Living Space by Imtiaz Dharker (WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Literature)

Revision Note

What is the poem about?  

Published in 1997, ‘Living Space’ was written by the Pakistan-born British poet Imitaz Dharker. Imitiaz has suggested that the poem describes the slums of Mumbai in India, though this is not directly stated in the poem. As the title suggests, the poem describes someone’s living space, or home. The poem conveys the fragility of these homes but more importantly, it celebrates them as a testament to human resilience.

Language, structure and form revision 

What happens in the poem?

Language: 

Form: 

Structure: 

Stanza One

  • The speaker describes a makeshift structure. They describe the space from the perspective of someone scanning the space. The speaker depicts a makeshift building, barely held together with nails, where nothing is straight and there is hardly any room 

Stanza Two

  • The speaker explains that in this structure, someone has managed to fit a space to live in

Stanza Three

  • The speaker focuses on a basket of eggs in a wire basket, hanging precariously next to a slanting edge. The description of them as curved, white and thin highlights their beauty and fragility. They are motifs of life and faith, symbolising human hope and resilience in adverse conditions

Poems for comparison:

  • London’ by William Blake: inequality, urban life, human suffering

  • ‘Ozymandias’ by Percy Bysse Shelley: human structures, strength and fragility

  • ‘Cozy Apologia’ by Rita Dove: home, resilience, adversity

Key words 

Context: 

Marginalised communities 

Slums of Mumbai

Social inequality

Human spirit 

Themes: 

Inequality 

Resilience 

Faith 

Poem analysis 

'Living Space' by Imtiaz Dharker

There are just not enough
straight lines. That
is the problem.
Nothing is flat
or parallel. Beams
balance crookedly on supports
thrust off the vertical.
Nails clutch at open seams.
The whole structure leans dangerously
towards the miraculous.

Into this rough frame,
someone has squeezed
a living space

and even dared to place
these eggs in a wire basket,
fragile curves of white
hung out over the dark edge
of a slanted universe,
gathering the light
into themselves,
as if they were
the bright, thin walls of faith

Language

  • “Living space” refers to someone’s home, but this description lacks the comfort and softness that the notion of a home evokes; the “living space” is both a place to live and a place that is alive  

  • The present tense renders a series of vivid, cinematic images of the scene

  • The use of plosive alliteration with enjambment in “Beams”/”balance” emphasises the precariousness of the structure

  • The adjective “miraculous” has religious connotations, juxtaposed with the previous imagery of instability — a sense of awe at the resourcefulness of the city’s inhabitants is highlighted

  • Verbs are used to convey the precariousness of the structure: “leans”, “thrust”, “clutch”

  • The imagery of “eggs in a wire basket” could suggest the delicate nature of human life

  • Religious connotations of “gathering the light” and “thin walls of faith”

Structure

  • In the first stanza, mostly short statements are used. In contrast, stanza two and three consist of a single sentence, creating a more fluid rhythm which alters the tone

  • Short sentences reflect the lack of space and physical awkwardness 

  • Enjambment reflects the idea of things spilling over

  • The first stanza focuses on describing the physical while the ending is more abstract

Form

  • There is no regular rhyme scheme but there are rhymes in (“Beams”, “seems”, “space”, ”place”, “white” light”. In this way, the rhymes reflect the irregularity of the space, providing just enough to hold the poem together phonologically, in the same way that the nails only just hold the structure together

Overview of themes 

Themes 

Key quotations 

Language, form and structure 

Inequality 


 “Nothing is flat
or parallel”

      

     

“hung out over the dark edge
of a slanted universe”


The juxtaposition of “flat” and “parallel” highlights the absence of order or symmetry. The subtext of “or parallel” suggests that while some live in safety and spaciousness, others exist in a parallel universe


“hung out” conveys a vulnerability as if on the brink of something ominous, further highlighted by the phrase “dark edge”. The word “universe”, typically associated with vastness, is juxtaposed with the cramped living conditions of the inhabitants. “slanted universe” may reflect inequality

Resilience 

“Beams

balance crookedly on supports

thrust off the vertical.
Nails clutch at open seams”






“Into this rough frame,
someone has squeezed
a living space”

“and even dared to place
these eggs in a wire basket”

The verbs “thrust” and “clutch” are linked to animate subjects, suggesting human effort and tenacity in creating a living space in a hostile environment. 

“Nails clutch at open seams” is a mixed metaphor indicating both the inhabitants' vulnerability and how they grasp for opportunities to elevate their social status


Overcrowding is suggested through the “rough frame”, yet the speaker shows their admiration. By isolating the three short lines as a separate stanza, in contrast to the other two, the speaker emphasises the cramped conditions


The use of the word “dared” implies the inhabitants refuse to be limited by their current conditions

Faith


“The whole structure leans dangerously

towards the miraculous”

“these eggs in a wire basket,
fragile curves of white”

“gathering the light
into themselves”

“as if they were
the bright, thin walls of faith”

The persistence of the structure appears miraculous; however, the word “miraculous” also alludes to religion and faith. Despite the harsh reality of life for some, humans manage to endure

