Compare two poems from different cultures and traditions, "Search for my tongue" by Sujata Bhatt and "Presents from my aunts in Pakistan" by Moniza Alvi.
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Introduction
English Coursework: Compare two poems from different cultures and traditions. The two poems from different cultures and traditions that I have chosen are "Search for my tongue" by Sujata Bhatt and "Presents from my aunts in Pakistan" by Moniza Alvi. These poems are about girls who are living in a place which is different from their culture i.e. they live in England but have an Indian/Pakistani heritage and background. However Moniza Alvi in my opinion is ashamed or embarrassed about her background but Sujata Bhatt would like to learn more about her culture. Sujata Bhatt's poem is about a girl who lives away from her culture and as a result she uses the language of that country more and so she is forgetting her mother tongue (gujerati). She is feeling sad and ashamed that she has forgotten who she is. ...read more.
Middle
"Your mother tongue would rot Until you had to spit it out I thought I had spit it out but overnight while I dream" Then she writes in gujerati showing that she now remembers it but also showing how hard it is to learn the language in the first place. As at the beginning she is sad the language in the first stanza is cynical and pessimistic. "Your mother tongue would rot rot and die in your mouth until you had to spit it out The metaphor of a bud as the language growing is effective and the bud rotting tells me that she wants to remember but can't. the metaphor of the "tongue" instead of using the word language makes the language physical and makes the poem flow better. "If you had two tongues in your mouth. ...read more.
Conclusion
There is not much more imagery in this poem, when she talk about her journey to England she just talks about what happened like it was a conversation whereas other poets would have used more imagery. "Search for my tongue" is written in three stanzas this is appropriate for this poem as in the first she is sad because she has forgotten gujerati. In stanza she is dreaming and remembers and in stanza 3 she is happy because "the bud grows back" The stanza in Alvi's poem are irregular and in my opinion that is not for a reason there is also no particular rhyme or rhythm in the poem. I found both poems interesting and ii can relate to them but more to Sujata Bhatt's poem as my mother tongue is also gujerati and I am starting to forget it. I also prefer it because it has a good rhythm and I like the way she shows the contrast between stanza one and three. By Abdul Azim Hassan ...read more.
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This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Sujata Bhatt: from Search For My Tongue section.
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