living space quotes Flashcards
analyse ‘Living Space’ and its effect on the reader
suggests the idea of a home - juxtaposed with the description in the poem:
- describes the buildings the people living are not fit for purpose (they just exist out desperation)
- however it could also suggest that the space itself is ‘living’ and therefore has the potential to change and develope
- poet is sharing her views that life in the slums is degrading
- makes reader think about the difference of a home and a living space - hostile descriptions are used to enforce the difference
analyse ‘B____ b______’
‘Beams balance’ - tension between alliteration and enjambment - plosive alliteration mimics the sound of the building falling, which is further conveyed through the enjambment
analyse ‘The w_____ s________ l____ d___________’ thinking about structure
‘The whole structure leans dangerously’ - long line juts out beyond the rest of the poem, mirroring the way parts of the building hang over each other - poem is almost structured like the buildings. This paired with the lack of a rhyme scheme, expresses the lack of coordination in the architecture.
analyse ‘squeezed’
‘squeezed’ - short stanza between the two longer ones reflect how the inhabitant has squeezed a home into the structure, linking back to the structure of the poem being built like the slums themselves
analyse the rhyme in ‘space’ and ‘place’, and in ‘Beams’ and ‘seams’
like the building, the poem is held together in places but lacks order
analyse ‘e___ in a w___ b_____’
‘eggs in a wire basket’ - symbolism — ‘eggs’ represent hope and the potential for a new or better life. However, they are also ‘fragile’ and easily broken. - ‘wires’ also contrasts with the typical soft nests in which the eggs lay on suggesting their homes put their lives in danger?
analyse ‘s______ u_______’
‘slanted universe’ - reminds us that the instability of this building is replicated on a larger scale - this could hint at the wider inequality in the world - especially since Dharker has moved a lot so has experienced the different qualities of life
analyse ‘b_____, t___ w____ of f____’
‘bright, thin walls of faith’
- ‘walls’ - the speaker is referring to the eggshells, but the use of the noun ‘walls’ makes the reader think about the building too. The fact that they are ‘walls of faith’ suggest that the eggshells, the ‘living space’ and ‘faith’ are similar — they all involve optimism, but are all breakable
- ‘bright, thin’ - tension between the words ‘bright’ and ‘thin’ — there is hope but also fragility
analyse the use/idea of ‘faith’ in the stanzas
Stanzas one and three both end with references to faith — the inhabitants have faith that the structure is ‘miraculous’ enough to be lived in and that their ‘eggs’ will be safe. The speaker might be suggesting that faith is what keeps people in difficult situations going.
