Blessing
Blessing
Blessing
Dharker divides the poem into four stanzas all of different lengths. This seems to be done in quite a random way, with no
obvious reason for the position of the breaks between stanzas. Perhaps this apparently random structure reflects the idea of
the water bursting out and spreading itself across the earth in a free and disordered way. Another possible reason for
irregular stanza length is to reflect the idea of the water dripping out slowly before bursting into a huge torrent and then
falling away again.
The opening lines are a lot very short, simple sentences such as “There never is enough water”. The third stanza, however,
uses much longer sentences that very quickly add more and more things, frantically describing “pots, brass, copper,
aluminium, plastic buckets, frantic hands”. His reflect the idea of moving from a state where very little is happening and the
water only comes in small drips to a state where the water rushes out very fast.
Dharker uses lots of different images to describe the water, but they are all designed to make it feel exciting and powerful.
Figurative language is used to describe water as being like a god, like money, like precious metal and like the sun. This idea
of water as a living force is crucial to effect of “Blessing”.
Free verse is used to mirror the outpouring of water and emotion of the people that happens when the municipal pipe bursts.
The lengths of lines vary, creating an informal rhythm. Enjambment is used to create a lyrical, magical quality while other
lines are end-stopped. Combined with the use of caesura, to break up the lines into short units, the poet uses these structural
techniques to capture the tension and then the rush of excitement caused by the event. The use of listing creates a sense of
all of the people, with their different types of pot, all crowding in on the water: it was a scene that had a sense of
universality since all were affected.
Onomatopoeia conveys a sense of immediacy and realism that emphasises the excitement and intensity of the event. The use
of ‘cracks’ in the opening line contrasts with ‘splash’ in the second stanza to demonstrate the dryness of the ground against
the precious water. As the pipe bursts, the word ‘crashes’ captures the idea of water gushing out.
Imagery is used to create vivid descriptions of the scene. The simile ‘skin cracks like a pod’ stresses the dryness of the
earth, while the metaphor ‘silver crashes to the ground’ emphasises the preciousness and metallic colour of the water. The
metaphor ‘liquid sun’ has connotations of water sparkling and reflecting the light. The water itself is the ‘blessing’, which is
described as ‘singing’. This mixture of the senses offers a spiritual sense, confirming that the outpouring of water is like the
answer to prayers.
The universality of the need for water is expressed in the reference to ‘every man woman child for streets around’, which
emphasises that this is important to all parts of humanity. The alliteration in ‘polished to perfection’ conveys a sense of
brilliance and flawlessness in this scene.
My notes
‘Blessing’ is a poem which focuses on the broader themes of birds, beasts, and the weather. The poem is divided into four
stanzas, with an irregular structure and a free-verse rhyme scheme; despite this, there are a few rhyming lines, such as lines
nine, ten, and thirteen. The literary devices used by Dharker to produce an eloquent portrayal of the necessity of water
include similes; alliteration; rhyming lines; capitalisation; asyndeton; onomatopoeia; enjambment; imagery (auditory and
visual); verbs; and punctuation. Through a variety of literary devices, Dharker produces a brilliant piece of literature which
allows us to further understand how people from different cultures may react in having access to water and different
facilities necessary for sustaining human life.
The first stanza is a free-verse couplet, with the first line including a simile, i.e ‘…skin cracks like a pod,’ relating the
features of skin to a seed or a plant, therefore almost transferring the features of the human body into something which is
alive, but non-human. Additionally, there is an intense use of visual imagery with the word ‘crack,’ as if the skin of the
humans involved almost shutters or shatters with the interest or desire of water. Thus, with the transfer of the poem onto the
second line, we see Dharker asserting that, ‘There never is enough water,’ which is crucial in understanding the basics of
this poem and really what it is about. The poem, therefore, could be seen as a critique of contemporary life, whereby in
some countries, water is still scarce and is an exceptional feature, despite its necessity for our continued existence, i.e. to
drink and to bathe in. Therefore, Dharker asserts that because there is not enough water, perhaps it has now become
something which is to be desired to a very large extent. This revelation is crucial in understanding the features of this poem
and what the poet is essentially trying to communicate, i.e. that water should be a universal and basic necessity afforded to
all citizens of the world.
