How do Imtiaz Dharker and Grace Nichols use language to portray atmosphere in ‘Blessing’ and the ‘Island Man’?

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Dharker and Nichols have both used persona experiences to capture the reality of the poems. Imtiaz Dharker was born in Pakistan but raised in Glasgow. She lives in Mumbai in India, but also lives between London and Wales. She also sometimes works in Bombay. Dharker is a well-known poet, artist and also a documentary film-maker. Nichols was born in 1950 in a town called Georgetown, in Guyana. At eight years old she e moved to the city with her family. Nichols has worked as a journalist and teacher as part of her Diploma. She spent a lot of time in all different areas of Guyana which influenced her work. Since then she has worked for the BBC and has been living in the UK with her partner, John Agard, since 1977. Both poems have strong similarities between them, for example, the way they have been written, how their poems both come from their own experiences and backgrounds, and how the emotion of their poems make the audience feel. Dhaker’s poem ‘Blessing’ talks of the effect that water in a village has on it’s people. It is about a third world country that is lacking water supplies and how the people feel when water is blessed upon them. The tone of the poem is critical, but also sympathetic. Darker is being critical towards the Government and that fact there is no water. However she is being sympathetic towards the people, she is making the audience reflect on the less fortunate and is highlighting their suffering. She is doing this so the audience can feel empathetic and wants them to realise how lucky they are. In this poem Dharker shows that religion is significant. The first reference to religion is the title, ‘Blessing’. A blessing can mean a gift and show someone receiving something. This is the first meaning of religion in the poem, and the first idea of what the poem implies. The first line of the first stanza is

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