Blessing

Imtiaz Dharker
for IGCSE English Literature: Poetry Anthology

An introduction to this text

and to
the examination comparison task
 • Imtiaz Dharker was born in Pakistan and grew up
Imtiaz Dharker in Glasgow, after her family moved to Scotland
1954 - present when she was one year old.
• When she married a Hindu man, her Muslim family
disowned her. Her second husband is Welsh.
• She has described herself as a “Scottish Muslim
Calvinist (a type of Protestant Christian) who was
adopted by India and married into Wales.”
• In addition to being a poet, she is also an artist
who has illustrated all of her own books of poems.
• Dharker is also a documentary filmmaker and has
made over a hundred films centering on education,
reproductive health and shelter for women and
children.
• She won the Queen’s Gold Medal in 2014 for her
poetry.
• The main themes of Dharker's poetry include
home, freedom, journeys, geographical and
cultural displacement, communal conflict and
gender politics.
Which are the poems on the
themes of suffering, poverty,
hope, and religion?
 Context
• Dharker lived in Mumbai with her first husband, and “Blessing”
seems to be set in a place similar to the poor slums that surround
that city, where most people do not have access to clean water.

• Despite not following any one religion, Dharker has said that she
has a strong belief in God and respect for religious feelings.
 “Blessing”
The skin cracks like a pod.
There never is enough water. Genre:
Free verse
Narrative style
Imagine the drip of it,
the small splash, echo Audience:
in a tin mug, Everyone
the voice of a kindly god.
Subject:
Sometimes, the sudden rush A burst water pipe provides an unexpected
of fortune. The municipal pipe bursts, rush of water to thirsty people in India
silver crashes to the ground
and the flow has found Purpose:
a roar of tongues. From the huts, Water is the “blessing” of the title; figurative
a congregation: every man woman language communicates the importance of
child for streets around water as a life force, especially in a poor, hot
butts in, with pots, country.
brass, copper, aluminium,
plastic buckets, Implied social critique – there is actually plenty
frantic hands, of water in the pipe that crosses their slum, but
the people who live there are deprived of
access by their municipality; they naively
and naked children interpret an accident as a divine gift, though
screaming in the liquid sun, this “blessing” ultimately does nothing to help
their highlights polished to perfection, them permanently.
flashing light,
as the blessing sings
over their small bones.
 The
subject matter clarified
stanza by stanza
 The Title
“Blessing”
= God’s favour and protection but also a
prayer asking for that favour and protection

Intentionally ambiguous; lack of article

makes the concept more general – not a
specific blessing or even perhaps a single
blessing.
 Stanza 1: Setting a stark scene

The skin cracks like a pod.

There never is enough water.

Subject – the poem starts with a strong, visceral image of skin so dry
that it breaks, making a comparison between the human body and
plant life (“pod”) – neither of which can live without water. “The” skin
– whose skin? We don’t yet know.
Voice – The reader does not yet know who is speaking or who is being
addressed.
Language – “There never is” vs “There is never”. Which one sounds
more ordinary? Which one sounds more poetic?
 Stanza 1: Setting a stark scene

The skin cracks like a pod.

There never is enough water.

Mood – The lines are statements, abrupt and factual, creating a mood
of stark simplicity around a tragic situation that cannot be denied or
avoided.
Structure – The opening stanza is a couplet, made up of two short
end-stopped sentences, with no rhyme or apparent meter.
Brevity of the stanza: lack of the flow of words parallels the lack of
water flow.
Subject – First stanza clashes with the title
 Stanza 2: Evocation of water
Imagine the drip of it,
the small splash, echo
in a tin mug,
the voice of a kindly god.

Subject – the sound of water is evoked through a variety of

techniques: sensory description, sibilance (s/s), onomatopoeia (drip,
echo), plosive sounds (d,t,ch,t,g,k), and metaphor

Voice – the narrator addresses the reader directly with a command:

“Imagine”; we as readers are now involved, helping create the effect
of the poem

Structure – longer stanza with instance of enjambement; the language

is starting to flow, like the water (at least in our imagination)
 Stanza 2: Evocation of water
Imagine the drip of it,
the small splash, echo
in a tin mug,
the voice of a kindly god.

Language – the splash is only “small” – still a sense of deprivation

(”there never is enough”)

“tin” = cheap metal, hints at poverty;

”kindly” – homey, comforting adjective – not immediately “god-like”

Metaphor: sound of water compared to voice of “a god” – not “the” and

lower-case “g” – reference to a polytheistic local religion?
 Stanza 3: Water!
Sometimes, the sudden rush
of fortune. The municipal pipe bursts,
silver crashes to the ground
and the flow has found
a roar of tongues. From the huts,
a roar of tongues. From the huts,
a congregation: every man woman
child for streets around
butts in, with pots,
brass, copper, aluminium,
plastic buckets,
frantic hands,

