“Presents from My Aunts in Pakistan” is almost a perfect classroom poem. It comes from Moniza Alvi's first full-length collection, The Country At My Shoulder, which was published in
1993
– the collection was nominated for various prizes and was a New Generation promotion.
When the poem presents from my aunts in Pakistan?
This poem, ‘Presents from My Aunts in Pakistan', gives voice to a young person who has been living away from her homeland for quite some time. The voice reflects the way in which she has adjusted to her new home, yet still yearns for the place of her childhood.
Why was presents from my aunts in Pakistan written?
Alvi describes a few gifts that she receives from her aunts. This is a
metaphor for her Pakistani culture
, and she says how much it clashes with her English culture. The poem is about the poet's struggle to find which culture she truly belongs to; Pakistani or English.
What is the theme of presents from my aunts in Pakistan?
Presents From My Aunts in Pakistan focuses
on the feelings of a teenage girl who is caught between cultures, having a father from Pakistan and an English mother
. It is set in the past, the speaker recalling the time she received the gifts. The poem is an exploration of cultural identity.
When was an unknown girl written?
However, the ending is ambiguous, the speaker uncertain of who she is, wanting to retain that feeling she had when the design was fresh and an unknown girl and she were one. This poem first appeared in the book A Bowl of Warm Air,
1996
.
How does moniza Alvi feel about Pakistan?
She
feels the longing which she has for Pakistan
, her love for the fractured land, and the memories of her relatives which she cherishes the most but at the same time feels like an alien while wearing the costume. She is drawn to the exoticness of Pakistan but at the same time cherishes her western identity.
How does moniza Alvi presents her feelings about her culture?
Moniza Alvi is presenting her feelings of cultural identity in ‘
An Unknown Girl
‘. She has two very distinct cultures in her background and she is battling between them. She seems to have lost her affiliation with India because of her upbringing in the Western community.
Who wrote the poem an unknown girl?
An Unknown Girl' by
Moniza Alvi
is a forty-seven line poem written in free verse. The poem has very minimal punctuation thus creating the effect of a stream of consciousness narrative.
Where is the poem unknown girl set?
The setting for this poem is in
India in a local market,” In the evening bazaar
.” As the writer says bazaar, we know that the poem is set in a local market.
How is identity presented in Still I Rise?
How does ‘Still I Rise' show identity? Angelou's poem
presents a speaker who takes pride in her identity
. She is courageous enough to talk about her body and her inherent qualities. Besides, she is an embodiment of the indomitable courage of the black people.
How does moniza Alvi explore the idea of searching for identity in this poem?
She
compares her desire to hold on to the henna
, which represent the Indian aspect of her identity, and the Indian identity she discovered in the bazaar, to holding on desperately for your life on a fast train. This illustrates to the reader how desperately she wants to keep this experience and her newfound identity.
How does the poem an unknown girl explore the theme of cultural identity?
In ‘An Unknown Girl', Moniza Alvi uses the occasion of the speaker in the poem,
who's persumingly Alvi herself, getting her hands hennaed at an Indian Bazaar
to explore the feelings that she has about her cultural identity. She seems torn between her western upbringing and a longing for her native continent.
How does moniza Alvi's poem presents from my aunts in Pakistan explore the poet's struggle with personal identity?
Presents From My Aunts in Pakistan focuses on the feelings of a teenage girl who is caught between cultures, having a father from Pakistan and an English mother. … So essentially this poem is an
exploration of cultural identity within a series of memories
.
When was disabled written?
Owen wrote Disabled at Craiglockhart in
1917
where he would have observed men like the one in the poem.
What will stop when the poet see a blue shadow?
As one reads a book with great concentration out in the veranda, blue shadow falls over. The wind then changes the direction,
the steady hum of bees in the bushes nearby will
stop. So, when the poet see a blue Shadow the steady hum of bees in the bushes nearby will stop.
Is moniza Alvi Indian?
Moniza Alvi was
born in Pakistan
. Her family moved to Hertfordshire when she was a few months old. She worked as a secondary school teacher in London before publishing her poetry. Today, she works as a freelance writer and tutor at the Poetry School, which provides poetry development programmes for adults.
When was bright lights of Sarajevo written?
Tony Harrison and a Summary of ‘The Bright Lights of Sarajevo' ‘The Bright Lights of Sarajevo' is one of three war poems Harrison wrote from the front line of the Bosnian War, which raged for four years,
from 1992-96
.
Why Was Still I Rise written?
I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise. “Still I Rise” was written
to address the discrimination that Black people face due to systemic racism in the United States
.
What is the poem the bright lights of Sarajevo about?
“The Bright Lights of Sarajevo” observes the Sarajevans' determination to go on living despite their horrific circumstances, and particularly focuses on
the nighttime courtship of young men and women
. Love and life, this poem suggests, somehow manage to persist even in the most terrible times.
Which stanza describes beauty of the bird peacock?
“A blue shadow” again in the
second stanza
casts a wonderful image of the peacock in its rich color. The bird is presented as a feast to the eye. Further, the bird walks down with its “slender neck arched away” and the line ‘the very end of his tail' projects the glorious appearance of the bird.
What does Black Ocean represent in Still I Rise?
The poem uses the ocean to represent
the speaker's power inherent in her blackness and the inevitability of her rise above oppression
. Where this symbol appears in the poem: Line 10: “the certainty of tides” Lines 33-34: “I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, / Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.”
Who is the unknown girl in the unknown girl?
The ‘Unknown Girl' of the title is not only
the henna artist
, but the speaker herself, the Eastern aspect of her self that is perhaps suppressed by her half-Western identity. The date of the poem is clearly located in the year 1993.
How does the writer present her experience with the girl in an unknown girl?
Spelling is mostly accurate, with some slips which do not hinder meaning.
Where was disabled by Wilfred Owen published?
Wilfred Owen's powerful anti-war poem ‘Disabled' (1917) was republished in
the Guardian newspaper
on November 13 2008, as part of the newspaper's seven-day focus on aspects of the First World War.
Why was disabled written?
Wilfred Owen witnessed the horror of World War I and he was hurt on the battlefield. The poem was written whilst he was recovering in hospital, in Edinburgh. He was
diagnosed with shell shock
. It was in this hospital that he met one of the other famous war poets, Siegfried Sassoon.
