Tidsue Flashcards
What is the context on imitiaz dharker
D’Hadjer was born in Pakistan but grew up in Glasgow and describes herself as “Scottish Pakistani Muslim Calvinist”
Most of the poetry concentrates on identity and home which is significant given her ability to reconcile her conflicting identités as well as dividing her time between wales, India and london
What was the context of tissue
The poem comes from the 2006 collection “the terrorist at my table” which is focused on global politics, extremism, terrorism and fundamentalism.
She presents the idea that humans do not have the right attitude to life we see it as perminant and having the opportunity to gain power
Husband suffered with cancer for 11 years before dying demonstrating the temporary nature of life. Also similar with ozymandius
How is the form shown in tissue
The poem takes the form of an allegory which has the hidden meaning of revealing the transience of life
Causes the reader to let go of a materialistic life and instead focus on people around them and god
What is the structure of tissue
While poem written in quatrains providing a consistent structure to show how restrictive human power and control can be
The regularity of a fixed stanza lengthen is undermined by the use of free verse and enjambment. These loose structural forms show that freedom can be found even within a restrictive institution
Structure of tissue (2)
The structure also implies thag even the most powerful presentations of power like buildings and governments are underpinned by chaos and insignificance. Dharkers use of enjambment unifies likes showing her view that humans should become United
The combined effect of these devices shows that humanity is not in control as it would like to imagine and the poem may be mocking those whi believe they have a lot of power (ozymandius)
“Paper that lets the light shine through”
The title could be referring to thin paper which is easy to destroy or a human tissue which ages and eventually dies
Society can be viewed as a tissue as it’s made from a collection of cells and is intrinsically fragile but could also be more like tissue by becoming more flexible
The quote is ironic as despite it being translucent it is able to exert great influence. Religious books are an example of paper with power which have a large influence on the way people act as it instructs and guides people on how to live
“Paper that lets the light shine through “ (2)
The symbol of light is a recurring theme throughout the poem
Light is used as a symbol of truth and enlightenment to show how the world should be viewed
This has religoous ties as god is described in terms of light in both the Christian and Muslim holy books
The poem could be interpreted to also be a source of enlightenment to the listener of a new way of living in which god is able to permeate through life and materialism
No reference to a specific god in this poem which reflects dharkers exploration and criticism of fundamentalism in the collection
“Maps too” “mogjt fly our lives like paper kites”
“Maps too”- the short monosyllabic declarative sentence creates a blunt tone and shows how a person can be liek a map with many different countries and cultures contained within them and no borders
Whilst the Koran is like paper it’s also a collection of lives the power it contains doesn’t come from it being made of physical paper but from the influence it has on peoples lives. The power of paper is also seen in (second quote) which shows that if money is given too much power it will be able to govern our lives
Holds significance in historical documents
How is society shown in tissue
Dharker sets out what she believes would make an ideal society. The metaphor of buildings being able to “fall away on a sigh” implying that buildings should be able to change and adapt easily
Here buildings are a symbol of permenance that should be abolished. Dharker explicitly states that society should becom more transparent and this is emphasised in the harsh alliterative consonents in “turned transparent”
