Seems to me that Dharker wrote this poem when she came to a big change in her life, and one which made her feel excited, not to say ecstatic.
I love the way she uses alliteration - all those "c" words, like crack, crash, clang, crowd, clouds to give the impression of noise and something breaking. It reminds me of Blessing - which also
uses onomatopoeia to create excitement and a mood of celebration.
I've found a few sites which analyse the poem in detail (maybe a bit more detail than I needed!)
I love the way she uses alliteration - all those "c" words, like crack, crash, clang, crowd, clouds to give the impression of noise and something breaking. It reminds me of Blessing - which also
uses onomatopoeia to create excitement and a mood of celebration.
I've found a few sites which analyse the poem in detail (maybe a bit more detail than I needed!)
19 comments:
A lovely poem that is so full of allusions that it is almost confusing in it's headiness
think this poem is saying that her life is falling apart (the room exploding, the 'severed' body parts) and that she is feeling like her world is being disassembled as she watches (from inside, as she sees it all from the inside while her hands are apart from her (see above) Her hands could also be her ex (he was her right-hand-man). The assent into the clouds could aslo be playing on Jesus Assention and the assention of the Dead (if she is Christian).
I think that the sentence: 'This room is breaking out of itself, cracking through its own walls in search of space, light, empty air' shows that these could be symbolising the poet's emotions that have been kept inside her for a long time, and now they just need to break out of her, and find some place dark and empty to go to.
i believe this poem is about a tornado ripping apart a womans home and life. they poet uses great language to express her feelings in the poem. when she says about the pots and pans i can imagine the sounds that they are making. (onomateopia). in conclusion i like the poem?
Aye I like this poem. It is fast paced and appears to be speaking about madness, when something unusual is happening, someone getting very excited about something or having hallucinations . I like the way the poem seems to flow over your tongue when you read it, an immpressive and effective use of words are to thank for that. And I disagree with you Benjamin :)
I think this is not a straightforward poem, but rather an extended metaphor to describe time when daily routine can be broken away from, left behind. The structure of the poem is irregular.The third stanza is considerably longer than the other four, and the final one being just one line that attracts attention to the idea of being 'outside, clapping' celebrating escape from the mundane.There is an original use of imagery here that makes the poem a fascinating expression of an idea. I think that it's a good poem :)
this poem is one huge metaphor. i think that it symbolises someone trying to break out of themselves and escape their thoughts(impossible!) but never achieved it until now. Also the furnitures could a metaphor for the different thoughts. As this happens she celebrates and is relieved because she is finally free. Overall this poem is good but has different interpretations.
I think that Dharker is trying to tell the reader that she has just come out of something that distressed her and almost compressed her happiness inside of her.Stanza one shows her new search for space and light that shows that she is now free to look for something new, something exciting. Dharker expresses the fact that it is a "celebration", her use of onomatopia, i.e. clang, crowd, crash, brings a happy, exciting sound to the ear that shows that fact.
This Room
By Imtiaz Dharker
I believe that this poem is in relation to a certain period of the author’s life when there is a lot happening. There is a mixture of feelings through out the poem as there are various ways which she portrays the place around her.
The poem seems to be very surrealist as the poet has used a lot of imagery to describe the room. This makes you envision a strange world; it is like a poetic response to ‘The Temptation of Jedi’ by Salvador Dali.
Imtiaz Dharker uses a lot of onomatopoeia which lets you visualize and hear the experience that she is going through. Words like ‘crash’, ‘bang’ and ‘clang’ are all monosyllabic which convey anger and a hectic atmosphere .
She also uses personification to bring the room to life. ‘This room is breaking out of itself,’ this implies that the room is changing.
This reminds you of the stages of life. When a person changes from a child to adolescent. At this point of your life you ‘break out’ of yourself. You suddenly discover an unfamiliar part of you. This connects to the way she describes the room as ‘in search of space, light, empty air.’ , it is similar to the way a teenager starts to discover about adult life.
As well as that, this poem relates to celebrations. The third stanza contains a sense of movement and festivity, even though the feeling of happiness is subtly expressed. The busy atmosphere is everywhere. ‘This is the time and place to be alive’. You can see and smell’ the crowd of garlic, onions, and spices’. You can hear the ‘Pots and pans bang together in celebration,’.
The feeling of joy is overwhelming, however, even though her ‘hands are outside, clapping.’ It seems to be an unconscious action. The poet seems to be oblivious of her presence to the ‘excitement’ as she is ‘wondering where she’s left her feet, and why’. It gives the reader an impression that she does not know where she is, as though she is lost in a world which she is suppose to fit in.
