Basking Shark By Norman MacCaig



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Memorial

Norman MacCaig

About the Poem

In Memorial, MacCaig reflects on his existence since the death of his wife. He describes vividly and movingly how her death seems to hang over him, and how her absence underscores every single aspect and experience of his life. The poem is deeply personal, and elicits strong emotion from the reader.

Broad Themes

The poem is perhaps the most personal of this selection, and there are very obvious links with the other poems. The clearest link, of course, is with Visiting Hour – this poem dealt with the possibility of losing his wife, whereas Memorial is a stage further, after she has died.

It also shares many characteristics with poems such as Sounds of the Day, in that it doesn’t really talk about a particular person or situation; instead, it is concerned with intense feelings and emotions.

The Poem

Memorial

Everywhere she dies. Everywhere I go she dies.

No sunrise, no city square, no lurking beautiful mountain

but has her death in it.

The silence of her dying sounds through

the carousel of language, it's a web

on which laughter stitches itself. How can my hand

clasp another's when between them

is that thick death, that intolerable distance?

She grieves for my grief. Dying, she tells me

that bird dives from the sun, that fish

leaps into it. No crocus is carved more gently

than the way her dying

shapes my mind. – But I hear, too,

the other words,

black words that make the sound

of soundlessness, that name the nowhere

she is continuously going into.

Ever since she died

she can't stop dying. She makes me

her elegy. I am a walking masterpiece,

a true fiction

of the ugliness of death.

I am her sad music.

Notes on the Whole Poem

The title of the poem makes it clear that it is written as a memorial to someone. It is actually structured like a traditional elegy, in three parts. The first part is the lament: an expression of grief and sorrow at the death. The second part is the celebration, where the dead person is praised and admired. This part has a more upbeat tone than the lament. The final part of the elegy, is the consolation. This is where the poet finds solace and comfort, despite the death.

This clearly follows the structure of Memorial. The first stanza is the lament, where the poet talks about how his wife’s death is always with him, and he describes how intense his grief is.

The celebration runs from line 9 to midway through line 13. The poet describes how his wife, despite the fact that she was dying, was able to sympathise with the poet and explain to him the beauty of death. Her dying in these lines is described in terms of the beauty of nature, and suggests creativity and artistry.

The final part of the poem is the consolation. In these lines MacCaig tells us that the grief is terrible, but it is also in a way perfect, as the closeness between him and his wife has meant that the grief is so intense as to be almost like a masterpiece or work of art, making him her elegy. The end is certainly not positive, but he does find some solace in his grief.

Stanza by Stanza Notes

Stanza One

• The similar structure of the first two sentences “Everywhere she dies. Everywhere I go she dies”, draws our attention to both the word “everywhere” and the word “dies”. This highlights both the death in the poem, as well as the fact that it is both inevitable and inescapable. The poet is essentially overshadowed by his wife’s death all of the time.

• This is followed by a list of beautiful images and things that the poet should be able to enjoy: “No sunrise, no city square, no lurking beautiful mountain”, but the poet follows this up with “but has her death in it”. The word “but” marks a contrast, between the beautiful images and the wife’s death. This suggests that the death of his wife spoils everything for the poet. It is essentially still behind absolutely everything, draining the enjoyment out of life. He has nowhere to turn without reliving and experiencing her death.

• The next image is a complex one: “The silence of her dying sounds through/the carousel of language, it’s a web/on which laughter stitches itself.” At first glance, “The silence of her dying sounds” seems like a paradox, as “silence” and “sounds” are contradictory; however this actually gives the silence (or her absence) a tangible quality and makes it seem solid and more real.

• MacCaig refers to “the carousel of language” through which her dying sounds. A carousel suggests childhood enjoyment, laughter, music and light. But no matter how cheery MacCaig tries to be, or people are around him, it simply masks the hurt that is still there underneath it all.

• MacCaig also refers to her dying as a “web”. A web has connotations of being trapped, suggesting that any joy MacCaig might feel is curtailed by the dying of his wife. It also suggests the idea of a network, perhaps hinting that his wife’s death runs through absolutely everything in his life. The idea that laughter “stitches” itself to it suggests …

that it simply covers over (fragilely) the pain.

• He ends the stanza with what should be an image of intimacy (holding hands), but he questions how he can hold another’s hand “when between them/is that thick death, that intolerable distance”. This is an ambiguous image, as it could refer to holding his dying wife’s hand, or another woman’s. If he is referring to his wife, it suggests that he cannot feel close or intimate to her because she is dying. If it refers to another woman in the future, it suggests that he will never be able to be close to anyone again because the relationship will always be underscored by his wife’s passing.

