Tissue by Imtiaz Dharker Learning Objective To analyse

Tissue by Imtiaz Dharker

Learning Objective • To analyse the poem ‘Tissue’ in detail. Success Criteria • To understand the basic structure and form of the poem. • To relate the context and ideas behind the poem. • To recognise key language features used by the poet.

Starter Think back over the last 24 hours of your life. How many times have you used paper in that time? What for?

Let’s Get Started! The poem we are studying today is called ‘Tissue’. What do you think the poem might be about? What connotations does the word ‘tissue’ have? Discuss your ideas with a partner. Definition tissue Noun 1. The types of material of which animals, plants or humans are made, consisting of specialised cells and their products. 2. Tissue paper.

Imtiaz Dharker, born in 1954, is a contemporary poet who was born in Pakistan and moved to Glasgow before the age of one. In addition to her poetry, Dharker is also a documentary maker and artist. She identifies herself as a ‘Scottish Muslim Calvinist’, showing her mixed cultural experiences and beliefs. Her multi-cultural background has informed much of her work and she explores themes such as identity, home and searching for meaning. Take Notes Details of the author’s life are relevant to the context. Key Terms Muslim – a follower of the religion of Islam Calvinist – a follower of a type of Protestant Christianity

‘Tissue’ Read the poem and try to figure out what is going on. What is the poet talking about? How does the poem link to the definitions we looked at in our starter activity? Discuss your ideas with the class. This poem explores both the strength and fragility of human life through the extended metaphor of tissue paper. Within the poem, the poet considers the many different uses of paper, demonstrating the impact they can have and their integral links to human life: paper can change things and record memories; people’s lives are mapped by paper; there are key links to journeys, money and homes. The poem ends with a direct link to ‘living tissue’ to imply the importance of human life, but also the vulnerability of it; human life can outlive buildings and paper, but there is also the suggestion that, like these items, human life too cannot last forever.

Structure Are there any stanzas? What does the regular rhythm represent? Are there any irregularities? What type of rhyme scheme is present? How does this affect the poem as a whole? The poem has ten stanzas that do not have a regular rhyme and have irregular line lengths. This could symbolise the fragility of the tissue paper and the unpredictability of life. The stanzas are all four lines long. However, the final stanza is one single line that highlights the links between tissue paper and human skin and their significance. It also emphasises the clear ending of the poem and might show there is an end to all things, including paper and human life in old age.

Structure Is there punctuation at the end of every line? What is the technique in which lines of a poem continue on to the next line or stanza? What is the effect of this technique within the poem? Does it add to the imagery of the poem? Enjambment is used from one line to the next and from one stanza to the next, perhaps mimicking the flow of paper and also the ongoing nature of human life, shown also through the fact that the line lengths vary throughout. Significantly, the line lengths noticeably decrease towards the end of the poem, symbolising human life and its decline.

Language Reread the poem. Are there any words you are unfamiliar with or need help understanding? Look these up in the dictionary.

Language Look through the poem for interesting examples of language. Why does the poet make the word and phrase choices that she does? Make comments on the following uses of language: ‘Paper that lets the light shine through’ ‘Paper thinned by age or touching’ ‘the kind you find in well-used books’ ‘pages smoothed and stroked’ ‘Maps too’ ‘might fly our lives like paper kites’ ‘trace a grand design’ ‘with living tissue, raise a structure’ ‘turned into your skin’

Link Your Learning! Use your learning and the IEEL analysis structure to create poetry analysis paper chains! Example: Identify The poet uses religious imagery to explore the significance of tissue paper with the phrase ‘Paper that lets the light in’. Explain This suggests that the paper is physically fragile. Explore However, the use of the word ‘light’ has connotations of enlightenment and religious empowerment. Link This is also demonstrated later in the poem when the poet refers to the ‘Koran’ as a place that knowledge is gained from.

Plenary Stretch your knowledge with one of the following tasks: Draw a mind map of the ways that you use paper in your everyday life. How is this use strong? In what way is it fragile? Highlight the similar descriptions in the poem. Find three examples of language use in the poem. These could be repetition, simile or metaphor. Write about how and why each of these language features are effective. What poems from the anthology could this poem be compared to? Choose one and think about how the poems are similar/different. What consistent language elements do you see here? Attempt to write a comparison between the two poems.

Context and Ideas We have already mentioned that the poem is an extended metaphor comparing tissue paper and life. The poem deals with different themes and ideas. What themes do you see in the poem? strength vs fragility home power passage of time What other themes and issues can you see in the poem? What poems in the collection might it be compared to?