PLACE: Living Space Flashcards
Context
She was a multicultural poet, born in Pakistan, raised in Scotland and lives in the UK and Mumbai
Wanted to raise awareness about other culture and peoples lives
People in mumbai had limited access to electricity
Structure
There is one small paragraph in between two large ones visually highlighting Dharker’s ideas about how the slums are in between modern areas
Longest line in the poem “leans dangerously towards the miraculous” kind of link to the supporting beam of the houses
Point 1
Portrays the difficult and fragile lives
1:1
“There are just not enough straight lines”
“Just not enough” introduces idea of difficulty, controversial idea used to entice the reader
“Straight lines”
Metaphorical to show how they are fragile and that is how they live, western people move in straight lines but these people do not
1:2
“Beams balance crookedly on supports”
Plosive alliteration of B’s highlights how their lives or on edge, adrenaline surge
“Crookedly” adverb used to illuminate how their buildings are unsafe and they are physically crooked
1:3
“Nails clutch at open seams”
Personifies the nails to represent how they are holding on for their dear lives to symbolise a lack of stability in their lives to clutch to prevent from fully opening and ruining them
2nd point
Optimistic and hope to keep on living
2:1
“The whole structure leans dangerously towards the miraculous”
“Miraculous” has religious connotations juxtaposition of dangerously and miraculous to highlight how they survive
2:2
Small stanza which is in between two larger paragraphs used to visually embody the view of Dharker as she often talked about this, also the difference between her life in uk and mumbai shows this
2:3
“Dared to place these eggs in a wire basket”
Eggs are a metaphor for new life and the wire basket a symbol of the dangerous lives yet as they “dared” it shows courage in their lives
3rd point
Talks about religion and how it provides them with something to hold on to
3:1
“The dark edge of a slanted universe”
The metaphor of the slanted universe refers to the unstable homes and they should hold on as well as the ways in which you are led to think yet god tells you to hold on as you should be, space and god idea of supernatural
3:2
“Gathering the light”
Directly juxtaposes first quote and it shows how they bring in “light” a motif for hope and faith and so god is bringing them in and giving them shelter and something to live for
3:3
“As if they were the bright thin walls of faith”
Reverse personification used as the humans are compared to thin walls and how they may ne thin yet they are still there surviving as god is the faith
