Blessing

• • “Blessing” - religious connotations
  • extended metaphor - water is like a gift from God
  • contrasts with expectations
• • “The skin cracks like a pod. There never is enough water”
  • harsh consonants reflect harshness of scorching sun
  • “never“ - adverbs - relentless suffering - helps set the scene
  • immediate contrast with the title
  • simile
• • “Imagine the drip of it, the small splash, echo in a tin mug, the voice of a kindly god”
  • onomatopoeia engaged senses of the water splashing - how valuable it is - encourages reader to emphasise
  • monosyllabes emphasise severe dehydration
  • sibilance of “small splash” elongates the monosyllables - long wait for water
  • metaphor of “voice of a kindly god” - very little water compared to this - emphasises scarcity of water - seen as sacred and not taken for granted
• • “Sometimes” - emphasises that the ’blessing‘ is a special occasion
  • “fortune” “silver crashes” - metaphor accentuates value of water as it is being accentuated to silver - sudden flow of water encouraged privileged reader to reflect -
  • “roar of tounges" "man woman” "frantic" - suggests hysteria and chaos - moment is special
  • listing adds to chaos
  • “congregation” - sanctifying this moment with religious connotations - despite this being an accident it is seen as a gift from God
• •  “naked” “highlights” “small bones” - highlights poverty and vulnerability of the children who are the future of their community - lack of hope in future despite their short-term fix
  • “highlights polished to perfection” - bone structure - vulnerability of children
  • “flashing light” “blessing” - prescence of God who is blessing them with water
  • “liquid sun” - sun shining on the water or is it a metaphor
  • “screaming" - ambiguous - happy but has negative connotations - reminders of pain they have to go through everyday - this is just a tiny break of reality
• • structural techniques:
  • 1st/2nd stanza: sets a scene of suffering = makes stanza 3&4 seen more significant - importance to understand community
  • unequal stanza as the 3rd stanza is longer and enjambement is used = short term excitement
  • 4th stanza reminfs us that this is just a temporary relief - reality doesn’t change even though a municipal pipe bursts - sense of hopelessness at the end of the poem
• • themes:
  • poverty
  • religion
  • luck
  • priviledge