Poems from other cultures

Compare and contrast the ways feelings of isolation and alienation are presented in the two poems “Search for my Tongue” and “Presents from my Aunts” Isolation/alienation: to feel like you don’t belong; to feel separate from the rest of society.

Aims and Objectives To read the two poems To think about where key ideas relating to alienation and isolation are present in the poems To compare the two poems and identify links between them: how are they similar? How are they different?

Bit of background …  Sujata Bhatt grew up in Pune/Poona, India and emigrated to the US with her family when she was about 12yrs old.  Although she mostly speaks and writes in English, her Gujarati language has always been very important to her.  Search for my Tongue explores the ideas of a divided heritage.

Youtube video Q4I

The title …. Search – looking for something that you have lost; something that you want to find Tongue - a) muscle in your mouth! b) mother tongue ( first language)

You ask me what I mean by saying I have lost my tongue. I ask you, what would you do if you had two tongues in your mouth, and lost the first one, the mother tongue,

You ask me what I mean by saying I have lost my tongue. I ask you, what would you do if you had two tongues in your mouth, and lost the first one, the mother tongue Feeling alone

You ask me what I mean by saying I have lost my tongue. I ask you, what would you do if you had two tongues in your mouth, and lost the first one, the mother tongue Two tongues represent two languages This is how she feels: she feels like she has a tongue for each language that she speaks

You ask me what I mean by saying I have lost my tongue. I ask you, what would you do if you had two tongues in your mouth, and lost the first one, the mother tongue Connection with family and roots, but it is lost

And could not really know the other, the foreign tongue. you could not use them both together even if you thought that way.

And could not really know the other, the foreign tongue. you could not use them both together even if you thought that way. She doesn’t feel as close to her second language as she does her mother tongue

And could not really know the other, the foreign tongue. you could not use them both together even if you thought that way. In the poet’s case, English

And could not really know the other, the foreign tongue. you could not use them both together even if you thought that way. Have to choose one or the other

And if you lived in a place you had to speak a foreign tongue, your mother tongue would rot, rot and die in your mouth until you had to spit it out.

And if you lived in a place you had to speak a foreign tongue, your mother tongue would rot, rot and die in your mouth until you had to spit it out. People who don’t know what this feels like.

And if you lived in a place you had to speak a foreign tongue, your mother tongue would rot, rot and die in your mouth until you had to spit it out. Image of her tongue rotting because it isn’t used anymore Repetition

And if you lived in a place you had to speak a foreign tongue, your mother tongue would rot, rot and die in your mouth until you had to spit it out. Unpleasant image to show how sad and worried she feels Horror at losing the language that she has grown up with.

I thought I spit it out But overnight while I dream …

I thought I spit it out But overnight while I dream … A sense that things are going to change: maybe things aren’t going to be as bad as she thought.

I thought I spit it out But overnight while I dream … In her subconscious …

Gujarati section Points to note:  So readers can see her “other” language – visual representation of both English and Gujarati together.  So readers can understand what it feels like when you are presented with a language that you don’t understand.  It “grows” out of the middle of the poem as she realises that she hasn’t lost it at all.  The Gujarati section means the same as the English that follows it; they are a translation of each other

It grows back, a stump of a shoot Grows longer, grows moist, grows strong veins, It ties the other tongue in knots, The bud opens, the bud opens in my mouth

It grows back, a stump of a shoot Grows longer, grows moist, grows strong veins, It ties the other tongue in knots, The bud opens, the bud opens in my mouth Getting bigger and more powerful as it grows The tongue is beginning to sound like a plant.

Extended metaphor Terminology pit-stop: The comparison between the tongue and a plant/flower continues to the end of the poem – this is why it’s called an extended metaphor.

It grows back, a stump of a shoot Grows longer, grows moist, grows strong veins, It ties the other tongue in knots, The bud opens, the bud opens in my mouth Words that make you think of plants: plant imagery

It grows back, a stump of a shoot Grows longer, grows moist, grows strong veins, It ties the other tongue in knots, The bud opens, the bud opens in my mouth Her language is like a blossoming flower that is growing out of her mouth. The mother tongue is actually stronger than her second language

It pushes the other tongue aside. every time I think I’ve forgotten, I think I’ve lost the other tongue, it blossoms out of my mouth.

It pushes the other tongue aside. every time I think I’ve forgotten, I think I’ve lost the mother tongue, it blossoms out of my mouth. Stronger than she thought! Ends more positively than it started. “blossoming” and “rot” are two contrasting words: life and death

What is the poem saying to the reader? 1.Your background and your roots will always stay with you, even as you grow up. You won’t forget where you came from! 2.A person’s language is very important to them: how would you feel if you were in the same situation at only 12yrs old? 3.It’s very difficult to fit into one culture when you have come from another.