The building

Freedom and the ability to choose is also discussed, this links in closely with personal identity or its loss. Identity is considered in terms of freedom throughout the poem, and is supported using metaphors and similes. "those who tamely sit" this shows how you are not in control of what will happen to you next. You have no choice, if you'll live or die. "And harder to return from" This talks about the rooms in the hospital and how the further away you go from the waiting room, the harder it will be to return, you loose your capacity to choose where you will go and how long you will stay. Also the freedom of religion is discussed, "a locked church" this illustrates how religion is not available for the speaker, therefore he/she put all their faith in science, and the hospital. The speaker chooses not to turn to God, but instead puts their faith in mankind. To support this, reference to the "locked church" and "outbuilding cathedrals" is made. The church/cathedral symbolises in this case religion and faith in the supernatural as a whole.

The concepts of hope, faith, religion and science are also explored. One of the main aspects of this is the availability of religion and science to the speaker, "a locked church" this shows that religion is not available to the speaker, as no one can enter a locked church, this leaves him with a limited choice, the choice of science. This restriction of freedom to choose is portrayed using the symbolism of the locked church. The reference made to the "lucent comb" at the beginning of the poem also has a religious side to it, as the only fallen angel was Lucifer or the devil, as this is used to describe the hospital, it shows the dispute between science and religion. Also the fact that a hospital can "Outbuild cathedrals" but cannot ultimately save you from "the coming dark" is stated at the end of the poem, this outlines the problems in the speakers mind about putting your faith in science, although of course for him religion is not an option. Your faith and religion are obviously a major part of your identity and it is important to be able to have the choice of what to believe. Sin is also discussed in conjunction with confession. "Here to confess that something has gone wrong." This is connected to the devil's name in "Lucent comb" as, Lucifer is the 'father of sin'. The connection between confession and the hospital is therefore the same connection that science and Lucifer have, they go against God. The fact that science ultimately cannot save you is stressed "nothing contravenes the coming dark, though crowds each evening trying..." the fact that the poem ends this way shows allot of confusion in the speaker's mind as until the end it would seem that he believed in science, however this statement about the fallibility of science shows uncertainty. The use of structure is important here as the end of the poem has a stanza of one line, "With wasteful, weak, propitiatory flowers." this change in structure emphasises the weaknesses in science.

Death is another of the main themes in "The building". "Like an airport lounge" this is linked in with death, by giving a sense of departing, in an airport lounge you are waiting to depart for your final destination. Death is mentioned in a variety of places in the text "...hangs a frightening smell" this sinister and oppressive, physical description of the outside of the hospital and use of zeugma is effective, as it eludes to the stench of death. Also the alliteration in the first line of the poem, which causes the reader to breathe out, symbolises the last breath of a patient in the hospital, the writer then goes on to describe the landscape, and says it's breathing, which is a clever use of anthropomorphism which also illustrates the last breath before death, the heart beating and the landscape sighing, this is also connected to the patients in the hospital is they will draw their last breath. Also the abrupt end to the first stanza, which unlike all the other stanzas does not contain enjambement, stands for death, as death is a very abrupt end to our life. If anything goes wrong, the whole process will stop and he speaker will no longer have anything to put his faith in. Death is of course the ultimate end of identity, and in a hospital especially you don't have much choice about it. However with religion there is of course an afterlife, something to look forward to in death.

Ties are drawn throughout the poem, between the reader and speaker, this is done whilst mentioning the solidarity experienced in a hospital. The fact that you have no clothes and are dependant on science shows the solidarity that one experiences in a hospital. When you experience solidarity with someone, to some extent you also loose your identity. The structure of the poem is set up so that the enjambment, brings you into the hospital along with the reader, when you are inside the hospital your only significance is that you need fixing, this reminds you of your similarity to other human beings. "homes and names suddenly in abeyance, some are young, some old..." This shows the solidarity experienced by these people, the sense of being bought closer together that the hospital gives them. Your identity is in fact distilled to humanity, you no longer have clothes or a name, you are human, like everyone else, all you have is your biology witch is what needs fixing. This is shown by the use of enjambement and vocabulary. We are also compared to coins, "Old, young; crude facets of the only coin" This shows how we are similar to coins in the sense that we are cycled through the system, through a machine. In the hospital your illness becomes a substitute for your identity as your a cycled through the system, and you can see yourself in those that are around you. "Someone's wheeled past, in washed-to-rags ward clothes; They see him, too. They're quiet. To realise this new thing held in common makes them quiet."

The poem is most generally about identity. The main theme of identity is closely linked in with freedom of choice, faith and religion/science and death. Whilst discussing identity and its loss the speaker touches on; death, being the end of identity for the speaker, freedom and its loss, which in turn links in with autonomy and choice or lack of choice. Dependance and solidarity are also discussed and the main question of religion vs. science is depicted by the hospital and the church, the hospital being a beacon of hope and the church, locked. However the speaker does mention the abrupt end to your belief in science at the also abrupt end to the poem. This main theme of identity and all its sub sections are backed up by numerous uses of enjambement, alliteration, anthropomorphism, vocabulary, the senses and metaphors, similes and symbolism and many more linguistic devices.