Singh Song Flashcards
Why did Nagra want to write Singh Song?
Because it describes an important part of the British story - the Indian corner shop
What does the mix of English and Punjabi words suggest?
Nagra belongs to both cultures
The speaker refers to the father as “daddy”
L: immature, infantile diction
Suggest an inbalance of power and his father treats him like a child
“like vee rowing through Putney”
L: simile
Suggest they have a vigorous sex life and they are close
“Vee” (we)
L: inclusive pronoun
He envisions them as one and they are emotionally close
“Yor lemons are limes”
Shows the cultural differences and tensions in his society through contrasts of fruits and products sold in shop
Why has Nagra chosen to use italics?
To represent the customers voices and complaints
The wife is running an internet dating site. What impression is given of her?
She is quite cunning and business “savvy”
—> she’s luring dating clients with her “bait” to profit from them
”Head high heel”
L: monosyllabic alliteration
Replicates the beat of a song sing/Singh
“Effing at my mum”
The wife is unconventional as she’s disrespectful to her husbands parents by swearing
C: Sikh wife should be expected to be respectful
Does the speaker admire his wife?
Yes, he must respect his parents in running the shop but she rebels against them by being disrespectful
“Eyes ov a gun”
L: metaphor
She has a sharp edge and is threatening, you don’t want to mess with her
“Ov a teddy”
L: metaphor
This shows that even if she’s threatening and sharp-edged, she’s soft and cuddly on the inside
“Red crew cut”
C: Sikh belief in 5k’s
Kesh - don’t cut hair as it is God-given
This shows the wife’s rebellious nature
“Tartan sari”
Shows that the wife belongs to both cultures
Tartan = British
Sari = indian
“My bride”
L: repetition
Emphasises that he’s proud of his wife and what’s she wants to accomplish
He also feels as if they belong together
“Tickle”
L: verb
Suggest that their relationship is playful and affectionate
“You” and “we”
L: contrasting pronouns
R: this positions the reader as the customer
Regards his customers as an inconvenient interruption to time that he can spend with his wife
How is their relationship different when nobody else is around?
They’re more intimate when they’re with each other, it’s quiet, slower-paced (assonance)
“baby”
L: repetition
Shows their love and affection for each other
I: it’s apart of their daily routine
What is the effect of using a mercantile lexis?
Shows that his love for his wife is more important that money
How does assonance affect the pace of the poem?
Slows the pace by using long elongated vowel sounds
What does the chronological structure suggest about the speakers life?
That he has long days in the shop and it’s a quiet routine
How does the stanzaic structure change in the end?
It changes from 8 line stanzas from line 35 to couplets
—> couplets are used in love poetry which shows their close bond as a couple
What different moods are there in the poem?
Rebellious - “effing at my mum”
Affectionate - “tickle ov my bride”
Romantic - “it’s priceless baby”
What is Nagra’s message?
Love is more important than money