Moving onto the second stanza, there is alliteration with the words, ‘…small splash,’ with an almost onomatopoeic effect,
transpiring into visual and auditory imagery, which asserts and emphasises the peculiar entity which is water, and how the
simple occurrences which encompasses the usage of water, which may seem normal and mundane to the normal eye and
ear, is actually something to be desired to a large extent, and is something which is to be wanted and beloved. The mundane
aspects of water is no longer mundane; all the features of water, which includes its flow, its appearance, etc, are no longer
tedious to the one’s who live without it: it is simply a scarce form of gold, which is to be beloved and wanted under all
circumstances. Therefore, the ‘echo’ transpires into a voice of a ‘kindly god’ — which could denote how the poet is being
almost ironic in, perhaps, criticising the ‘god’ for not affording all citizens of the world the unconditional access to water in
all parts of the world. This idea is furthered by the poet not capitalising the term ‘god’, i.e. usually the term ‘god’ is
capitalised in the form of, God, which is missing from the poet’s capitalisation attempts. Indeed, we may see the use of
visual imagery, and different chances of symbols, such as a ‘tin mug,’ ‘skin,’ ‘pod,’ etc, which all furthers and emphasises
the idea that water is essentially running its course throughout all these objects, and therefore are inadvertently linked
unconditionally to such objects; for example, with skin, water is the element which gives skin its life: it cannot exist without
water, and therefore all of these objects exist and are mentioned with the intent to further detail the necessity of water in our
lives, as it is inextricably linked to different symbols which play a fundamental role in all of our lives.
Moreover, in the third stanza, we see the rhyming words of, ‘ground,’ and ‘found,’ which could denote how these lines are
crucial to acknowledge: therefore the necessity of making it rhyme. Alternatively, the terms could further the epiphany
which is accustomed to such individuals, when they realise that there is now the unconditional access to water in such
circumstances, despite it usually not being available, or only available in exceptional circumstances. The use of asyndeton is
crucial in understanding the differences which are distinguished in the lines, ‘brass, copper, aluminium,’ where we see the
words move from an element which is not worth that much, into more and more valuable entities, until finally we stumble
across the term, ‘plastic buckets,’ which could denote how we possess all sorts of elements which allow us to carry and
contain water as we use it: with different forms of buckets, containers, etc, so that we can get the full usage out of water.
Additionally, the poet foregoes the use of commas to separate the terms, ‘man woman / child,’ which could show that
essentially, we are all children, and therefore when it comes to the access of water, we all essentially are boiled down into
acting foolishly and like children, which is furthered by the last stanza, where Dharker writes, ‘small bones,’ which, at first
glance, refers to children, as normally they would have underdeveloped ‘bones’ and therefore would be ‘small’ to
complement their size, however it is crucial in understand why the bones are considered to be ‘small’ if Dharker makes
reference to ‘man [and] woman,’ therefore we may come to understand that the reason why this is because we all
essentially are children inside, and even more so when it comes to the chasing of the necessity which is the consumption of
water.
Again, Dharker uses imagery, auditory imagery, with the term ‘screaming in the liquid sun,’ which could be an attempt to
showcase how necessary water is, that when it has become available, then we ‘scream’, and is accompanied by a ‘liquid
sun,’ perhaps referring to water as the sun, whereby the ‘sun’ may be seen as a ‘god’ in some religions, therefore perhaps
comparing water to a god? Regardless, the use of alliteration is quite peculiar and extraordinary in the lines, ‘polished to
perfection,’ where Dharker perhaps may be asserting the polished nature of the children now that they have access to water:
which is seen as a ‘sudden rush / of fortune,’ included in the third stanza, which is Dharker’s attempt at enjambment, which
may be seen to emphasise the ‘rush[ing]’ nature of the fortune, such that the lines and words pill over onto the next line.
Indeed, Dharker makes reference to the ‘municipal pipe burst[ing],’ which could be a reference to the richer and more
exceptional individuals in the city or town garnering more access to water, and where the poorer individuals must forego the
consumption of the necessity which is water; however, when the ‘pipe’ bursts, as an accident, then they now have access to
this much needed water, which could be an attempt at a leftist portrayal of the necessary consumption of water which
should be afforded to all citizens, regardless of their creed or class.
Furthermore, Dharker produces an exceptionally eloquent piece of literature, which allows us to further understand the
necessity of water in different cultures, and we come to understand this through a variety of different literary devices, such
as enjambment, imagery, alliteration, asyndeton, and similes