The poem gives me an image of a room which is symbolised by a human being who starts breaking down(the poet uses metaphor between the room and the human.The fellow die and the place where he is surrounded is dark without air .Suddenly he is rising up to a higher places(in my opinion it looks likes he came from the hell when he started breaking down then he went to heavens)and all this lucky charms are destroyed .No one is looking back to the places where he came from even though and the protagonist is not thinking anymore about himself even though he may have some leg's problems. He is clapping his hands of happiness. This poem used a lot of metaphors and deep meaning in my opinion. In the language is used alliteration, such as letters with p,b(pots and pans bang..)and lots of c(crowd,speces ceiling,chairs,crash clouds...)those letters make noises and make the poem more alive.
This poem, I feel, clearly resembles an event in this womans life that brings all the qualaties of her life being shaken to the core, as it is (if you were to take the imagery literally) described as maybe a tornado or something crashing through this house (which I would guess resembles her life as a whole) which changes everything about her life like the 'furniture stirring', that would seem a fixed quality in her life (as furniture sometimes does to the mind of oneself) is changing or being destroyed completely, And as the poem draws to a close, the line "As my hands are outside clapping..." leaves me thinking that whatever has happened here (be it, a person or event that has changed this persons life)has changed this person into someone new, I assume, someone they want to be (e.g. overcoming this difficult event could make them a stronger person, or this person they meet brings out new qualities in them) and their old self, is outside the house (life) clapping them in their success. CAPTAIN TAM POETRY FANTASTICO
This room is an extended metaphor for something very personal to the author. I think this because of the personification of the room to an extreme level. Normally a room is a forgotten fundamental of life and never usually heightened. The effectiveness of the poem is its strong use of poetic techniques. The alliteration of “crash” and “clouds” in the same line is very powerful. “crash” is also an onomatopoeia as it sounds as the action does. It creates a sense of anger and sharp change. If the room was slowly changing I assume it would morph silently but abruptly would cause a loud shocking noise. I feel the room becomes the hunted instead of the hunter. Claustrophobia is associated with small spaces as a room could be. Instead of the room creating the claustrophobia it is the room being forced to break free. In comparison to Imtiaz Dharker’s life which involved travelling between different countries and thus cultures, I feel she is rebelling angainst the rules about having to leave. Even though inside she knows the place of a room and what it should be doing. She is the frustrated room fighting for control. I think she connects with a room because a room can be found in any country no matter how different the cultures.
As the poem progresses you feel her liberation, her meter of freedom growing. She begins in “celebration” to commemorate her new space. Interestingly “the crowd of garlic, onions, spices” remain in the room. I think this because it states, “no one is looking for the door,” so the spices do not want to escape. These ingredients are for cooking Pakistan cuisine; they are the base ingredients for the food. Just like Pakistan is her native country and parts of it remain with her always. Even on her travels to other countries her root/native country remains with her.
The final stanza reminds me of Alice and Wonderland. Changing to first person she exclaims, “I’ve left my feet”. As if she is Alice who is stuck in the house she has grown too big in and cannot see her feet from her height. “My hands are outside clapping”, further confirms her Alice status with her arms burst through the room. The referral to “nightmares” in the second stanza does suggest this poem could be a dream. In difference to the tale of Alice, Dharker hands are “clapping”. She is happy with the outcome of her growth. Unlike Alice who continues to search for her white rabbit. The hardest part of change for me is acceptance, which I think Dharker achieves by her “clapping” and saluting the change.
This room is a very personal poem to Dharker because of its deep symbolisms. She uses alliteration and onomatopoeia to create raw sounds that reflect well the dream like, sharp change of her liberation. From the “dark” she rises to the “clouds” and is content with the change enough to “clap”. Yet still her cultural roots remain symbolised by her “garlic, onions, spices,” in her kitchen/self.
I think This Room is a personification of a room because the room is “in search of space” which a room cannot do only a person can. Following through this idea I think the room could represent Dharker the author. As she uses first person in the last stanza, “I’m … I’ve.” The "room" could be an extended metaphor for herself.
She chooses her words for effect and in this example uses alliteration “comers … chairs … crash … clouds”, I feel theses words sound harsh when spoken. Therefore I think she is trying to show her anger or misery.
I agree with Melody that the letter "c", when used alliteratively, can sound harsh. However, I can't agree that Dharker's emotions are dark here. That interpretation raises too many questions... for example, why are her hands "outside, clapping", which implies joy?
And why is this the "time and place to be alive"?
And why are the pots and pans banging together "in celebration"?
I agree with punchdrunk, in that Dharker’s emotions are not continually dark. However I do not rule out all use of dark related imagery and sounds. Punchdrunk’s comments have led me to analysis in more depth the positive feelings of the poem. I have come to this conclusion; I think that the poem’s mood changes from dark to light. This progression, I feel is felt in her word choice:
“search of space” is found in the first stanza. This onomatopoeia sounds to me like a snake and since biblical times a snake has symbolised lies, Satan and evil. Therefore I think it is negative. The image that “search of space” creates is of claustrophobia. This is a negative feeling of “space”.
