Tissue

{ Imtiaz Dharker
A bit of context:
The poem was written by Imtiaz Dharker, who
was born in Pakistan and grew up in Glasgow.
She is a poet, artist and documentary film
maker. Tissue is from her 2006 collection The
Terrorist at My Table.

A great number of her poems look at issues

such as religion, terrorism and global
politics/identity. As a result her work can be
difficult to grasp.
 Lets listen to the poem: http://
www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zwg6nbk/revision
 The biological definition of tissue is a group of
similar cells that perform a specific function

E.g. muscle- movement

epithelial- covering/protection

With this in mind, look at the poem again

Hang on
 The poem is written from the point of view of
someone today looking out at the conflict and
troubles of the modern world; destruction, war and
politics, money and wealth as well as issues like
terrorism and identity. The poem remarks how
nothing is meant to last, that it would be better not to
hold too tightly to that and instead we should be
willing to let go and pass things on in their time to be
remade.

In short, that the world would be better if it shared

more qualities with tissue.

So
 1) The first three stanzas talk about the
importance of paper as a means of recording
our history.
2) Stanzas four to six focus on the paradox that
paper is fragile, yet it still controls our lives.
3) The final thirteen lines look at creating
things, particularly human life. Life is more
complex and precious than other things we
create. Its also temporary, but forms part of a
bigger and ongoing story.

What is the poem about?

Language About Light:
Light is presented as a positive force it
enables people to see and understand, it
can move through and beyond boundaries
and it can break through objects.

1) Light allows things to be seen rather than hidden. This may

hint at what needs to change.

2) These lines repeat the image in lines 17 and 18. Light is

enduring and powerful it will continue to shine even when
man-made structures break.

3) The sun is powerful, permanent force, whereas borders are

just temporary marks on paper.
Language about Creation:
There are lots of references to things being
created. Man-made constructions like buildings
and borderlines are compared with creation of
humans.
1) A short, blunt sentence, which may reflect the fixed nature of
maps and borders they create division rather than freedom.
2) The consonance of brick and block emphasises the solidity of
the objects, and the enjambment gives the words more impact.
3) Theres a shift from talking about paper to talking about humans
a construction more complex and more grand than any
building.
4) This sounds like a criticism of human pride we can create big,
imposing buildings that are ultimately unimportant.
5) The work of the poet mirrors the work of the architect the poet
builds layers of words and meanings, where an architect designs
physical structures. The repetition of over reinforces the idea
of layers.
Different Types of Tissue:
The homonyms of tissue create a link between paper and
humans both tissue paper and human tissue are fragile,
but powerful. The word tissue originally meant something
had to be woven, which reinforces the idea that human
lives are built up in layers.
1) Paper is used to record family history whole lives can be summed up
by marks on paper.
2) Paper begins the first two sentences in the poem, drawing the
readers attention. This suggests that its important and can perhaps
drive the change that the third line alludes to.
3) Mentioning the Koran broadens the importance of paper it can be
used to record beliefs.
4) Human life is only temporary but the repetition of line 11 reminds us
that were all part of a complex, lasting family history.
5) Receipts record our day-to-day lives. They can tell a story about our
whole existence.
6) Gentle verbs and repetition of and shows that the pages are treated
with respect and affection the description makes them sound almost
as if theyre a child or a pet.
What are modal verbs?
A modal verb is an auxiliary verb that
expresses necessity or possibility. English
modal verbs include must, shall, will,
should, would, can, could, may, and might.

Where and why does Dharker use modal

verbs in this poem?
 (Dont forget that conflict can be internal not just war)

{ Similarities
{ Differences
Time is more powerful than
anything we can create, or than us
Ozymandias appears
(Oz) to be more negative
Both poems muse on humankind and sad about the
while observing an object (Oz) fragility of human.
Human existence is fleeting (Oz) Tissue appears to
The are more powerful forces admire humankind a
than humankind (Storm on the
little more?
Island/ Exposure)
Small details can play a big part
in our identity (Kamikaze)
Internal conflict, uncertainty, time
passing and endings (Poppies)

So why on earth is this poem in this collection?! How are the ideas
contained within it linked to others that we have seen so far?