The poet starts outs witht the first stanza describing the place of work: “rough timber gallows” With this already an unwelcoming atmosphere is created, as the gallows are after all for hanging. Also “Gallows” is a way of defining them metaphorically to explain how they are sentenced to death. “By a silent, sallow” through the use of these quotation it is shown to the reader how the children don’t complain and due to scarcity of food they are unhealthy, unlively silent situation.
On the second stanza the writer goes on to describe the workers: “sparrowed” this cleverly compares the children working there as sparrows, small, fragile, helpless birds. In the second line of that same stanza they are yet again describe as birds “bird-bones” to emphasise how vulnerable these children are. The literacy feature of consonance is used between line 2 and 3 “bird-bones bent” to create that same feeling and try to get the reader to understand what they are goin through. Elizabeth Burge uses simile on the second stanza. “Bent like old womn” to describe the premature ageing these go through even though they are still young they go through maturity earlier due to the conditions they live in. Then towards the end of the second stanza the guide explains to the visitors how proud he is of having children doing this work for them “can tie such exquisitely minute knots”. At the end of stanza two the guide says “For the most desired Tabriz or Karmenshah” which shows how regardless people are about the children and how what is important is to keep selling these different tupes of carpets.
There is a usage of anafora on the third stanza with “One hundred” begining each line, this is a good way of conveying the message of the chidrens lifes and routines which don’t go beyond making thosse carpets everyday.
Then the third stanza starts out with “eyes whose whole horizon is the carpet”, as said before the only target in life those children have is finishing the carpet they are woving since they have no future to look forward to.
Then on the final stanza the writer uses imageries “greenstick shoulder” these words describe the childrens situation and how fragile, helpless, small and unhealthy these children are due to the way they live and the conditions in which they are forced to work in.
To conlcude from my point of view I think Elizabeth Burge conveys the speakers feelings about the child weavers very well and he uses literacy features such as repetion, simile, anafora to make it easier for the reader to understand her feelings towards the exploitation of children to do such a hard work in such conditions.
By: Omar Garcia Nº1
