Living space Flashcards
(9 cards)
What is it about ?
The poem describes a ramshackle living space, with its lack of ‘straight lines’ and beams ‘balanced crookedly on supports’. Imtiaz Dharker has explained that the poem describes the slums of Mumbai, where people migrate from all over India in the hope of a better life. The slum areas are living spaces created out of all kinds of found materials: corrugated sheets, wooden beams and tarpaulin. In this poem she celebrates the existence of these living spaces as a miracle.
When was it published ?
1997
What is the context ?
Born in 20th Century
Pakistan and grew up in
Scotland.
Writes about her multi-
cultural experience.
Made documentaries in
India, supporting work
with women and children.
A huge city, one of the ten most populated in
the world: consists of lots of wealth but also extreme poverty
What is the structure of this poem ?
The poem Living Space begins with Dharker being sarcastic towards the negative views of the slums.
The middle stanza represents the small ‘Living Space’ the people have to use as the stanza is
‘squeezed’ into the middle of the poem.
The poem ends with Dharker’s admiration of the people who live in the slums and their positive attitudes towards their negativecircumstances.
How is the title ironic ?
The title is ironic as there isn’t much “living space” in the slums of Mumbai. It may have also
been used since other people would not
view the
“slums “ in Mumbai india as just a “living space” and not a home
How is the way this
poem is structured helps
to visualise the living spaces ?
All the sentences are different lengths replication how “nothing is flat or parallel” and the second stanza is squeezed in the middle in to reflect how “living spaces are “squeezed” into small
places
What language is
proof that people living
in the “living spaces”
are living in hazardous
conditions and are in unsafe spaces ?
Language such as “crookedly “ , “clutched” and “leans dangerously”
What does the image of
“eggs in a wire basket” suggest?
It shows that the “eggs” which are ordinary objects can make the “slanted universe” which is being represents as the “wire basket” giving negative connotations of prison , yet the eggs make these prisons feel like home
How does the last line “thin walls of faith”
to suggest that even in the worst conditions
things can always get better, this is seen through her leaving the poem in a hopeful and
optimistic tone
