Poetry Anthology - Living Space

Question 1

Key themes

Answer 1

Inequality
Place
Power
Hope
Strong feelings

Question 2

Structure

Answer 2

Middle stanza visibly compressed between first and last stanza - represents the lack of space
Enjambment - lines spill over deliberately, mirroring the instability of the slum structures

Question 3

Key quotes (5)

Answer 3

‘Nails clutch at open seams’
‘Eggs in a wire basket’
‘Hung out over the dark edge’
‘Slanted universe’
‘Bright, thin walls of faith’

Question 4

Analyse ‘nails clutch at open seams’

Answer 4

Emphasises the danger of the place
Fragility of the structure - unsure when it will eventually break
Without the nails, everything would fall apart - therefore they could represent hope

Question 5

Analyse ‘eggs in a wire basket’

Answer 5

Eggs symbolise new life/humanity - the fact they are in a wired basket emphasises that they are trapped
Eggs could also be referencing their apparent fragility

Question 6

Analyse ‘hung out over the dark edge’

Answer 6

Implies that the poor are trapped on the inside, whilst the rich are free on the outside past the ‘dark edge’

Question 7

Analyse ‘slanted universe’

Answer 7

Represents the inequality in the world
Divide between rich and poor

Question 8

Analyse ‘bright, thin walls of faith’

Answer 8

Hopeful, optimistic and beautiful imagery
The poem ends with a sense of hope

Question 9

Context

Answer 9

Set in the slums of Mumbai where there is widespread poverty
Modern poet - poem was written in 1994
Born in Pakistan and often explored the issues in Asia