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Blessing

Blessing. Imtiaz Dharker. Key Teaching Points: To read the poem To consider how the poem presents people and their way of life. Key Terms: Metaphor Image . Learning Intentions. The Poet.

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Blessing

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  1. Blessing Imtiaz Dharker

  2. Key Teaching Points: To read the poem To consider how the poem presents people and their way of life Key Terms: Metaphor Image Learning Intentions

  3. The Poet • Imtiaz Dharker was born in Lahore in 1954, grew up in Britain and now lives in India. She grew up in a Muslim family in Glasgow. She moved to Bombay where she married a Hindu, Anil Dharker, former editor of Debonair and well-known columnist. She says that she enjoys the transition from one culture and country to another. She described Bombay as a “city held up with string and sellotape.” She published a book of poems called ‘Postcards from God’. She describes this as being about “a very confused, human, god.”

  4. Blessing • What can the word ‘Blessing’ mean? • A gift from God AND a prayer for a special occasion. • Now read the poem. • What ‘blessing’ is being referred to? • The central metaphor of the poem is the idea of water as a gift from God. • Look at stanzas 1 & 2 – what situation is described? • Look at stanzas 3 & 4 – what events are being described?

  5. There are a number of different possible reactions to the scenario presented in this poem. The poet does not express any opinion directly but presents us with a series of images. • Think about the possible reactions. The reader could: • Be angry about the water shortage • Pity the people who have to live without a constant water supply • Blame these people for their own poverty • Share their excitement when the pipe bursts • See their excitement as pathetic • See life as fragile and easily damaged • See life as beautiful • Think their suffering is intense.

  6. Blessing: the images

  7. What impact might each image have on the reader? • A few hints: • ‘Pod’ – a disturbing image • ‘Drip/ kindly god’ – a contradiction? (if the god is kindly why only a drip? • ‘Highlights polished’ – seems inanimate • ‘small bones’ – weak? Is beauty fragile?

  8. Language and Structure Note: • The use of short and long sentences. Where do they occur and why? • The list of objects – what sort are they? • The unequal stanza lengths – why might this be? • The way the poem addresses the reader directly with the word “Imagine . . ..”. • What is the effect of these features?

  9. Comparing Poems for the Exam For Homework: • Make comparisons with ‘Island Man’ and ‘Two Scavengers’ in terms of: • How people are presented • The writers’ attitude to the people they are writing about • The most significant features of the ways the poems are written.

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