Blessing, Imtiaz Dharker

Question 1

Meaning

Answer 1

• Journey from anticipation to euphoria when water arrives in Bombay Slum
  
  • Explores suffering of those who experience drought & feelings when find water
• Celebration of life-giving power of water
• Role played by religion in malnourished countries
  
  • i.e. Water being gift from divine presence

Question 2

Imagery #1

Answer 2

“skin cracks like a pod.”

• “skin”
  
  • Surface of earth - soil
    
    • Personification of ground of India
    • Dryness of the earth
  • Skin of people of Mumbai
    
    • Skin become dehydrated during dry season
• “cracks”
  
  • Cracks = literal due to dehydration
    
    • So hot - reference of drought
    • So bad we can hear it
  • Harsh ‘c’ (constant sound) = unsettling
    
    • Reflects harshness of environment (drought)
  • Onomatopoeia
    
    • Sense of immediacy & realism = intensity of the event
• “pod”
  
  • Falls from plant and opens = spilling its seed to start new life
    
    • Dehydrated but shows potential for new beginning to come from it

Question 3

Imagery #2

Answer 3

“municipal pipe bursts silver crashes to the ground”

• Metaphor for treasure
• “silver”
  
  • Contrast with other metals (for collecting water)
    
    • Highlights scarcity & value
  • Precious metal - coins and money
    
    • Water more valuable than money to these people
• “crashes”
  
  • Weight of water flowing out
    
    • Heavy and full - lots of water
• “pipe burst”
  
  • Frantic nature / sudden rush of water
  • Showcases desperation/difficult struggle &
    tension
    
    • Intense environment
• Water is there but kept from people
  
  • Uneducated/malnourished are superstitious
  • Driven to belief it’s a blessing = may be everyday act
  • Poem poses differences of experiences

Question 4

Tone

Answer 4

Volta: desperation/anxious to euphoria

“drip”, “splash”, “bursts”

• Juxtaposes small vs large amount
  
  • = Build of excitement

Empathetic & concerned

• Voice of speaker = voice of privileged
  
  • Syntax of “never is” + pronoun “their”
• Mourning for society
  
  • See bursting of pipe as miracle as blessing
  • But oblivious to wider implication that water’s being kept from them

Question 5

Structure #1

Answer 5

Free verse

• Mirror outpouring of water & emotion of people when municipal pipe bursts
• But stanzas cleverly constructed
  
  • Beginning - when no water = stanzas short and brief
    
    • As though words are dried up
  • When water erupts from pipe = stanzas become
    long and flowing
  • Stanzas 3 and 4 connected by enjambment
    
    • Flowing syntax mimics flowing water gushing from broken pipe

Question 6

Structure #2

Answer 6

Heavily enjambed lines

• Mirroring flow of water
• Chaos produced out of struggle for water
• Interconnected - nature of God & people
• Lyrical, magical quality

Question 7

Name 4 poem comparisons

Answer 7

• “Prayer Before Birth”
• “Hide and Seek”
• “War Photographer”
• “The Tyger”

Question 8

“Prayer Before Birth” Comparison

Answer 8

Anxieties of unborn child about world

VS

Miraculous good fourteen of children who live in hardship

Question 9

“Hide and Seek” Comparison

Answer 9

Boy excluded from community during the game

VS

Community which comes together for miracle of unexpected good fortune

Question 10

“War Photographer” Comparison

Answer 10

Photographer tries to raise awareness of hardships of
people in other countries

VS
People of slums who find moment of happiness within suffering

Question 11

“The Tyger” Comparison

Answer 11

Comparisons between poet wondering at gifts God gives which are violent and dangerous

VS
& blessing given (water) in time of drought

Question 12

Conclusions

Answer 12

• Significance of symbol water
  
  • Universal analogy of human desires/needs
    
    • Basic whereas were more arrogant/oblivious
    • Attack on us being materialistic
• Religion meaning different things to different people