Living Space

Question 1

Annotate the title: “Living Space”

Answer 1

• Dharker calls it a “living space”, not a home which gives us an introduction to the differences between a home and just a “living space”
• It could also suggest that the space itself is “living” in therefore has the potential to change and develop
• It is also ironic as there is little “living space” in the slums

Question 2

What is the shape of the poem?

Answer 2

• unstructured
• disordered
• small, restricted
• balanced on top of each other

Question 3

Annotate the caesura and enjambement and the start of the poem

Answer 3

• Mimic of the structure of the slums - the erratic configuration
• The enjambment reflects how the structures lean over and are on top of each other

Question 4

Annotate the line:

“or parallel. Beams
balance crookedly on supports”

Answer 4

• Tension between alliteration and enjambment - alliteration holds the words together across the lines, giving the poem stability, while the enjambment creates instability

Question 5

Describe the semantic field of mathematical terms in the first stanza (mention the connotations of luck)

Answer 5

“Straight lines”, “flat”, “parallel”, “vertical”

• it highlights the opposite - uses the negatives “nothing”, “not enough” to prove the contrast of our idea of a “living space”
• there is also a semantic field of luck/ as if by chance: “balanced crookedly”, “thrust”, “clutch”, “dangerously”, “miraculous” - this shows a contrast in language between the mathematical expectations and the luck/chance of it standing but also suggests it is unsafe

Question 6

Annotate the middle stanza

Answer 6

• it is “squeezed” in between the other 2 larger stanzas - reflects how the inhabitant has “squeezed” a home into the structure
• helps the readers picture the “living space”
• the verb “squeezed” could urgent that people in the slums make most out of everything they have

Question 7

Annotate the line: “ and even dared to place these eggs in a wire basket”

Answer 7

• Metaphor for how these people live - risking their hopes
• Symbolism - eggs, represent hope, and the potential for a new or better life. However, they are also “fragile” and easily broken.
• Rhymes like “place” and “space”, “beams” and “seams” link parts of the poem together - like the building, the poem is held together in places but lacks order
• Verb “dared” expresses the speaker’s awe that people are willing/have to take risks to make thier lives better

Question 8

Annotate: “dark edge” and “gathering the light”

Answer 8

• Contrast of light and dark
• Hopeful “white” and “light”