1. Hotel Room 12th Floor Norman MacCaig

2. Leading from our study of the poem “Brooklyn Cop”, also by Norman MacCaig, you are going to discuss another poem by MacCaig called “Hotel Room 12th Floor”.
It is also set in New York and has themes of violence. But it contrasts, in that it is about society in general and not just one individual.

3. Paired Discussion
This discussion will help you to analyse the ideas in the poem and help you to gather information for your critical essays.

4. Pairs will be asked to report back on their ideas.
These will be collated on the board and you can make them into notes.
You will be concerned with;
What the poet is saying – understanding
How he says it – analysis
Why his techniques are effective – evaluation.

5. First… U
Discuss the setting of the poem and the events outlined in the opening 2 stanzas.
What is your initial impression of the place and the poet’s attitude?
The title – is the fact that this is a hotel of any significance? Or
That the poet surveys everything from the 12th floor?

6. Feedback
New York – tourist view, looking down on the city, violence and cruelty is being observed. Nobody sleeping, something is always happening “city that never sleeps”.
Poet’s attitude – gloomy, scared view of the city, pessimistic, negative.

7. Impersonal therefore he is an observer not a participant. Judgemental.
Feedback
Title – hotel room gives tourist view, overwhelmed, scared. Looking out at the city from above. Outsider, they don’t understand the city.
Impersonal therefore he is an observer not a participant. Judgemental.

8. Stanza 1 A
Discuss and examine the language used in stanza one and comment on his descriptions of various aspects of New York eg:
The helicopter – why “like a damaged insect”?
The Empire State Building – “a jumbo sized drill”?

9. Feedback

10. Midnight has come from foreign places? What does he mean? U
Why do you think he describes the lights of the windows as “shooting” as the “uncivilised darkness”? A

11. Feedback

12. Annotating Key
Language
Attitude and Ideas
Structure

13. 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.
Word Choice: ‘watched’ suggests that the speaker is a passive observer of civilisation (rather than a participant). This links with the sense of isolation established in the title.

14. 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.
Simile: the helicopter’s movements are compared to those of a ‘damaged’ insect. The helicopter may be moving about erratically / buzzing around like a flying insect. ‘damaged’ hints at the speaker’s pessimistic view of the world: it is broken and imperfect.

15. 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.
Metaphor: The Empire State building is not viewed as a symbol of mankind’s status and success, but rather as something that is painful / frightening. The dentist’s drill is not something that many people think of fondly! This reveals the speaker’s pessimistic tone as well as his fear.

16. 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.
Symbolism: the PanAm skyscraper and the Empire State building are symbols of American success / monuments to the ‘progress’ of civilisation. During this stanza, though not described in flattering terms, they are at least something recognisable. They give the speaker a sense of place (geographically) though not a sense of belonging.

17. But now Midnight has come in
from foreign places. Its uncivilised darkness
is shot at by a million lit windows, all
ups and acrosses.
Word Choice: Midnight (with a capital M) becomes a person / entity (personification). ‘foreign places’ suggest it is something unknown: alien and unpredictable. Any sense of ease brought by the recognisable landmarks is erased as night arrives.

18. But now Midnight has come in
from foreign places. Its uncivilised darkness
is shot at by a million lit windows, all
ups and acrosses.
Personification: the darkness is not a welcome visitor but rather something unknown, uncouth and unwelcome. The speaker’s fear of the darkness is apparent.

19. But now Midnight has come in
from foreign places. Its uncivilised darkness
is shot at by a million lit windows, all
ups and acrosses.
Metaphor / Word Choice: ‘shot at’ suggests a war. The futility of the battle is obvious: the darkness of night is inevitable. ‘all / ups and acrosses’ might represent a puzzle (the lit and unlit windows beings the contrasting squares). This is an enigmatic idea (as there are no clues) and fits nicely with the notion of darkness representing the unknown. Also there is the idea of crosses as religious symbols of protection.

20. Stanza 2
This stanza is all about violence with images of the past and the present.
What is the poet doing and what does he hear?
What is “midnight not so easily defeated” by?

21. “I lie in bed between a radio and a television set”
“I lie in bed between a radio and a television set”. What comment is he making about the human experience in New York? U
Immediately after mentioning the technology of radio and television MacCaig introduces “warwhoops”. What might MacCaig be highlighting by this contrast? U
How does he continue this idea? Comment on the images. A

22. Comment on the build up of violence
Read from “police cars and ambulance racing…sidewalks” MacCaig builds up the violence to a peak.
Why does he say “Blood glazed on sidewalks”? A
From “coldwater flats” what does coldwater indicate about the neighbourhood? A

23. But midnight is not so easily defeated
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 –
Metaphor: midnight (and darkness) become a foe. The speaker sees night as the unknown, a formidable enemy. The sense of helplessness is revealed through this recognition of the situation.

24. But midnight is not so easily defeated
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 –
Structure: As the poem progresses, the speaker’s interaction with the world recedes. He is no longer standing at the window (as he was in the first stanza) but has withdrawn to his bed.

25. But midnight is not so easily defeated
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 –
Word choice: ‘wildest’ ‘warwhoops’ and ‘ululating’ suggest a cacophony of unknown, aggressive noises. The city becomes a wilderness, an alien environment that frightens the speaker as each unknown noise is interpreted in a negative way.

26. But midnight is not so easily defeated
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 –
‘canyons’ and ‘gulches’ both suggest a wilderness / they are words we might associate with the wild west. This helps us to understand the theme of civilisation versus savagery: the ‘civilisation’ of the modern word is not so civilised as one might believe.

27. police cars and ambulances racing to broken bones, the harsh screaming from coldwater flats, the blood glazed on the sidewalks.
Word Choice: ‘broken bones’ and ‘harsh screaming’ are both distressing ideas. ‘coldwater flats’ are those without hot running water: this contributes to an unpleasant impression of the ‘civilised’ world.

28. police cars and ambulances racing to broken bones, the harsh screaming from coldwater flats, the blood glazed on the sidewalks.
Imagery: The comparison of blood to a sheen that covers the sidewalk is an unpleasant one. It symbolises the aggression and savagery of ‘civilised’ society.

29. Final Stanza What is the poet saying in the final stanza?
- what does he mean “the frontier is never somewhere else”? U
- what does “midnight” refer to? U

30. The frontier is never somewhere else
The frontier is never somewhere else. And no stockades can keep the midnight out.
Theme: Civilisation versus savagery. The pessimistic speaker feels that we do not exist in a civilised society. He appears to live in fear of ‘the unknown’: savagery seems to seep into society unabated. ‘frontier’ suggests a barrier between civilisation and savagery: to the speaker, there is no such division.

31. The frontier is never somewhere else
The frontier is never somewhere else. And no stockades can keep the midnight out.
Metaphor: the idea of midnight (and the unknown) attacking the speaker (and civilisation) continues to the end of the poem. ‘stockades’ are defences, but the speaker’s pessimistic admission underlines his sense of isolation and helplessness. He does not appear comfortable in the modern world. Modern civilisation is savagery.

32. “No matter how high we build our buildings, develop our technologies or increase our prosperity – evil will always exist within us”
“This similarity between America’s past and present suggests that although mankind ahs advanced economically and technologically we are no more civilised than we were in the barbaric past.”