Us

Question 1

Who is the poet?

Answer 1

Zaffar Kunial

Question 2

When was it written?

Answer 2

2018

Question 3

Context:

Answer 3

• Title refers to a personal relationship, but also to all of us, and how we can work together to bridge our differences
• Kunial stresses how we all need to work as a group to become more unified and more tolerant of people from diverse backgrounds

Question 4

Poets life:

Answer 4

Kunial was born in Birmingham to an English mother and a Pakistani father
- His poetry often refers to identity and cultural heritage
- He also talks about the nature of language and how it can be used to convey a number of different meanings and nuances

Question 5

Form and structure:

Answer 5

• 8 stanzas
• No set rhyme scheme
• Allows many of the stanzas to flow into one other, mimicking the motion of the ocean and showing how we can come together, or come apart

Question 6

Metaphors:

Answer 6

• Kunial uses a number of metaphors such as ‘as if, from one coast, you could reach out/ to the next’
• Shows how we can, if we try, make connections between seemingly impossible things

Question 7

Use of personal pronouns:

Answer 7

• Uses pronouns such as I, we and us to engage the reader and ensure that we feel personally involved and are more likely to take his messages seriously

Question 8

Imagery:

Answer 8

• Seas, coasts and islands featured throughout the poem
• Mention of ‘undulations’ in the first line sets up strong images of waves
• Overall structure of the poem supports this natural rhythm of the waves

Question 9

Tone:

Answer 9

• Very personal, and in some places, colloquial
• The speaker directly addressing the reader keeps them involved and following his train of thought

Question 10

Enjambement and caesura:

Answer 10

• Kunial uses lots of enjambement to ensure that the pace of the poem is maintained and the reader is able to follow his thoughts and feelings in a natural and simple way

Question 11

Techniques used:

Answer 11

Enjambement
Caesura
Imagery
Personal pronouns
Metaphors

Question 12

Themes:

Answer 12

Belonging
Relationships

Question 13

Poems for comparison:

Answer 13

We refugees
Peckham Rye Lane

Question 14

Quotes:

Answer 14

‘as if, from one coast, you could reach out to // the next’

‘when I was you, us equally meant me’

‘my hearts sunk at separations of us’

‘Oi, you, tell us where yer from’

‘Colour me unsure’

‘Where I’d give myself away, stranded’

Question 15

‘Oi you..’

Answer 15

‘Oi you, tell us where yer from’

• Use of a Midlands dialect provides an interjection of gentle humour
• Shows how the speaker is isolated because of his outward appearance

Question 16

‘Colour..’

Answer 16

‘Colour me unsure’

• Colloquial phrase indicates poets doubts over the complexity of the relationship
• It could also be a pun on his ethnicity, as he’s mixed race
• Reference to colour could also allude to how cultural differences can result in the failure of a relationship