Living Space - Imtiaz Dharker Flashcards
Structure
It could be said to represent the crooked houses in the slums
No regular rhyme scheme
Themes
Human resourcefulness
Fragility
Context
The poet herself is of Pakistani heritage and the poem is set in the Mumbai slums
She constantly raises the topic of various social issues through her poems
Living Space
The title itself is ironic as there is an obvious lack of space
There are just not enough
The poem begins rather abruptly as to hook the reader in as it focuses immediately on the negatives not on the positives
straight lines. That
The phrase ‘straight lines’ could be seen as a metaphor for the stability and security the people seek in their homes and lives and the caesura right after represents instability
is the problem.
Nothing is flat
or parallel. Beams
balance crookedly on supports
thrust off the vertical
The brisk and practical descriptions provide an emphatic effect that constantly builds up suspense. The enjamblement throughout the poem represents the building leaning on top of each other. The alliteration of ‘beams’ and ‘balance’ add to the rough and ready idea of the poem. The beams are dangerously crooked and are at a high risk of collapsing like their homes in the slums and therefore their lives. She emphasises that nothing is easy for this segment of the population
Nails clutch at open seams.
The personification of the ‘nails’ highlights the desperation of the community and the ‘open seams’ suggests that there is lack of protection from physical and mental harm, leaving them vulnerable and bare
The whole structure leans dangerously
towards the miraculous.
The juxtaposition of the positives and the negatives help to demonstrate the people’s remarkable tenacity to deal with all the ups and downs and furthermore her admiration for it. The 1st line is the longest in the entire poem as if to imitate the building leaning. The references to God and death through the word ‘miraculous’ suggest that they are always close to death because of the conditions they live in
Into this rough frame
someone has squeezed
a living space
The phrase ‘rough frame’ suggests that there is a lot of overcrowding yet there is still a tone of admiration from the poet as someone has still managed to create a house there. This stanza is squeezed between the other 2 as to represent the ‘living space’. The noun ‘frame’ could also suggests that the home only has the very bare basics
and even dared to place
these eggs in a wire basket,
Eggs are easily breakable and signify the fragility of the buildings and their lives and the verb ‘dared’ shows that they display massive bravery against the most difficult of circumstances. It could all be seen as a metaphor for rebirth and hope.
fragile curves of white
hung out over the dark edge
of a slanted universe
The poet suggests that life is always beautiful even in a dark and precarious environment. The juxtaposition of dark and white shows that beauty can still exist in ugly places and demonstrates the contrast between hope (white) and despair (dark). The phrase ‘slanted universe’ represents perhaps their homes and even their whole lives suggesting they face lots of hardships just because of where they live
gathering the light
into themselves
as if they were
the bright, thin walls of faith
This suggests that although their faith may be small, they still have the hope that their story can have a positive conclusion. They have a belief that their lives will improve and their faith will help them. A sense of conclusion is created by making these lines progressively shorter than the rest
Whys
Dharker strives to expose the harsh and inhospitable living conditions endured by the inhabitants of the Mumbai slum of Dharavi, evoking a sense of empathy as well as guilt from her more fortunate Western readership.
Dharker celebrates the human capacity to endure and adapt to difficult situations, focussing on the power of hope and faith. As such, she renegotiates our view of those living in slums, as being worthy of awe and admiration in addition to pity.
