Look we have coming to Dover

Question 1

Title

Answer 1

Imperative: Look calls upon action to see the adversities that immigrants have to go though
We having coming: the group of those who don’t conform, to the expectations of the dominant culture

Question 2

What does the use of improper English in the title show

Answer 2

highlights the persistence of the speaker’s cultural identity despite arriving in Britain. While physically arriving in Britain, do not necessarily abandon their native ways of speaking or thinking.

Question 3

What does the poet not being an immigrant suggest about the theme

Answer 3

Demonstrates that although the poet isn’t an immigrant themselves they feel ostracised by the majority as they are made inferior due to his heritage -> suggests societal assimilation isn’t as plausible

Question 4

Structure

Answer 4

Free verse: irregularity of the structure reflects the idea that immigrants cannot be neatly integrated into British society or language. The disordered, almost rebellious nature of the poem’s form mirrors how the speaker resists conforming to a rigid, standardized British identity

Question 5

‘So different, so various, so new…’

Answer 5

Demonstrates how Dover is only aestheticized by those who are accepted by the country yet to those who are immigrating a complete different image is being crafted

Question 6

Babbling our lingoes flecked by the chalk of Britannia

Answer 6

Demonstrates how they will never be fully integrated with British culture as chalk isn’t permanent. Babbling undermines their culture branding it incoherent due to their new environment

Question 7

Stowed in the sea to invade
Swarms of us

Answer 7

Dehumanises the immigrants by depicting them as a faceless mass rather than individuals seeking refuge - depicts them to taint the British identity

Question 8

Unclocked by the national eye

Answer 8

‘unclocked’ could symbolise how they aren’t seen as they enter the country it could possibly also demonstrate Britishness as they aren’t seen as humane in comparison to those who are British born

Question 9

“hoick themselves bare-faced for the clear”
passport that “brings them to life.”

Answer 9

‘Hoick’ suggests a rough, forceful movement, implying that migrants must actively pull themselves up or propel themselves forward to gain visibility and acceptance. Meanwhile “Bare-faced” could refer to both vulnerability but from an alternative reading also demonstrate their boldness, as they must navigate a new identity while facing scrutiny. “For the clear” suggests an attempt to reach legitimacy as well as a sense of belonging. -> provided legal assimilation but not societal assimilation