Hotel Room 12th Floor

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Hotel Room 12th Floor Norman MacCaig
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• Hotel Room, 12th Floor
•  Norman MacCaig
• This morning I watched from here
• a helicopter skirting like a damaged insect
• the Empire State building, that
• jumbo size dentists drill, and landing
• on the roof of the PanAm skyscraper.
• But now midnight has come in
• from foreign places. Its uncivilised darkness
• is shot at by a million lit windows, all
• ups and acrosses.
•  
• 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
• police cars and ambulances racing

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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)?
• How does the setting (in time and place)
  contribute to the mood of the poem?
• 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 poets
  attitude to the ESB?
• c) What do you think the poet might be using the
  ESB to symbolise?

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Hotel Room 12th Floor Norman MacCaig

• How does the image in lines 8-9 continue the
  theme established in lines 2-4?
• 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 poets position at this point in
  the poem add to the effectiveness of this imagery
  (lines 11-12) ?

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Hotel Room 12th Floor Norman MacCaig

• 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?
• 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.

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Impersonal surroundings - isolation
Structure Verse 1 ANXIETY - attack on
materialistic society
Narrative Stance Verse 1 poet describes sights
seen from hotel room window

• Hotel Room, 12th Floor
• This morning I watched from here
• a helicopter skirting like a damaged insect
• the Empire State building, that
• jumbo size dentists drill, and landing
• 5 on the roof of the PanAm skyscraper.

Sense of time sense of immediacy
Real buildings - credibility
Metaphor dentists 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
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
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• Hotel Room, 12th Floor
• This morning I watched from here
• a helicopter skirting like a damaged insect
• the Empire State building, that
• jumbo size dentists drill, and landing
• on the roof of the PanAm skyscraper.

Imagery these disparaging comparisons reveal
the poets 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
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Time connected to evil

• But now midnight has come in
• from foreign places. Its uncivilised darkness
• is shot at by a million lit windows, all
• ups and acrosses.

Multiracial society?
shot at Wild West imagery, violence
Darkness and midnight suggest evil
Lit and darkness - contrast
Metaphor window frames in the form of the cross
reference to Christ suffering, dying to save
civilisation
Darkness and foreign places reflect the
poets anxiety
The light is trying to fight off the
uncivilised darkness religion is making a
vain attempt to counteract the evil.
The poets anxiety is clear he feels society is
beyond redemption
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Structure Verse 2 FEAR human suffering and
isolation in the midst of ostentation and wealth
Narrative Stance the poet tries (unsuccessfully)
to hide under the bedclothes from the noise of
the violent streets

• 10 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
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Ululation - a long, wavering, high-pitched sound
resembling the howl of a dog or wolf with a
trilling quality
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

• 10 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

Repeats idea of evil
Alliteration - intensifies
Wild West imagery the fearsome shrieks of
Native Americans in Cowboy and Indian films
shows the uncivilised nature of street violence
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
Lights reflecting on windows
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Police and ambulance sirens are described as the
wildest of warwhoops continually ululating
violence on the streets means that the victims
require the emergency services

• 15 police cars and ambulances racing
• to broken bones, the harsh screaming
• from coldwater flats, the blood
• glazed on the sidewalks.

This shows the isolation and suffering of the
poor in the midst of the wealth and show of the
city (represented by the ESB)
Highlights poverty flats without hot water
Victims who have lain unattended
These are examples of SYNECDOCHE, where a part of
something is used to refer to the whole thing. In
this case, part of the person is used to
represent the whole person i.e. broken bones
for a person who has broken bones, harsh
screaming for the person who is screaming,
blood glazed for people who have been injured.
People fight and kill each other on the streets
the poor are suffering, despite being surrounded
by wealth
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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
This continues the idea of suffering introduced
by the imagery in verse 1

• 15 police cars and ambulances racing
• to broken bones, the harsh screaming
• from coldwater flats, the blood
• glazed on the sidewalks.

EFFECT of SYNECDOCHEfocusses on and therefore
highlights the peoples pain and suffering and
depersonalises their suffering
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Narrative Stance Comment on what hes seen and
heard pessimism about the nature of human
beings in supposed civilised / prosperous society
Structure No solution is put forward. Strong
conclusion 3 short lines, 2 strong statements,
decisive negative words, never, no
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
Returns to idea of darkness / midnight as symbols
of evil
Evil in mens souls is unseen
Represents the uncivilised nature of violence on
the streets
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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 dentists drill Metaphor windows as
crucifix Extended metaphor Wild West
Imagery Metaphor midnight / darkness evil
Connected to suffering
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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?vqYp7ZYz34Y
w www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id62876