The eggs may symbolise life and its fragility; they are hanging precariously in their own structure, just as the inhabitant’s life hangs precariously in their cramped living space. Eggs also symbolise new life, which could be linked to optimism 

Through personification, the eggs are presented as actively “gathering” light unto “themselves”. The rhyming words “white” and “light” connote to religion, suggesting that the people’s faith serves as a source of resilience 


The speaker uses a simile between the eggs and the walls of faith. Just as delicate eggs symbolise the potential for life, faith, despite being fragile, also offers strength and hope

Historical and literary context 

  • Imtiaz Dharker was born in Pakistan in 1954 before moving to Scotland as a child 

  • She is a poet, documentary filmmaker and artist who spends her time between the UK and India

  • She has won a number of awards for her poetry including the Queen’s Gold Medal

  • She describes herself as a “Scottish Muslim Calvinist”

  • Her mixed heritage has greatly influenced her work, which includes the themes of home, cultural displacement, faith, conflict, freedom and gender politics

  • ‘Living Space’ was published in 1997, in a collection called Postcards from god:

    • Dharker has said that ‘Living Space’ is about the slums of Mumbai where an estimated 41% of the city’s population live in informal settlements

    • The slums in Mumbai are among the largest in the world and people living in them face overcrowding and a lack of sanitisation

    • Despite the many challenges, there is often a strong community spirit in the slums, as well as opportunities to work and raise families 

Comparing poems

Look at this exam-style question about ‘Living Space’ 

How does Imitaz Dharker present people in the poem ‘Living Space’?

Choose one other poem from the anthology in which the poet also writes about people. Compare the way the poet presents people in your chosen poem with the way Imtiaz Dharker presents them in ‘Living Space’. 

In your answer you should: 

  • compare the content and structure of the poems — what they are about and how they are organised 

  • compare how the writers create effects, using appropriate terminology where relevant 

  • compare the contexts of the poems, and how these may have influenced the ideas in them

How you could approach this question: 

Thesis/Essay introduction: ​​Both poems explore the impact of social inequality and its impact on people. While ‘Living Space’ conveys an optimistic view of resilience through the power of faith, hope and human spirit, ‘London’ presents a pessimistic portrayal of misery and inescapable oppression. Dharker uses vivid visual motifs to symbolise the fragility and strength of slum inhabitants, whereas Blake captures the suffering of different people through their cries, sighs and curses. Each of the poets uses structure to reflect the themes of their poems, but their approaches are very different.

Similarities

Differences

Both poets explore the impact of social inequality and focus on the injustices and hardships faced by marginalised individuals within their respective societies

Despite the challenging conditions, Dharker’s ‘Living Space’ is optimistic in its presentation of the power of faith, hope and human spirit. By contrast, Blake’s ‘London’ is a pessimistic poem depicting misery with no apparent means of escape

Both poets use powerful imagery to portray the harsh realities of social inequality and the impact it has on human lives. The imagery compels the reader to consider the injustices within societal structures

Dharker presents a highly visual scene using physical structures as motifs for the inhabitants’ fragility and strength. Blake, meanwhile, describes the sounds of different people to signify their suffering 

Both poets use structure to reflect their themes. Line breaks and stanza breaks are used to create pauses and shifts in tone, allowing for a deeper contemplation of the societal issues depicted in the poems

‘London’ uses a four quatrain structure with a  regular rhyme scheme to reflect the inescapable oppression. In contrast, ‘Living Space’ uses a free verse form mirroring the precarious lives of the slum inhabitants

Thesis/Essay introduction: Both poets depict people’s resilience in the face of adversity; in ‘Living Space’, the challenge comes from the socio-economic situation, but in ‘Cozy Apologia’, it is the extreme weather. In Dharker’s poem, she presents a living space made against formidable odds; in Dove’s poem, the couple’s love for each other prepares them to weather any storm. 

Similarities

Differences

Both poets use the backdrop of external adversity to convey the resilience and strength of their respective subjects. Both highlight the human capacity to find solace and perseverance in the face of adversity 

While Dharker’s poem illustrates the challenges faced by inhabitants in makeshift dwellings amidst social inequality, Dove’s poem explores the resilience of a couple facing  an incoming hurricane

Both poets depict a domestic scene and the sanctuary it offers. Dharker’s poem explores the humble home of individuals in makeshift spaces and similarly, Dove’s poem unfolds within a couple’s home while they await the storm 

In ‘Living Space’, the precarious structure of the building, barely held together, reflects the poverty of its inhabitants. Conversely, in ‘Cozy Apologia’, the couple have possessions that signify their affluence and comfort, which is juxtaposed with the stark conditions in Dharker’s poem

Predicted exam questions to prepare for 

  • Compare the ways poets explore the theme of place in ‘Living Space’ and in one other poem from the anthology. 

  • Compare the ways poets present faith in ‘Living Space’ and in one other poem from the anthology. 

Examiner Tip

When writing your response, you should refer to writers’ techniques to explain how the meanings you infer are shaped and communicated by the poets. However, be sure to avoid “feature spotting”. In other words, if the poet has used alliteration, explain the effect of this device and what it contributes to the meaning and to your interpretation.

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