ‘broken bones’ for a person who
streets – the poor are has broken bones, ‘harsh screaming’ for the
suffering, despite
person who is screaming, ‘blood glazed’ for
being surrounded by people who have been injured.
wealth
This continues the
idea of suffering
introduced by the
imagery in verse 1
15
Nobody cares - police and paramedics who come to remove
victims / break up violence see only ‘broken bones’, ‘blood
glazed’ and hear only ‘harsh screaming’, they do not
acknowledge the individuals who are suffering, showing that
they take no interest in the victims of the violence
police cars and ambulances racing
to broken bones, the harsh screaming
from coldwater flats, the blood
glazed on the sidewalks.
EFFECT of SYNECDOCHE–
focusses on and therefore
highlights the people’s pain
and suffering and
depersonalises their
suffering
Structure: No solution is put forward.
Strong conclusion – 3 short lines, 2
strong statements, decisive negative
words, ‘never’, ‘no’
Narrative Stance: Comment on
what he’s seen and heard –
pessimism about the nature of
human beings in supposed
civilised / prosperous society
Evil is within us – no solution is offered
Evil is within us –
we are no more
civilised than
‘Cowboys and
Indians’ in films.
The frontier is never
somewhere else. And no stockades
can keep the midnight out.
Continues extended metaphor
of Wild West imagery
Represents the uncivilised
nature of violence on the
streets
Returns to idea of darkness /
midnight as symbols of evil
Evil in men’s souls is unseen
Summary
Theme – attack on materialistic attitude of society
suggests violence is a product of materialistic society
Narrative Stance:
Verse 1 – poet describes sights
seen from hotel room window
Verse 2 – describes noises
heard from hotel room
Verse 3 – comment on what he
has seen / heard - pessimistic
Structure:
Verse 1 – anxiety – attacks
materialistic attitude of society
Verse 2 – fear – tries
(unsuccessfully) to hide under
the bed clothes from the noise of
the violent streets
Verse 3 – no solution is put
forward
Imagery:
Simile and metaphor: ESB and
helicopter; ESB as dentist’s drill
Connected to suffering
Metaphor: windows as crucifix
Extended metaphor: Wild West
Imagery
Metaphor: midnight / darkness = evil
Note: Ululation
An ululation is a long, wavering, high-pitched sound resembling
the howl of a dog or wolf with a trilling quality. It is an
onomatopoetic word derived from Latin. It is produced by
moving the tongue, rapidly, from left to right repeatedly in the
mouth while producing a sharp sound.
Ululation is found in some singing techniques and ritual
situations. In Arab countries ululation is commonly used by
women to express celebration, especially at weddings and also
in funerals of martyrs in the Muslim world, since they are
believed to be going to Jannah.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYp7ZYz34Yw
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