Tissue

Question 1

Who wrote tissue?

Answer 1

Imtiaz Dharker

Question 2

What is the poem about?

Answer 2

It’s about the creation of things and the importance of paper for multiple reasons

Question 3

What’s the context?

Answer 3

• Tissues is from her collection The terrorist at my table, which questions how well we know people
• Parable in nature, suggests there is a spiritual fulfilment in passing an ownership and letting things pass when they’ve filled their purpose
• Pakistani origins.

Question 4

What’s the structure?

Answer 4

• Elusive poetic voice
• lack of regular rhythm and rhyme and the enjambment gives the poem freedom, reflecting the narrators desire
• Short stanza, poem built in layers, like a human life
• final personal stanza

Question 5

What does repetition of “paper” in the first stanza show?

Answer 5

Suggests that its important and can perhaps drive the change that the third line alludes to

Question 6

What does “light shine through” suggest?

Answer 6

Light allows things to be seen rather than hidden. This may be what needs to be changed. Positivity contrasts with negativity

Question 7

What does the “Koran” suggest?

Answer 7

It broadens the importance of paper as it can be used to record beliefs

Question 8

What quotations shows that paper is used to record family history?

Answer 8

“written in the names and histories who was born to whom”

Question 9

What quotation uses gentle verbs and the repetition of and to show that pages are treated with respect and affection?

Answer 9

“pages smoothed and stroked and turned”

Question 10

What quotation shows a shift in tone, which suggests that if buildings were made out of paper, people would notice that they’re temporary?

Answer 10

“if buildings were paper”

Question 11

What two verbs rhyme which play on the idea of movement - they are on different lines suggesting that they’ve been blown by the wind?

Answer 11

” drift” and “shift”

Question 12

What quotation reflects the fixed nature of maps and borders and shows they create division rather than freedom?

Answer 12

“maps too.”

Question 13

What quotation shows that the sun is a powerful, permanent force, whereas borders are just temporary marks on paper?

Answer 13

“the sun shines through their borderlines”

Question 14

What effect does “rivers/roads/railtracks” have?

Answer 14

The alliteration creates a flowing effect and a sense of freedom

Question 15

What phrases show that receipts record our day to day lives and that they can tell a story about our whole existence?

Answer 15

“fine slips/that say”

Question 16

What simile hints at how our lives can be controlled by money?

Answer 16

“might fly our lives like paper kites”

Question 17

What does “layer over layer, luminous script over numbers over line” suggest?

Answer 17

The work of the poet mirrors the work of the architect, the poem builds layers of words and meaning where an architect designed physical structures

Question 18

What do “brick” and “block” imply?

Answer 18

The solidity of objects

Question 19

What quotations show that light is enduring and powerful and that it will continue to shine even when man made structures break?

Answer 19

“daylight break through capitals and monoliths”

Question 20

What quotation seems to be a criticism of human pride?

Answer 20

“the shapes that pride can make”

Question 21

What quotations show a shift from talking about paper to talking about humans?

Answer 21

“a grand design/with living tissue”

Question 22

What quotations show that human life is temporary ?

Answer 22

“a structure never meant to last”

Question 23

What is the last line, that suggests that we’re all influenced by our heritage?

Answer 23

“turned into your skin”