Blessing LO: to analyse the poem ‘Blessing’ by Imtiaz Dharker Blessing Starter Research race ! Find out as much as you can about the horrible things that can happen to you if: (a) you don’t have any water (b) you don’t have access to clean water Blessing Discuss the title – what are some synonyms for ‘Blessing’ ? Read the poem. • What is the ‘blessing’ of the title ? • What imagery reinforce the idea of ‘blessing’ ? What happens in the poem ? What is its narrative ? Its theme ? Blessing Style ‘Style’ refers to the words used in the poem, and how these words contribute to its meaning or effect. Find the following: • metaphor • simile • imagery Blessing Style ‘Style’ refers to the words used in the poem, and how these words contribute to its meaning or effect. In poetry (and literature in general) the writer might want to break normal grammar rules to achieve a particular effect. ● Where does this happen in ‘Blessing’ ? (hint - look at the punctuation) ● What effect is Dharker trying to achieve ? Blessing Syntax Syntax refers to how a sentence is structured – the way main and subordinate clauses are organised. • What do you notice about the length of the sentences ? • Identify the main and subordinate clauses for each sentence. • How does sentence length correspond to what is happening in the poem ? The syntax of ‘Blessing’ emphasises the … For example, [at the beginning] … [at the end] ... . We can see here that … [effect and relation to poem’s overall effect]. Blessing Couplet - small number of lines emphasises the deficiency of water such a small amount. - A gift from God Good, lucky. For many, water isn’t a concern. Highlights how precious it is - we take it for granted. The skin cracks like a pod. There never is enough water. Imperative - trying to get the reader to empathise- not something we experience. Imagine the drip of it, the small splash, echo in a tin mug, Poverty the voice of a kindly god. Simile - skin of dehydrated humans implies pain. Water = important. Evokes poverty and hardship. Pod = seed - ironic. A pod cracks when germinating. No growth or regeneration happening here. Tiny amount. Emphasises its scarcity. Plosives and sibilance create onomatopoeic quality - vivid -relishing it. Means it is, and usually is, empty. No water! Personification - comparison to a god emphasises how much they value / revere water. Enjambment - reflects the fast flow of the water and the fast pace of people frantically trying to collect it. Caesuras - disrupts rhythm - like this pipe disrupts a normal day. Not a normal event! Sibilance - mimics the sound of the rushing water. Sometimes, the sudden rush Can mean luck or wealth. Here it means both. Metaphor - Water - silver =colour. Also, precious metal water = precious. A miracle! Synecdoche Roar - zoomorphism. Excitement. Desperation could lead to aggression Religious imagery People assembled for religious worship. - What they have been praying for. - Revere water like it is a god.Synecdoche - people are reduced to just their hands - whole being is focused on collecting water. of fortune. The municipal pipe bursts, silver crashes to the ground and the flow has found Not grammatically correct reinforces how sudden it is - too much in a rush to get to the water. Belongs to the town/city Personification - water has taken on a life of its own - gives life! a roar of tongues. From the huts, Reinforces their poverty a congregation: every man woman child for streets around butts in, with pots, brass, copper, aluminium, plastic buckets, frantic hands, Frantic: panic, excited hurried Listing - emphasises how everyone is involved. Asyndetic listing with no punctuation- suggests the fast pace and frenzy. Auditory imagery - plosives (p,d) and consonance (c,t) sound of the containers clanging/clanking as they rush. Those who don’t have buckets - using whatever they can to collect the precious water. Connotes innocence, vitality. Poverty - Exposure - lack of protectionvulnerable. Joy. Reminder to the reader - pain and joy are close in this poem. Light symbolises hope however, flashing suggests that it is short lived / won’t last forever. Only comes when there is water. and naked children screaming in the liquid sun, their highlights polished to perfection, flashing light, Washed and cleansed by the water (religious as the blessing sings imagery - baptism rebirth) over their small bones. Water = blessing = personification the act of the ‘kindly god’. Sibilance - water and song-like. The water is like music to their ears. Hymn - prayer (emphasises it as a religious blessing/miracle) Both water and the sun are life giving. Sun symbolises hope - like the sun rising - water gives them the hope that they can survive another day. Sun shining through the water oxymoron makes it seem as if the water is so powerful it can liquify the sun = the amount of reverence they have for it. Synecdoche? A reminder of their poverty and their vulnerability - This burst pipe is a brief reprieve where they’ve gotten what they need. Do they have enough to grow and flourish in this climate? Skeleton = death. They might not survive.