• The idea of “thick death” is an interesting one. He takes the abstract noun “death”, and gives it the concrete adjective “thick”. This again makes the death of his wife seem all the more real and tangible. The idea of the thickness and “intolerable distance” suggests that death deadens and dulls the intimacy he might feel by holding hands.

Stanza Two

• The poet begins the second stanza by revealing the closeness of him and his wife. He says “She grieves for my grief”. This suggests an absolute sympathy and empathy between them, that even when dying she thinks of him and how he feels. It shows the inextricable connection between him and his wife.

• The poet begins the next sentence with “Dying” again drawing our attention to it. It is again ambiguous, because it is unclear whether the wife herself is dying, or the fish and birds mentioned later are.

• MacCaig’s wife tells him that when dying, “Bird dives from sun, that fish/leap into it”. She presents him with beautiful, natural images of death to comfort him and ease his pain. This again shows that she is caring, and despite dying, sympathises with him.

• Referring to the “sun” also suggest light and warmth and happiness, so these lines are actually very positive about death.

• MacCaig says that “No crocus is carved more gently/than the way her dying/shapes my mind”. Again, “crocus” refers to the natural world, continuing the positive imagery. He also talks about how her death has “carved” and “shaped” his mind, suggesting that it is some way artistic or creative. This might suggest that the grief he feels (because he loved her so much) is so terrible that it is almost a perfect grief, like a work of art. It suggests that her death has been almost creative, and this is continued later in the poem.

• “But” in line 13 marks a turning point in this stanza. The much more positive images of death explored in the first half of the verse are replaced by images which are much darker.

• “Other words” has rather sinister connotations. It suggests that death is an unknown, and we tend to find this unsettling and frightening.

• This is furthered when MacCaig talks about “Black words”. “Black” has connotations of mystery and is again unsettling. It contrasts with the earlier image of the “sun”, further highlighting the difference between his wife’s beautiful images of death, and his own dark and depressing grief.

• “sound/of soundlessness” adds to this idea of death being an unknown – it suggests a void which is inescapable and hopeless.

• This is continued when MacCaig talks of “the nowhere/she is constantly going into”. “Nowhere” again emphasises the foreign, unsettling nature of death

• The use of the word “constantly” suggests that her dying (and his grief) is almost never ending.

• The entire stanza revolves around line 13 – before the “but”, the images of death are beautiful and natural, whereas after the “but” they are bleak and depressing.

Stanza Three

• This stanza begins by echoing stanza one. “Ever since she died/she can’t stop dying” returns to the idea of death and grief as being inescapable and never ending.

• The enjambment in these two lines draws our attention to the word “died”, and this is underscored by ending the sentence itself with “dying”. This further creates the bleak mood of the poem, however in the next few lines the poet finds some kind of solace.

• He says “She makes me/her elegy”. An elegy is a plaintive, sad song for the dead, used as a memorial. In this way, the poem itself is an elegy, but so is MacCaig. He grieves constantly for his wife, and he cannot escape her dying – therefore he is an elegy; he is a living memorial of his wife, as her memory lives on through his grief.

• MacCaig continues this idea when he calls himself a “walking masterpiece”. A masterpiece is a fantastic, almost perfect work of art. Because MacCaig loved his wife so much, his grief is so terrible it is almost a perfect expression of grief, therefore he is almost like a work of art – remember how her dying “carves” and “shapes” his mind? By dying, his wife has created in MacCaig’s grief a masterpiece, and she will never be forgotten because of this.

• He also calls himself a “true fiction”. A fiction is something made up – a story. It therefore is like a heightened form of reality – much more melodramatic and almost unbelievable. But the grief for MacCaig is real, hence the use of the word “true”, it is just so powerful and depressing that it is like a fiction.

• The poet refers to the “ugliness of death” reminding us that although he has found some solace in the fact that his wife’s memory will live on through his never-ending grief, he is still aware that the loss of his wife is painful, ugly, and disgusting.

• The final line of the poem is “I am her sad music”. The poet uses a metaphor to compare himself (and his grief) to music. This suggests that the memory of his wife and the sadness will always linger as music lingers. It also [perhaps suggests that art itself (music, literature, painting, sculpture etc) lends permanency to things which could otherwise be forgotten. In this way, it is actually consolation that his grief will never end, as it keeps her memory alive.

A Final Note on Memorial

This poem is HARD! Do not worry if you don’t quite get to grips with the nitty-gritty of it, but you should still know the contents of this sheet as it could come up in the exam.

AMBER

RED

GREEN

My Understanding of Memorial:

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