Poetry: Living Space Flashcards
Whys: 1
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.
Whys: 2
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.
Which themes are present in this poem?
Faith and worship
Sense of place
Which poems can be linked with this poem?
London
The manhunt
Mametz wood
Context point 1
Imtiaz Dharker was born in pakistan but raised in scotland
She has an interest in representing a different culture
What is the form like in the poem?
Stanzas and lines of different lengths
Enjambment
Final 2 stanzas are one sentence long
How can the form of the poem relate to the content of the poem?
Irregular form and stanzas and lines of different lengths mirrors the chaos and irregularity in the building
Enjambment emphasises disorder
What is the structure like in the poem?
Poem is split into two parts
Opens with description of an unstable building
2nd and 3rd stanzas mood shift and speaker begins to say that there may be optimism despite the circumstances
What is the poem about?
Describing a badly built and falling apart building. Speaker reveals that someone lives in the building and how dangerous it is.
What is the rhyming like in the poem?
Irregular
There are just not enough / straight lines
Theme: Poverty, Instability
Technique: Enjambment, Simple diction, Negation
Importance:
Opens the poem, immediately establishing a sense of disorder.
“Straight lines” symbolize structure and stability – their absence suggests chaos and poor living conditions.
Reflects the physical and metaphorical instability of the slum setting.
Nothing is flat / or parallel
Theme: Disorder, Fragility of life
Technique: Parallelism (ironic), Enjambment
Importance:
Reinforces the lack of order.
Highlights how the built environment reflects the precariousness of people’s lives.
Suggests how normal rules of construction—and perhaps society—don’t apply here.
beams / balance crookedly
Theme: Fragility, Hope amidst danger
Technique: Alliteration, Enjambment, Adverb “crookedly”
Importance:
The alliteration draws attention to instability.
“Balance” implies a dangerous equilibrium – things could collapse at any moment.
Suggests a fragile perseverance among those who live there.
The whole structure leans dangerously / towards the miraculous
Theme: Hope, Resilience, Faith
Technique: Juxtaposition, Oxymoron, Enjambment
Importance:
Contrasts danger with “miraculous”, showing how life persists despite hardship.
Implies something awe-inspiring in the way people survive such conditions.
Evokes a sense of admiration and possibly spiritual resilience.
someone has squeezed / a living space
Theme: Survival, Poverty, Human ingenuity
Technique: Metaphor, Sibilance, Enjambment
Importance:
“Squeezed” suggests effort, constriction, and a lack of room.
Emphasizes how people make do with what little they have.
The phrase humanizes the setting – it’s a home, not just a structure.
bright, thin walls of faith
Theme: Hope, Faith, Spiritual strength
Technique: Metaphor, Symbolism, Contrast
Importance:
“Bright” symbolizes optimism; “thin” implies vulnerability.
“Faith” becomes a literal and figurative foundation—it’s what holds everything together.
Ends the poem on a hopeful note, celebrating human endurance.
