HAIDER: YOU DO A GOOD JOB OF ANALYZING PASSAGES TO SHOW THE
IDENTITY OF THE SPEAKER AND THE RELIGIOUS IMAGERY AND DICTION OF THE
POEM. FOR REVISION, MAKE SURE NOT JUST TO IDENTIFY THESE ELEMENTS BUT
TO SHOW HOW THEY WORK IN RELATION TO EACH OTHER AND ESPECIALLY
HOW THEY RELATE TO YOUR THESIS. HOW EXACTLY DO THE WORDS express[es]
an appreciation and adoration for Islam in all its grandeur and complexity? HAVE YOU
SHOWN THIS IN YOUR ESSAY? I COULD HAVE AN ESSAY W/ RELIGIOUS DICTION
AND IMAGERY AND THE SAME SPEAKER AND HAVE A POEM ABOUT HOW
RELIGION STINKS, TRUE? CONNECT THE DOTS TO SUPPORT HOW THIS IS NOT
THAT POEM.
Haider Yousif
AP Honors English IV
January 22, 2012
Formalist Criticism
GIVE YOURSELF A MORE GENERAL INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH BEFORE
JUMPING INTO SPECIFICS.
Within reading the first three lines of Agha Shahid Ali’s poem, The Prayer Rug, the
reader is introduced to the central concept BE SPECIFIC HERE. WHAT IS THE CENTRAL
THEME/PURPOSE OF THE POEM? of the poem: “Those intervals / between the day’s / five
calls to prayer” (1-3) refers to the obligatory five prayers that every Muslim is expected to
perform daily. These lines specifically reference “those intervals” between each prayer (1). The
first interval consists of women preparing food. This no doubt alludes to the very traditional role
of women in Muslim societies whereas women are the home keepers. The reference to “rosaries
of ginger” (7) is a play on words with both a figurative and literal meaning. Literally, the speaker
refers to “rosaries of ginger” (7) as in the reed-like plant, native to the East Indies and commonly
used as a spice in Mediterranean cuisine. Figuratively, the word “rosaries” is an allusion to
rosary or prayer beads used by devoted worshippers when in meditation or prayer (2). Thus, this
allusion brings the reader back to the religious subject matter of the poem.
The fourth stanza begins with the next interval:
In those intervals this rug
part of Grandma’s dowry
folded
so the Devil’s shadow
would not desecrate
Mecca. (10-15)
The poem shifts its focus onto a prayer rug given to the speaker’s grandmother who we can
assume is a Muslim and probably of North African, Mediterranean, or South Asian descent,
being that the speaker mentions a prayer rug as part of her dowry. Dowries themselves in many
Islamic countries are customary and here we understand that the speaker’s grandmother owns
this particular prayer rug given to her as part of her dowry. We are also given a vague reference
to “Mecca,” a Saudi Arabian city home to the Kaaba, the holiest site in the Islamic religion
constructed by the prophets Abraham and Ishmael (15). It is not quite clear yet as to how Mecca
relates to the poem but we will learn its significance later on.
The following interval consists of “…the sunset / call to prayer” whereas servants too
submit themselves to prayer and children in the summer want the prayers to end. This interval
illustrates the duality of prayer. Muslims, free or otherwise, are called upon to worship, thus the
“Servants” too must pray (19). As for the children they dislike praying; to them it is a chore.
Prayer can be an inconvenience to children when all they want to do is have fun. This interval
expresses two perspectives on prayer: one as an obligation—even for slaves, the second as
bothersome task. Thus the duality of prayer is bitter-sweet, it can simultaneously feel like a chore
while also being a beacon of hope and an obligation to worshippers. WHAT DOES THIS
DUALITY TELL ABOUT THE OVERALL MEANING OF THE POEM?
Finally, the poem brings the reader’s attention back to Mecca where women are bowing
in prayer their “…foreheads touching Abraham’s silk stone of sacrifice” (27). The speaker
references the “black stone descended / from Heaven (28-29). The black stone is thought to have
descended from heaven in the care of angels. It was once a stone considered whiter than milk and
is now black for having absorbed the sins of the sons of Adam. Muslim pilgrims every year
perform a ritual known as Hajj by circumnavigating the Kaaba and the black stone.
This year my grandmother
also a pilgrim
in Mecca
she weeps
as the stone is unveiled. (31-34)
The speaker’s grandmother is now a pilgrim in Mecca performing Hajj. It can be understood that
the speaker’s grandmother is passionate about religion and God, owing to the fact that she has
made the long journey to Mecca and weeps / as the stone is unveiled” (33-34). Her tears are tears
of sorrow and happiness as her life has brought her to this pivotal moment. All her years as a
woman, as a mother, a grandmother, and as a Muslim are overwhelming her emotions, thus “she
weeps holding on / to the pillars” (35-36).
The Prayer Rug is a poem that expresses an appreciation and adoration for Islam in all its
grandeur and complexity.
THESIS?
Work Cited
Ali, Agha Shahid. "The Prayer Rug." PoetryOutLoud.org. Poetry Foundation and
the National Endowment for the Arts, 2011. Web. 26 Jan 2012.
<http://www.poetryoutloud.org/poem/172049 >.