Tissue Flashcards
What is this poem about?
The power of paper to change things and to record our memories even the most important details, paper (a metaphor for buildings) is at the mercy of other greater forces such as the weather, the essence of human beings can outlast things which seem permanent like large buildings because the fragility of paper documents is compared to the fleeting nature of building structures
What is the form of the poem like?
Mainly constructed in irregular, unrhymed quatrains which portrays the irregularity of life and the flimsy nature of tissue paper. The poem lacks regular rhyme and its rhythm is unsteady as if to mirror the fluttering of tissue paper
How does the poem begin?
‘Paper that lets the light // shine through, this // is what could alter things // Paper thinned by age or touching’ Light allows things to be seen rather than hidden which hints at what needs to change (suggests there are too many secrets in society). Old age links to death meaning this could be religious imagery as light could portray their journey to heaven or their light flashing before their eyes
What does enjambment symbolise?
The flowing/delicate nature of paper and human lives, poet’s desire for freedom and openness
Where is the tonal shift?
‘If building were paper, I might // feel their drift, see how easily // they fall away on a sigh, a shift’ The speaker suggests that if buildings were made of paper we may notice that they are only temporary (twin towers reference). Rhyming ‘shift’ and ‘drift’ which are dynamic verbs connotes movement, they appear at different places on the lie to suggest they have been blown by the wind
Identify a simile near the middle of the poem
‘what was paid by credit card // might fly our lives like paper kites’
What does the simile reveal?
We value freedom but remain controlled (by the government, by fear of terrorism, by money) because a kite moves freely but people control their movement and the wind depicts its direction
How does the poem end?
‘turned into your skin’ All the other stanzas have 4 lines but this stanza is a single line to draw our attention to the connection between paper and our skin which shows the significance of human life. Direct address emphasises we are all equal and all responsible for creating a better society
