This document covers the poem: 'The Deliverer' from the Poems of the Decade Poetry. I studied this poem for my A Level, Edexcel English Literature Exam as part of the poetry module. By constructing these summarises and notes these provided me with ideas and themes which I could for my essays and th...
• Ambiguous. Could be the person who gave birth to the child, or the foster mother who delivered
the child to her new parent
• Loss of cultural identity
• Movements and transitions.
Structure:
• Poem is broken up into different sections through subheadings. Two written subheadings are
used to identity different locations, a convert in Kerala and an airport in the United States. Use
of locations is important as they contrast each other.
• Airports represent global connections, technology and a mix of cultures, a ‘convert’ is the
opposite of this as a traditional location focused on an individual religion. Distance shown
through selection of ‘Kerala’ and the ‘USA’ to represent the ‘delivery’ has been transported a
long way. Asterisks are used to visually break up the poem and provide additional emphasis for
the transition to the United States with readers perhaps likening them to formatting of receipts
of announcements boards which could be to demonstrate the dehumanising process.
• Form enables pot to explore this situation from different perspectives it perhaps suggests it
shifts of time and place- both the invisible global connection which link west and east, the
developed and developing world, and the fracturing of family relationships
• End-stopped likes at the end of each stanza breaks down the pattern at end of poem to make it
noticeable to the reader. Interpreted as representing the continuing cycles of the dire situation
with the birth of the new generation with no completion or true end available. Line of the third
and second to last stanzas end in comma to create a controlled increase in the speed of reading
to evoke sense of urgency and to encourage the reader to take action
• Simplicity in terms of sentence length increases the likelihood that a reader feels complicit in
events, as the sentence and lines are short. Increases cyclical feeling of the poem and
demonstrates the tragically short life that many girls have due to preference for males in this
society.
• Use of only one or two syllables represents a more personal and less planned feel, with the
narrator telling things ‘How they are’ and reliving events they have personally experienced,
rather than constructing them out of their imagination.
• The fact that before the last stanza has no location perhaps reflect the universal attribution
from this process. Suggests that even though this poem talks of this cruelty towards female
children in Indian countries, still acknowledges the inferiority of women in most areas of the
world.
• Increasing caesuras in the middle stanza suggests the routine that is broken from the origins
• Enjambment allow the poem to be feel more free-flowing. Especially considering the irregular
structure that becomes more structured by the end of the poem to recognise the routine in
which the women give birth.
, • Cyclical structure of the poem to highlight the routine in which these children are abandons and
delivered to other areas of the world.
Language:
• ‘sister’ forms a relationship between the two, that may have been lost over time, yet ‘collect
children’ dehumanizes them and amplifies the brutality of neglect that’s been demonstrated
towards the, with the dynamic verb ‘crippled’ amplifying the harsh reality that these children
have now been subjected to
• Idea of ‘collect children’ expresses the culture in which children are abandoned. Contradicts it
from perhaps the culture that the reader is used to. The alliteration itself dehumanizes the
‘children’ suggesting they are just a figure of the culture.
• ‘Crippled or dark or darks’. The identities of the children are viewed as significant part for the
abuse that is expressed towards them. Express the function of children in society being to
privilege which males as the archetype for society. Views others as inferior or insignificant
• ‘Found naked in the streets’ creates an isolated atmosphere. The vulnerable babies are isolated
due to these significant factors. The dynamic verb ‘naked’ represents the vulnerability of these
children. Suggests they are objectified to the corrupting elements and left to die to express the
conditions from this cultural expectation. Cruel and illicit image.
• The emotive use of ‘abandoned at their doorstep’ becomes striking for the reader due to the
word length contrasting the existing semantic field between mothers and children at this point.
The use of ‘their’ coupled with ‘doorstep’ make the situation familiar, yet distance and creates a
parallel semantic field with ‘garbage, stuffed’ to suggest the callous neglect towards innocent
individuals. The list of the different places in which the children are found expresses the
consistency in which this occurs for these children. Creates a semantic field of neglect and
isolation for these children.
• ‘One of them was dug up by a dog’. The dynamic verb ‘dug’ expresses the cruelty in burying live
babies. Highlights the desperation in giving them up in order to conform to societal expectation.
Highlights the perceived burden of these children. The common noun ‘dog’ expresses the
danger and vulnerability that the children and left in. Expresses the callous nature of society
• ‘Head barely poking above the ground’. The adverb ‘barely’ expresses the isolating impact that is
caused as a result of this. While the ‘ground’ is representing the harsh elements that the young
have been objected to.
• ‘Bone or wood, something to chew’ emphasises that it's been reduced to less than a baby and
the triple creates trepidation for the reader. The triple expresses the dehumanization of the
children as a result of the cultural representation. The dynamic verb ‘chew’ demonstrates the
potential corruption of the children.
• ‘This is the one my mother will bring’. Expresses the change in life for the child. Volta expressing
a sense of hope. Suggest that this charitable work aids to bring the children away from this
corrupting societal viewpoint. The preposition ‘my’ creates a personal relation that has been
formed with the foster parents. Highlights the confusion that is created for young children.
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