Hina Faisal Imam is a prominent Pakistani poet and writer who advocates for women's rights. In her poem "The Road," she symbolically represents the path of life that everyone must travel as a road to freedom. The poem reflects on the struggles and sorrows of women, particularly married women who are confined to their homes and expected to support their husbands without having their own voices heard. Imam uses intimate and observational language to address subjects related to women that are often overlooked by other Pakistani writers. Her work aims to show that women are humans who can no longer be subjugated.

1. "THE RAOD" (Hina Faisal Imam)
Reference:Hina Faisal Imam, is a voice one would like to hear more often.
Women writing in English is particularly important because it is a channel of
communication that reaches out to an English(and thus primarily uppermiddle
class) audience; an audience whose primary exposure to Pakistani female
writing will in all likelihood be restricted to, at best, translations of texts written in
Urdu, poetic or prose. faisal imam is a famous righter, her work strongly
influenced by her commitment to women's right. She asserts that women can no
longer be brow-beaten into sujugation or bondage that they have a voice and a
claim, and must have the confidence to know their worth. as a poet she gives
voice to the issues concerning women, including motherhood. in 1985 she won
the spring summer poetry award on "women studies conference" in university of
Washington. she has published two collections of poetry, Wet sun and midnight
Dialogue.
Content: In ‘The Road’ Imam writes of tears that no one wipes clean ‘from a
pretty face/that mends loneliness/in the bathroom’ and then goes back to a
dinner party, of a stranger in a room of whom the narrator can ‘see the madness
in [his] eyes/drink the colour of [her] skin’. Imam’s better pieces are beautifully
balanced between intimacy and observation and speak of subjects inherently
female that are not as such addressed by Pakistani writers in any capacity with
an honest eye that pares both self and world down to the essentials.
"Faminism is the redical notion that women are humans".
Context:
Hina's better pieces are beautifully balanced between intimacy and observation
and speak of subjects inherently female that are not such addressed by Pakistani
writters. "Road" is a symbolic representation, a path every one passes through, a
path which carries everyone to their place, a Road of freedom. In this poem
songs of misiries and sorrows deals with condition of women especially married
women. They are bound in four walls like cave. All the time they gives courage,
support, care and strength to men but still they considered as inferor. Although
they are full of materialistics things but not to free to complaining men.
"i see ny body as an instrument rather than an ornament" (aliens Morissette)
second major theme discucced in poem is "Escapism" poetess describes it
through her own feelings to forget harsh realities of life. women found relaxation
in escapism. Other major themes are absence of love and voice of freedom.
Analysis
Form: Form of all poem is "free verse", not a regular pattern of sounds, words,
lines or stanzas. most f the sentences consist of 5 or 6 lines. this is deviation
from norms of poetry. Its purpose is to capture readers attention or making
PAkistani poetry distinguishable from standard norms of poetry.
Tone: Tone is reflective, reflection of society, women and their problems.
Mood:

2. Mood is the representation. poem presents the atmosphere of sorrow.
Style/ Voice:
Poem follows "narration" First person narration can be seen easily
e.g I saw her
I have brought
Rhythm/ Rhyme:
Rhythm and Rhyme are patterns of sounds, syllables and stress and unstress
patterns. This poem shows no rhytm and rhyme patterns.
Figures of speech
Allegory: Line with double meanings, primary (surface) and secondary (deep or
implied)
Antipophora: Like soliloquy for example person ask question to himself and
answer to that himself.
RD: Conjunctions, articles and commas are omitted in order to gain continuity in
whatever poet is trying to convey to his readers.
Metaphor: A figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something
to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance for
example Road---Path (road to freedom).
Simile; One thing is linked to another to enhance its image,
e.g. ‘Soil had bound them like pillars’
Cohesion; It deals with external relation of a text ; how texts are joined with
each other. Co-coordinative sentences are used with no repetition.
Deixis: Phenomenon where understanding of meaning in certain words and
phrases or utterances requires contextual information is referred to as Deixis
which is further divided into three categories
1) Person deixis (I, me),
2) Spatial deixis (place , Multan, Jahanian),
3) Temporal deixis ( now, then)
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by : Maria raja