“breaking out” is the physical liberation from the darkness. The onomatopoeia of this word, “br”, sounds brave and courageous. Immediately it lifts the mood because of its strength. I think it is the bridge between the negative and the positive.
In the last stanza, “clapping” and “excitement” are positive words and complete the transition from bad to good feelings. They are poly-syllabic and thus sound more relaxed that “search” or “dark”. As it takes longer to say “clapping” whereas “dark” is shorter spoken and the meaning of dark is pushed into a smaller time space. Whereas cl-ap-ping you have longer to mull over the meaning of the word. “Dark” feels short and obtrusive; it needs to be understood quickly. (I’m unsure if I have explained this correctly).
This word analysis from the poem shows that the poem is neither highly positive as punchdrunk suggests or highly negative as I suggested prior. Instead this poem is a transition from negative feelings to positive feelings. I feel it is this contrast of emotions that makes the poem very effective and gripping for the reader.
ι тнιηк тнαт тнє ρєσм 'тнιѕ яσσм' ιѕ α ∂єѕ¢яιρтιση σƒ α ∂яєαм тнαт ѕтαятѕ σƒƒ αѕ α ηιgнтмαяє вє¢αυѕє, α яσσм ¢αηησт ιη яєαℓιту, 'вяєαк συт σƒ ιтѕ σωη ωαℓℓѕ'. αѕ тнє ρσєм ρяσgяєѕѕєѕ, тнє ρєσмѕ мσσ∂ ѕєємѕ тσ ¢нαηgє ιηтσ αη єχ¢ιтє∂ αη∂ є¢ѕтαтι¢ αтмσѕρнєяє. тнє ρσєм 'тнιѕ яσσм' яємιη∂ѕ мє σƒ тнє ρσєм 'ιѕℓαη∂ мαη' ωнι¢н αℓѕσ ℓιηкѕ тσ αη ι∂єα σƒ α ∂яєαмℓιкє ωσяℓ∂. σησмαтσρσєια ιѕ υѕє∂ тσ ¢яєαтє α мσσ∂ σƒ єχ¢ιтємєηт αη∂ α мσσ∂ σƒ ¢єℓєвяαтιση; тнσυgн ∂нαякєя ∂σєѕ ησт ѕρє¢ιƒу ωнαт тнє ¢єℓєвяαтιση ιѕ αвσυт. 'тнιѕ яσσм' ιѕ α ρσєм тнαт мιgнт αℓѕσ вєѕумвσℓιѕιηg тнє ρσєтѕ ємσтισηѕ αη∂ тнє ¢нσι¢є σƒ ωσя∂ѕ gινє тнє тнσυgнт σƒ, αѕ ωєℓℓ αѕ ¢єℓєвяαтιση, ¢σηƒυѕιση! σνєя αℓℓ, тнє ρσєм ιѕ α ¢яєαтινє ριє¢є σƒ αят тнαт нαѕ вєєη ωєℓℓ тнσυgнт σƒ αη∂ нєя ƒєєℓιηg єχρяєѕѕє∂ ωєℓℓ.
I think, as many others have said that this room is a poem to emphasise a certain period of time in the poets life. From the language that she uses, 'pots and pans...onion, spices...' it has something to do with maybe the position of women because most of the objects are asscociated with women so maybe the position of women is changing? It also shows that what she is experiancing has come as a surprise 'improbable arrives'. I also think she personifies herself as the room. she says that the room is 'in search of space, light empty air' this may be to suggest that she is looking for something better, something new.
Like blessing th poet uses a lot of monosyllabic words 'crash, bang, clang' this stresses her emotions and also helps you imagine the scene in which she is in.
It also talks of times improving 'dark corners..rising up' when she says 'no one is looking for the door' she may subtly trying to say that there are many more exits and ways than before.
In response to melody:
Yes. I agree now that the poem DOES seem to move from dark to light, but even as it begins, things are changing for the better, aren't they? The bed is already "lifting out of its nightmares".
It seems to me that this is a woman who is making a big change in her life. After dark, yes, she's moving into the light, and the euphoria that this change generates makes her experience life as chaotic - what she perceives is almost surreal.
As somebody else commented, Daliesque...
I like your thoughts about word choice. Mind you, "clapping", although polysyllabic, seems to me quite abrupt - it is onomatopoeic, the two short syllables creating the short, sharp effect of a handclap.
I wonder what the effect would have been if she'd used the word "applauding" with the longer vowel sound in the second syllable instead...... just tried saying the line to myself using "applauding."
It doesn't work at all!
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