Voice and Vision in 'Glasgow 5 March 1971' and 'Assisi

T.S. Eliot once suggested that there were `three voices of poetry,' so it may be wise to begin by asking what is meant by the term `voice,' and what is meant by the term `vision?' Voice is an expression that has a variety of meanings - it could refer to the persona the poet adopts whilst writing the poem; it could refer to the author's style; the author's tone; or the characteristics of the speaker in the poem. With regards to this essay I will assume that `voice' refers to both the writer's style, and the writer's tone. Conversely, the term `vision' can be more easily defined as the author's purpose in writing the poem, and any messages or themes conveyed to the reader. The two poems that I will make reference to are `Assisi' by Norman MacCaig, and `Glasgow 5 March 1971' by Edwin Morgan. By comparing the poet's style and tone in these poems it can be seen that both writers have a similar `vision.'

Both Morgan and MacCaig use similar stylistic techniques in their poems. This can be seen immediately in the opening lines of each poem, as both poets use sharp, dramatic imagery. Morgan's `Glasgow 5 March 1971' opens with the lines:

With a ragged diamond

of shattered plate-glass

a young man and his girl

are falling backwards into a shop-window.

The image of a `ragged diamond,' is a very strong image that implies sharpness and danger. The effect of containing this kind of image in the first line of the poem is to shock the reader, and also to hint at a theme of violence, which may be repeated later in the poem. Likewise, the opening lines of MacCaig's poem `Assisi' are also somewhat shocking, but much more subtly:

The Dwarf with his hands on backwards

sat, slumped like a half-filled sack

In this ins...

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... red blood and white coat again suggests violence, but also hints at Morgan's main theme of today's brutal and vicious culture. His matter of fact tone also helps to convey his message that people are often unwilling to help each other. MacCaig's message is similar to this, but he conveys it by looking at a dwarf, who is ignored by tourists when he begs them for money. MacCaig cleverly uses irony throughout the poem, in the contrast between the dwarf and the church. His voice is also apparent throughout `Assisi,' as he comments on the hypocrisy and double standards of the tourists, as they are willing to learn about pictures of suffering, but unwilling to give money to a deformed dwarf. Conclusively, by examining both Edwin Morgan's and Norman MacCaig's `voice' through their style and tone, their `vision' of a cruel and uncaring society is revealed and developed.