In wales wanting to be italian

context

• poet is pakistani but grew up in wales

• she has experienced intercultural experience in her life

4 quotes

• dying to be french/ to shrug and pout

• declare like freddie mercury you’re from somewhere like Zanzibar

• lounge by a vespa with a cigarette hanging out your mouth

• is there a name for that think you do when you’re young

‘‘is there a name for that thing you do when you’re young’’

• ‘young’ younger people have a lack of identity/ are still defining themselves as people

• assumes that other people know this feeling

• repetitive use of rhetorical questions demonstrates how speaker is wondering if others feel the same, wants validation for their feelings

• longing to experience life as someone else

‘‘ dying to be french’’/’’dying to shrug and pout’’

• repetition of ‘dying’ captures the extent of the yearning, it’s so intense it’s almost agonising

• feelings of discontent from the speaker and yearning fot something else

• the speaker not only wants to align themselves with the country but adopt the cultural nuances and how they effortlessly articulate themselves

‘‘ declare like freddie mercury you’re from somewhere like zanzibar’’

• freddie represents uniqueness and exoticness as he’s progressive of the era. He was flamboyant, shows that identity doesn’t have to be fixed but can be fluid and flexible

• he was selective of his identity and which parts of them he embraced so he’s like an inspiration to the speaker

‘‘lounge by a vespa with a cigarette hanging out your mouth’’

• continued stereotypes highlights how poet feels constrained and restricted

• using stereotypes to convey the speaker’s own dissatisfaction with her identity

• italian scooter, symbolises freeedom, adventure, independence - highlights the speaker’s desire to make her own choices in her lifestyle

• cigarette connotes useful rebellion conveying the speaker’s longing to break free from a fixed identity

how to compare to island man

 Dharker imagines what it must be  like to live elsewhere, whereas Nichols presents the  feelings of a man from the Caribbean living in London  and how he dreams of being back in his homeland.