Living Space

Question 1

Key Quotes

Answer 1

Nails clutch to open seams

Fragile curves of white hung out of the dark edge

Someone has squeezed a living space

Question 2

Context on Imitiaz Dharker

Answer 2

• Born in Pakistan in 1954 and moved to Scotland as a child
• Mixed heritage greatly influences her work
• Spends her time between Uk and India
• Common themes - home, cultural displacement, faith, conflict, freedom, gender politics
• Poem is about the slums of Mumbai - some of largest in the world
• Lack of sanitation and overcroding
• Positives - strong community spirit as well as opportunities to work and raise families

Question 3

Summary of poem

Answer 3

The poem describes the slums of Mumbai

Stanza 1: Describes the poorly built, unstable buildings

Stanza 2: Reveals that despite the danger, people still live there with resilience

Stanza 3: A basket of eggs symbolizes fragility but also hope

Question 4

Form

Answer 4

Irregular form and varied stanza length: Reflects chaos and instability

No regular rhyme scheme: Reinforces unpredictability and lack of stability

Few rhyming words: Symbolize how the structure is barely held together, much like the homes in the poem

Question 5

Structure

Answer 5

Short sentences: Reflect the lack of space and physical awkwardness

Irregularity of lines: Mirrors the way the buildings are precariously positioned

1. The instability of the buildings
2. A shift to optimism for the future

Enjambment: Represents things spilling over, much like the cramped living conditions

Question 6

Language

Answer 6

Eggs as a symbol:
Represent faith and new life

Verbs convey precariousness:
“Leans”, “balance” → Suggests instability and danger

Question 7

Mood

Answer 7

Sense of amazement: The speaker is in awe that people can live in such conditions

Detachment: The physical description is not overly emotional

Optimism: Despite hardship, there is hope and admiration for human resilience

Question 8

Nails clutch at the open seams

Answer 8

• Personification - buildings are desperate, barely holding together
• desperation to life/belongings
• instability and uncertainity

Question 9

Fragile curves of white hung out of the dark edge

Answer 9

• White - positive and hopeful
• ‘Dark edge’ - hazardous and uncertain
• Juxtaposition between light and dark suggest beauty and fragility in a harsh world
• fragile - vulnerability but also strenght in persistence

Question 10

Someone has squeezed a living space

Answer 10

• verb ‘squeezed’ - lack of space, pressure, poverty
• ‘living space’ - not a real home, lacks comfort and softness
• ‘someone’ suggests it is a universal experience - personal yet global