Subject – a pipe bursts by accident and the slum-dwellers rush out to

collect the unexpected supply water with whatever container they have
Structure – longest stanza used to actually describe the blessing, and
enjambed lines – flow of words parallels the flow of water
 Stanza 3a: Water!
Sometimes, the sudden rush
of fortune. The municipal pipe bursts,
silver crashes to the ground

Sibilance – repetition of “s” sounds evokes the sound of flowing water

Word Choice – “Sometimes” – not a specific instance being narrated,
but reader prodded to ”imagine” this event
“fortune” and “silver” – highlight the value of the water, as a precious
metal, as a kind of currency (compare to “tin” in first stanza)
“municipal” - means “belonging to the city”, revealing that there is
actually plenty of water, but it is being kept from the people by the
authorities
Form – caesura in second line emphasises suddenness of the pipe
bursting.
Subject – The “blessing” is really an accident, result of shoddy pipes?
 Stanza 3b: Water!
and the flow has found
a roar of tongues. From the huts,
a roar of tongues. From the huts,
a congregation:

Subject – news about the water spreads from person to person

Form – interlocking pattern of repetition with caesurae: “roar of
tongues” ”From the huts” as word spreads that the water is flowing
Sounds – alliteration (“f”/”f” and “t”/”ts”); series of monosyllabic
words ending in a long word as the people join together.
Word choice – “roar” – sound imagery, also implication of ferocity?
The ambiguity of “tongues” to refer to both the shouts of the people
and the tongues they will use to taste the water. Perhaps an echo of
the Biblical miracle when the apostles “speak in tongues”?
Personification of the water – “the flow has found” casts the water as
actively seeking out the people
 Stanza 3c: Water!
a congregation: every man woman
child for streets around
butts in, with pots,
brass, copper, aluminium,
plastic buckets,
frantic hands,

Subject – the slum-dwellers rush to gather every pot and collect the
water
Words – ambiguity of “butt” which can mean “to intrude” but also a
large barrel to collect rainwater (“water butt”); list of materials/mostly
metals: “brass, copper, aluminium, plastic”  cf to “silver” and “tin” of
previous stanzas
”congregation” = “a group of people assembled for religious worship”,
highlighting the religious metaphor of this “blessing”
Form – asyndeton between “man woman/child” and in the list that
follows signals the rush of people as they scramble to get water
 Stanza 3d: Water!
a congregation: every man woman
child for streets around
butts in, with pots,
brass, copper, aluminium,
plastic buckets,
frantic hands,

Imagery - “frantic hands” is synechdoche (when a part stands in for

the whole), as it is the people who are frantic, not just their hands

Structure: the caesura with a colon contrasts the idea of a

”congregation” (connotation as solemn, in prayer) with image of a
frenzied tumult of people scrambling to collect water
 Juxtaposition creates a moment of irony
 Stanza 4: Children’s reactions
and naked children
screaming in the liquid sun,
their highlights polished to perfection,
flashing light,
as the blessing sings
over their small bones.

Subject – the children play in the flowing water

Mood – hopeful, finding a moment of joy in otherwise impoverished
lives, but still aware of their long-term deprivation
Words – “naked children” creates a familiar image of poor children in
slums – “naked” implies utter deprivation, not even having clothes.
Ambiguity of “screaming” – are they screaming for joy or in pain?
Metaphor: water compared to “liquid sun” – warmth, light, the source
of all life (along with water!)
 Stanza 4: Children’s reactions
and naked children
screaming in the liquid sun,
their highlights polished to perfection,
flashing light,
as the blessing sings
over their small bones.

Images of vulnerability: “highlights” = sharp contours of thin bodies

and “small bones”  but also seen as beautiful (“polished to
perfection”)
Word choice: first appearance of “blessing” since the title – connects
this moment back to overarching metaphor of a divine gift
Light imagery – “liquid sun”, “highlights”, “flashing light”
Personification: the water “sings” – like a prayer or a child;
emphasises that the water is beautiful like a song
Form, Structure, Language:
 Voice, Tone and Mood
Voice
Objective, removed; an educated observer outside the circumstances
depicted

Tone
Empathetic, concerned

Mood
Sympathy for the poor and thirsty, concern for their plight, gentle irony
over their circumstances, which turn an accidental breakage in a corrupt
municipal water system into a miracle, a blessed gift ”from a kindly god”.
 Word choice and sound effects
Metaphors: Water is compared to a god, to money, to a precious
metal and to the sun
Religious language: “god”, “congregation”, “blessing”
Images of vulnerability: “skin cracks”, “naked children”, “small
bones”

Onomatopoeia: “cracks”, “drip”, “splash”, “crash”

Plosives: “pipes burst”, “butts”, ”pots”, “brass”, “plastic buckets”
Sibilance: “small splash”, “sudden rush”, “blessing sings”
 Structure and form
Blessing is free verse, with no regular rhyme or meter.

Four stanzas, lengthening as the water begins to flow, then slightly

shorter last stanza. The third stanza is the longest, corresponding to
the bursting of the pipe and the flow of water beginning.

The poem begins with short end-stopped lines, but loosens and flows
with enjambed lines and stanzas over the course of the poem, as the
water flows.