Living Space Key Facts

Question	Answer
Context	Set in the slums of Mumbai (city in India). They make homes out of stuff –unstable
Theme of RELIGION and FAITH –Describes people’s hopes and trust	- “miraculous” –sense of desperation comes faith - “thin walls of faith” –this house is a symbol of hope - “universe”, ‘light”
Theme of FRAGILITY (1)	“thin walls of faith” –the word “thin” represents fragility
Theme of FRAGILITY “these eggs in a wire basket”	- Represents the fragility of the homes –She refers to “eggs” because they’re fragile - Represents the inhabitants - The fragility of the structures in the homes -A way of life
OPENING line	“There are just not enough straight lines” –Comparing it to life –life is not straight forward
“balance crookedly”	ANTITHESIS –Two things that don’t go together//makes you feel uneasy
The STRUCTURE The ODD RHYME	The ODD RHYME scheme shows some stability.
The STRUCTURE ENJAMBMENT	The structure and the use of enjambment of the poem is deliberate –represents the space she is describing The lines are broken up, representing the irregularities of the “crooked” buildings she is describing, but also how they become squeezed into small areas.

Resource summary

	Created by Mel Hughes about 7 years ago