The main theme of this poem written by Norman MacCaig is Death and Death is something that every single one of us will have to face one day because it is also written in the bible that God said from the Garden of Eden That from the dust you were made from the dust you shall return so this means as long as we are human beings we WILL face Death some day of our lives and this poem is a very good example of that kind of situation, Norman has also used different types of techniques to convey his feelings such as (repetition, metaphors and more as we find out while reading).
The poem “Visiting Hour” is a poem written by Norman MacCaig and the poem basically is talking about Norman’s visit to the hospital who he was visiting someone or a member of his family who was really close and he describes his journey. Also throughout the journey he has described everything his eyes could see, what his nose could smell, or what he could touch and he has shared a feeling with the audience until getting to the main destination and there he talks about what firstly he sees in the room and how he feels when he enters the room also describes emotion feeling apart from physical feeling too.The opening stanza begins with the metaphor "The hospital smell combs my nostrils. " This suggests that the poet is sensing that there is a strong, disinfectant smell. The metaphor is unusual but very effective. It almost suggests the poet is feeling a bit of pain and sets the mood for the rest of the poem.
