Poems from other cultures
‘Presents from my Aunts in Pakistan’
by Moniza Alvi
‘Not My Business’
by Niyi Osundare
Read through the poems a few times
Copy and complete these sentences
1.
The simile in the first stanza, “soft like clay” shows that …
2.
Osundare uses the metaphor “the belly of the waiting jeep”
because
3.
The verb “booted” in stanza two shows …
4.
The short sharp sound of “no query, no warning, no probe”
contrast to the rest of the poem because …
5.
In the first three stanzas, there are two sections to each
stanza. The second section is indented and …
6.
In the last stanza there is not a second/indented section
because …
7.
At first, the narrator’s attitude seems …
8.
By the end of the poem, the poet’s message is …
9.
The jeep is personified as … This is to …
1.
In this poem, Moniza Alvi thinks about her …….. different
cultures.
2.
She was born in … but left … She was raised in …
3.
Her aunts send her … They make her feel … for example,
she writes, “ …”.
4.
The language Alvi uses is very descriptive. In the first
stanza the colours … This shows …
5.
The clothes act as a metaphor for the two cultures. The
“Salwar Kameez” is representative of … Her English culture is ..
6.
The conflict between these two cultures is shown …
7.
Another type of conflict in the poem is …
8.
The poet feels … about her identity. This is shown when …
9.
The shape of the poem is … This might be because …
10.
Overall, the poet ends the poem with …
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‘Half-Caste’
by John Agard
‘Unrelated Incidents’
by Tom Leonard
Poems from other cultures
1.
The shape of the poem is remarkable – why did the poet
write it like this?
2.
What use does the poet make of the word “scruff”?
3.
What effect does hearing the news read in RP/BBC accent
have on the poet?
4.
Leonard doesn’t believe in elitist language – how is this
evident in the poem?
5.
What is Leonard saying about his culture?
1.
If this is a dialogue, which lines does each speaker say?
2.
What are the 3 images created in Stanza 2?
3.
What does the ‘half-caste” say in lines 31-50?
4.
Why does the poet use Picasso and Tchaikovsky?
5.
Which words and phrases make this poem especially West
Indian?
6.
What part does punctuation play in the poem? Why?
© 2004 www.teachit.co.uk
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Page 2 of 4
‘Search for my Tongue’
by Sujata Bhatt
Poems from other cultures
1.
Re-read the poem in your Anthology
2.
The writer uses an image to describe the second tone – what
is it? Why choose this object as a metaphor for her second
language?
3.
How does the poet feel about the two tongues?
4.
Why do you think the poet included both the original
Gujarati and its pronunciation?
5.
How does the poet create a feeling of rising panic in the final
8 lines?
6.
Although the poet no longer lives in India, which language
does she feel most comfortable with?
7.
Complete these sentence starters:





© 2004 www.teachit.co.uk
Having two ‘tongues’, the poet feels that …….
Fundamentally, one image links this whole poem …
Nevertheless, she feels most strongly for …
In the same situation, I think that I ….
At the end of the poem, I feel ….
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Poems from other cultures
Compare the poems ‘Love After Love’ and ‘This Room
“Love After Love” by D. Walcott
“This Room” by I. Dharker
Content
Positive
Language and
Imagery
Negative
Language and
Imagery
Shape/
Structure
Mood/Tone
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533573373
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