Poems - Living Space

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who wrote living space?
Imtiaz Dharker
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what does the title suggest?
it's not a real home, just a place someone to exists in. also suggest space is living, and so has potential to change/develop
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where has Dharker live?
born in Pakistan, but has lived in Scotland, England, and India
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what's the poem about?
housing in mumbai - a city in India where people migrate from all over India in the hope of a better life
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the poem describes.... (include quotes)
poem describes a ramshackle living space, with its lack of 'straight lines' and beams 'balanced crookedly on supports'.
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what does living space express/present ideas of? (purpose)
expresses physical poverty in the form of poorly constructed homes - also could represents the fragility of human life
6 of 41
first line is directly to the point, saying the problem is that there are not enough straight lines. what does the first lines suggest about the problem? ('There are just not enough straight lines. That is the problem')
it's not the people at fault, and how they care for home, but rather the structure of the homes themselves - lack of “straight lines” - problem with poverty is bigger than those made poor as they can't fix problem themselves (can't rebuild homes)
7 of 41
what's the effect of this matter-of-fact tone?
disconnects narrator from subject
8 of 41
how does the structure of poem represent the structures of the slums? (uneven lines, enjambment, irregular form)
poem lines are uneven, contains enjambment, have an irregular form - this mirrors sense of chaos/irregularity in buildings being described, emphasises disorder of slums. last two stanzas = long sentence - growing sense of wonder
9 of 41
what does 'Nothing is flat' emphasis?
ts not owners fault. What can someone with limited resources do when their home is not “flat or parallel” in order to make it steady and strong?
10 of 41
what two techniques are used in 'beams balance'?
alliteration and anjamberment
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what's the effect of this?
alliteration holds words together but anjamberment creates instability, reflecting the structure of the slums
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what's the effect of the violet verb 'thrust'?
creates a sense of danger, reflecting violency
13 of 41
avaulate 'Nails clutch at open seams' (personification. desperation. potential/possibility for better future)
personified nails. clutch implies desperation. but nails not falling down - feeling of possibility. idea that residence are desperately holding to idea that things will improve, they are “clutch[ing] at open” potential of a better future
14 of 41
this idea is repeated in last two lines of stanza “leans dangerously towards the miraculous.” evaluate this. (e.g miraculous - unexpected - despite disorder, there is hope)
literally, emphasises how amazing it is that the homes are still standing. Figuratively, reflects hope. the 'whole structure' 'leans' towards 'something miraculous', like the future - situation can provide motivation for better future
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this line runs out beyond the rest of the lines. whats the effect of this?
mirrors structure of slums - how parts of building hang over each other, echoing the fact the whole structure is leaning over - effect = create poem that appears as precarious as the physical structures it describes
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what's the effect of having a smaller second stanza between the first and last?
reflects how residence have 'squeeze a living space' into the structure
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what's the effect of rhyming words like 'space' and 'place'?
links parts of poem together, reflecting structure of slums, how some parts of stable but it lacks order
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more emotion is shown in third stanza. give quote to back this up
'even dared' - amazed that anyone could live here and had 'dared' to place fragile eggs in such a dangerous place
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what do the eggs symbolise?
hope for better future. that hope/faith is fragile and can be broken, like the eggs.
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why do the eggs represent faith?
because someone has so delicately placed them in such a ramshackle environment, but also because they contain new life. The eggs, like the buildings are miracles as it seems like an act of faith to live in these unstable structures. The 'bright' egg
21 of 41
whats the effect of 'slanted universe'?
reminds us of greater scale of problem. hints at inequality in world
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whats the effect of 'white' / 'light' and 'dark edge'?
white/light suggest hope for better future, but 'dark edge' could reflect danger/uncertainty of that future
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tension between words 'bright'/'thin' imply...
there is hope for a 'bright' future buty that hope is 'fragile' and uncertain
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what's implied by 'thin walls of faith'
'thin walls' refers to eggshell, but also reminds us of building walls - fact they are walls of faith links faith, egga nd the buildings, implying they are all positive/hopeful but are easily breakable - resistance bright with hope but easily broken
25 of 41
how are stanza's 1 and 3 linked? + what effect does this have?
both talk about faith (walls of faith/miraculous) - residence have faith the structure is miraculous enough to be lived in, and the eggs will be safe - could be suggesting faith is what keeps people going at hard times
26 of 41
whats the significance of calling the wall 'the.. wall' and not just 'wall'?
specific title given to specific people. Out of all the people in the home/neighborhood, these have somehow earned that title, and if they alone are the keepers of this name, they alone can carry this “faith.”
27 of 41
what overall message could be taken as?
statement toward poverty in general. People in these states could be in hardships, but possibilities can still prevail against the dimness.
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overall tone of this poem? (celebration? disgust? anger?)
Celebration - poem celebrates the way that faith brings boldness
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what theme does 'fragile curves of white/ hung out over the dark edge' present?
fragility - the building structures and the eggs are both fragile. buildings have no 'straight lines' and are held together by nails that 'clutch at open seams'. Like the buildings, the eggs are in a position of danger.
30 of 41
what theme does 'The whole structure leans dangerously / towards the miraculous.' reflect?
faith - to live in such unstable space, close to collapsing, requires strong faith in building's structure. adverb 'dangerously' contrasts with the word 'miraculous' - seems to be a miracle that structure stays intact at all
31 of 41
what theme does 'and even dared to place/ these eggs in a wire basket' present?
boldness - people squeeze into these structures and, despite danger, create a living space - 'dared' shows speaker has a sense of wonder, amazed people are living here
32 of 41
give a reason for the interpretation: buildings are unstable and the fixings are loose
nails are not actually joining anything together and the whole structure is 'open' and exposed.
33 of 41
give a reason for the interpretation: nails are personified and seem to want to join the structure more solidly.
'clutch' gives the nails a human characteristic and implies that they are desperately reaching forward. However there is nothing for them to grasp, only 'open seams'.
34 of 41
how does 'as if they were the bright, thin walls of faith.' show the eggs resent hope?
The 'bright' eggs contrast with the 'dark edge/ of a slanted universe.' They stand out as something white, pure and whole against a broken dark world.
35 of 41
how does that quote also show the eggs are precious?
'walls of faith' are 'bright' which implies something positive, but they are also 'thin' which suggests fragility. Perhaps the poet feels that faith, like the shell of an egg, is easy to break.
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the rhyme scheme acts as a way of holding the poem together, similar to the ___ in the poem which are attempting to lend stability to the overall structure.
nails
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The first half of the poem describes...
the structure
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second part of the poe is more hopeful as if showing the power of ___ (main theme)
faith
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The language used is simple and focuses on the shape of the structure. what words emphasise the instability of the living space?
'crookedly', 'balance', 'leans' and 'slanted'
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what other work has poet done beside poetry?
film director, has scripted a number of documentaries in India, supporting work with women and children - works to raise awareness of issues in other countries
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

what does the title suggest?

Back

it's not a real home, just a place someone to exists in. also suggest space is living, and so has potential to change/develop

Card 3

Front

where has Dharker live?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

what's the poem about?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

the poem describes.... (include quotes)

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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