Poems From Different Cultures

Structure

• Gujarati in centre; core, heart, importance, dominant
• Free verse; freedom, flowing, unstructured
• Enjambment; full movement

Language

• 'me' 'I'; first person, personal address
• 'blossoms out of my mouth'; imagery of tongue growing, positive, beautiful
• 'rot' 'die' 'spit'; harsh diction, death, frustration, anger, destruction
• 'mouth' 'out'; assonance, used to stress negative diction
• 'the bud opens in my mouth'; extended metaphor, un-natural, death of language
• 'grow...grow...grow'; repetition, emphasises dilemma, coming to terms
• Gujarati; grows out of mouth, positive diction

Attitude

• Conversational tone
• Intimate
• Despair
• Lost

Purpose

• Difficult to be bilingual
• Questioning identity

Themes

• Cultural identity
• Belonging
• Importance of language

Structure

• Auto cue; contrast between accent and dialect
• Dialect; non standard, Scottish accent
• Phonetically written

Language

• 'six a clock'; popular time, close to standard English ---> dialectal, well established, family, all to see
• 'belt up'; aggressive, anger upon people who look down on him
• 'yoo scruff'; dialect words, his social group, values way he speaks, challenging stereotype
• 'trooth'; repetition, many truths, accent shouldn't prevent truth
• 'BBC accent'; received pronunciation, established, class elite, educated

Attitude

• Hostile
• Angry
• Bigoted
• Superior

Purpose

• Shouldn't be judged for accent
• Non-standard accents

Themes

• Received pronunciation
• Social and cultural identity 
• Injustice and prejudice in society
• Truth

Structure

• Stanzas vary in length; confused
• Short lines; gets message across
• Dramatic monologue; direct
• No punctuation; speech, challenge society

Language

• 'Excuse me'; imperative verb, fake politeness, sarcasm
• 'half'; repetition, stupidity of others, humorous, open minded
• 'I'; empathy, emotion, story, present time
• 'yuself'; Carribbean dialect (Creole), mocking
• 'standing on one leg'; humorous tone, he is whole, he doesn't take people who call him half caste seriously, narrow minded
• 'picasso'; colour, abstract, spectrum

Attitude

• Humorous with underlying seriousness
• Sarcastic
• Anger

Purpose

• Objection to the term half-caste; half is inferior to whole
• Language defines you wherever you go

Themes

• Stereotyping
• Racial prejudice
• Language defines your social, cultural and personal identity
• Inequality
• Resentment

Structure

• Enjambment; lives events run into each other
• Caesura; sometimes life come to a stop

Language

• 'Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart.'; religious diction, past shapes future, imperative verbs - accept yourself, share, karma, repetition
• 'in your own mirrors'; extended metaphor of body being house, truth, vanity, identity, self realisation
• 'The time will come'; break up, future, guilt, regret
• 'you will love again the stranger that was yourself'; imagery of guest, understand self, closure, reflection
• 'Feast on your life'; self confidence, embrace truth, positive, old self

Attitude

• Be yourself
• Freedom

Purpose

• Self discovery
• Learning about yourself
• Emotional needs
• Experiences

Themes

• Past shapes future
• Importance of background
• Be comfortable with who you are

Structure

• Enjambment; freedom
• Free verse; full movement

Language

• 'Pots' 'pans' 'bed'; imagery used to represent quest for freedom
• 'This room'; personification of a person who is full of energy
• 'The bed is lifting out'; metaphor, leaving fears and evil behind
• 'crash'; onomatopoeia to enhance sound effects of poem
• 'corners...crash through the clouds'; alliteration, harsh sounds compliment breaking out and escaping
• 'clapping' 'lifting' 'breaking'; present participle, involved in the action, current events in life
• 'garlic, onions, spices' senses to emphasis being free and alive

Attitude

• Freedom
• Breaking out
• Change

Purpose

• Identity is state of mind not religion or culture
• Celebration of life

Themes

• Life is unpredictable
• Personal growth and life
• Change can be good
• Freedom is important in life

Structure

• Repetition
• Indentation

Language

• 'beat' 'stuffed' 'dragged'; violent diction to help reader share horror in each situation
• 'no query, no warning, no probe'; repetition to stress issues, no freedom, dictatorship, unfair
• 'soft like clay'; simile portrays severe beating
• 'one night/day/morning/evening'; regular occurring, emphasizes injustice won't stop until something is done
• 'so long they don't take the yam'; 'they' shows arrival of them is regular, well known
• Mantra at end of each stanza; people use it to shield themselves from the injustice and real horror of situation

Attitude

• Powerless
• Fearful
• Corruption

Purpose

• Injustice eventually affects everyone
• Injustice shouldn't be ignored
• Unfair treatment of citizens

Themes

• Military regimes
• Injustice and inequality in society
• Self preservation; ignore injustice if not directly affected 

Structure

• Enjambment; uncomfortable being formal, awkward

Language

• 'They'; impersonal address, detached
• 'I'; first person narrative, share emotions and story, repetition, what she wants
• 'glistening like an orange split open'; imagery used to help reader visualize scene
• ''fractured land'; conflict in cashmere and personal life
• 'I was aflame'; feelings
• 'weekend clothes'; split identity, culture juxtaposed throughout poem

Attitude

• Conflicted
• Unsure
• Split personality

Purpose

• Dilemma of dual nationality
• Physical and cultural journey of girl

Themes

• Problems of dual nationality
• Memories of childhood
• Alienation
• Cultural backgrounds shape future life

Structure

• Disjointed; turmoil inside her

Language

• 'howling' 'rage' 'dark'; negative diction, describes storm and living in a new country
• 'Oya' Shango'; traditional gods, respect storm, power of nature
• 'O why is my heart unchained?'; why does she feel uprooted and tossed about by the storm, questioning herself and feelings
• 'fearful' 'reassuring'; juxtaposed, mixed feelings
• 'she'--->'I'; starts in 3rd person changes to 1st person, shows she doesn't fit in then she accepts herself
• Pathetic fallacy is used to show inner turmoil

Attitude

• Emotional
•  Upset 
•  Accepting

Purpose

• Memories of past
• Hurricane is frightening but reminds her of homeland so she is accepting

Themes

• The force of nature
• Memories of the past
• Importance of culture and language
• Inner turmoil
• Value of life