The poem describes a woman who receives beautiful, luxurious clothes from her aunts in Pakistan. While she admires the exotic appearance of the clothes, when she puts them on she feels rejected, unworthy, and as if she is wearing a costume. She feels suffocated and unable to see her true identity while wearing the clothes, as if staring through fretwork. The scattered lines and stanzas reflect her feeling of balancing between her Pakistani culture and her culture in England, where she lives.

1. Presents from my Aunts in Pakistan Revision Guide for Year 10’s poetry

2. She describes the clothes in a very exotic way She has a very positive view on the clothes before she puts them on She adores the luxurious clothes…….

3. “Glistening like an orange split open” Exotic clothes Sight Taste “Peacock Blue” Beauty and appeal to the senses

4. However, despite her admiration towards the clothes she feels rejected when she puts them on She feels as if she doesn’t have the right to wear the clothes She feels unworthy of the beautiful clothes

5. “I couldn’t rise up out from it’s fire” Suffocation… “Clung” Discomfort…

6. “Costume” Someone else in the clothes… Hiding her identity… Discomfort…

7. Broken and Insecure image of herself No clear image Finding her identity “miniature glass circles”

8. “Staring through fretwork” Desire and longing Cannot see the full picture Not part of her other culture Distance and isolation…. An outsider…..

9. The stanzas of the poem have a flow to them as they meander down the page. Because the lines in the stanzas are scattered it tells us that she is balancing between her two cultures; Pakistan and England