An Unknown Girlby Moniza Alvi
page 23
Overview
The poem describes the poet’s visit to India and the time she had her hand hennaed by a girl in the market place. It has proved to be an experience she has never forgotten.
Themes
There are a number of themes covered in this poem:
• cultural identity• sense of belonging• loss• relationship between the familiar and the
unknown
Vocabulary
Check your understanding of the language used in the poem. Write a definition in your anthology for anything you are unsure about.
In the evening bazaarstudded with neon
an unknown girlis hennaing my hand.
An Indian market place
a temporary colouring of the skin
She squeezes a wet brown linefrom a nozzle.
She is icing my handwhich she steadies with hers
on her satin-peach knee.
Baking metaphor used – shows the cultural contrasts
intimate image – shows care and attention
In the evening bazaarfor a few rupeesan unknown girl
is hennaing my hand
repetition of first stanza – emphasises the alienation, also gives the poem a
chorus-like simplicity
As a little air catchesmy shadow-stitched kameeza peacock spreads its lines
across my palm.
a loose fitting Indian tunic
•the tattoo comes alive•she is absorbing part of
the culture
Colours leave the streetfloat up in balloons.
Dummies in shop-frontstilt and stare
with their Western perms.
vivid imagery – Alzi uses these images to create a sense of wonder and
delight. The dummies show irony – why are they not Indian?
personification
Banners for Miss India 1993.for curtain clothand sofa cloth
canopy me.
alien to the culture – Western influence
she feels covered by these things – suffocated and uncomfortable, or
at home and welcome? In the shade or visible?
I have new brown veins.
this is an important line – dual meaninga metaphor for the tattoo she has just received but also
feels as if she has assimilated some of the culture of India – it is now ‘running through her veins’
In the evening bazaarvery deftly
an unknown girlis hennaing my hand.
repetition – however, notice the extra detail ‘very deftly’as the narrator is observing all that is going on around her, the
‘unknown girl’ is taking extra care and is an expert
I am clingingto these firm peacock lines
like people who clingto the sides of a train.
simile – she wants to hold on to these
memories
Now the furious streetsare hushed.I’ll scrape off
the dry brown linesbefore I sleep.
reveal soft as a snail trailthe amber bird beneath.
It will fade in a week.
the streets were harsh and angry – note how the tone changes –
becomes quiet with night – clever juxtaposition using
personification
‘scrape’ – a harsh verb
which contrasts with the
amber bird – she is
scraping off the excess
gentle simile
she thinks the tattoo will fade like her memories and the India ‘in her’
When India appears and reappearsI’ll lean across a country
with my hands outstretchedlonging for the unknown girl
in the neon bazaar
India is represented by the tattooHer memories will go just as the tattoo will gradually fade – it is
not permanent, yet the process can be repeated Ends in a yearning tone.
A Few Key Facts
•Moniza Alvi is a Pakistani-British poet•She was born in Lahore in 1954 and moved to England as a child •She taught in a secondary school in London for many years•She now lives in South West London
Linked Poems
This is a poem about a vivid, memorable experience from the past.
It links with ‘Miracle on St David’s Day’, ‘Mid-Term Break’ and ‘The Barn’
Questions
1. How many times does Alvi use the phrase ‘an unknown girl’? Why is this repeated so often?
2. What do the colours in this poem signify?3. The poem is laid out unusually and has no
pattern or obvious rhythm. What could you write about this?