Living Space Flashcards
Context
Slums of Mumbai
could be anyone living on edge
narrow structured poem
hopeful
structure
Narrow poem reflects precarious living conditions
no stanzas or regular rhyme scheme.
enjambed lines, to reflect the ramshackle environment.
tone
Hopeful
language and imagery
direct and easy to understand
eggs hung out in a basket, an act of faith symbolising renewal and continuing life.
The whole structure leans dangerously
towards…
The whole structure leans dangerously
towards the miraculous.
juxtaposition of negative and positive; a change from danger and hardship to the idea of aspiring towards ‘…the miraculous.’
suggests how the peoples survival is remarkable
Note that this is the longest line in the poem, as if imitating the protruding beam that ‘leans dangerously.’
these eggs…
these eggs in a wire basket,
metaphor for rebirth and hope
the bright…
the bright, thin walls of faith.
suggests hope and a positive conclusion.
rhyming ‘light’ and ‘bright’ - unity at end of poem
sense of drama by making the last five lines progressively shorter
hung out over the dark edge
of a slanted…
hung out over the dark edge
of a slanted universe,
signifies the essential beauty of life
The ‘slanted’ universe is a parallel to the crooked walls and roofs; slanted because of the injustice of having to live in this way in a world where there is enough for all.
There are just not…
There are just not enough
straight lines.
focuses on the what the living space lacks
The poet begins conversationally
metaphor for the fragility of their lives
Beams
balance crookedly…
Beams
balance crookedly on supports
thrust off the vertical.
The plosive and alliterative ‘b’s in ‘Beams balanced’ adds to the idea of the rough and ready nature of the homes
suggests that nothing is easy
just as lives are precarious so are the houses
