Assisi

• Dwarf


  has connotations of disability and smallness, which immediately suggests the beggar’s physical appearance is striking and noticeable to the speaker, thereby making the reader feel sympathy from the start
• Tiny, twisted 


  has connotations of distortion and warped, which suggests the beggar’s legs are unable to support his body and that he is sitting at an awkward angle which may be painful for him. This also develops the reader’s sympathy. 
• Outside


  has connotations of rejection and unwelcome, which suggests the beggar is exiled from the church and also ignored by society. 
• Cleverness 


  has connotations of intelligence or being smart, which suggests MacCaig realises that the church is slyly taking advantage by making lots of money from the fancy church. MacCaig’s tone here is sarcastic and mocking. 
• Slumped like a half-filled sack


  The beggar is being compared to a sack. 

  Just as a half-filled sack is lumpy and misshapen, so the beggar is hunched over and seems incomplete. This suggests his physical disabilities are significant and dehumanise him as he is being compared to an inanimate object.
• The three tiers of churches 


  The church is being compared to a wedding cake.

  Just as a wedding cake is usually built in tiers and is fancy and extravagant, so the church is expensive and elaborate. This suggests that no expense has been spared in building this church, however, this goes against the legacy of St Francis and allows MacCaig to highlight the hypocrisy of the church - they are more interested in making money than helping those in need. 
• Brother of the poor, talker with birds, over whom he had the advantage of not being dead yet


  Rule of three, enjambment, word placement

  
  

  The rule of three helps to build a picture of St Francis that contrasts with the church built in his honour to allow MacCaig to introduce a sense of irony. St Francis would have hated the church as he would rather the money was used to help those in need. He would have helped the beggar outside. The word choice of “yet” at the end of the line reminds us the beggar’s poor physical condition means that he will likely die soon if he is not helped.
• The suffering/ of His Son. I understood 


  Enjambment, caesura

  The enjambment highlights the word choice “suffering” so MacCaig can draw attention to the fact there is suffering happening right in front of the priest yet he does nothing to help the beggar. The caesura allows for a definite pause before the speaker passes judgement on what he sees - the hypocrisy of the church and how they teach Christian values but don’t actually follow them.
• Whose eyes wept pus, whose back was higher than his head, whose lopsided mouth


  Enjambment, rule of three, repetition

  The repetitive structure allows MacCaig to again remind the reader of the poor physical condition of the beggar and how he desperately needs help. The enjambment highlights the word choice of “wept” which has connotations of upset and pain and “pus” which has connotations of illness, emphasising the beggar is really sick and declining.
• A rush of tourists, clucking contentedly, fluttered after him 


  The tourists are being compared to chickens

  Just as chickens are reputed to lack intelligence and have a herd mentality, so the tourists are mindlessly wandering around with the priest and not really paying attention. This suggests they are unable to see the irony or hypocrisy of the situation as, despite visiting St Francis’ church, they learn nothing about his values as they also ignore the beggar.