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Year 11
AQA

Analysing the Poem 'Tissue' by Imtiaz Dharker

I can explain how Dharker presents her attitude to power in ‘Tissue’.

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Year 11
AQA

Analysing the Poem 'Tissue' by Imtiaz Dharker

I can explain how Dharker presents her attitude to power in ‘Tissue’.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Paper is presented as seemingly important to our lives but is ultimately insignificant.
  2. This free verse poem, without regular rhyme, reflects the unsteady nature of tissue, power and the transience of life.
  3. The early focus is on paper ‘tissue’ and its connection to human power. The latter focus is on human ‘tissue’ and life.
  4. The poem uses an extended metaphor throughout, comparing ‘tissue’ to human life.

Keywords

  • Free verse - poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular rhythm

  • Quatrain - a stanza in a poem consisting of four lines

  • Extended metaphor - a type of metaphor that is developed throughout a piece of writing

  • Transient - something lasting for a short time only (life can be described as transient)

Common misconception

The poem has a regular, repetitive structure of nine, unrhyming quatrains.

Although most of the poem is written in this way, there is a sudden and sharp break to this form with the final stanza being a single line. You may wish to discuss this with your class (learning cycle 2 discusses the significance of this break).


To help you plan your year 11 english lesson on: Analysing the Poem 'Tissue' by Imtiaz Dharker, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

After completing this lesson students will have a very strong plan for the question 'How does Dharker present the theme of power in the poem?’. You may wish to follow up this lesson with an essay writing lesson where students complete this task.
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Teacher tip
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Equipment

You will need access to a copy of the poem 'Tissue' by Imtiaz Dharker which can be found in the AQA 'Power and Conflict' poetry anthology for GCSE.

content-guidance

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
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Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
As a young child Dharker moved from Lahore, a city in Pakistan to , a city in Scotland.
Correct Answer: Glasgow
Q2.
The poem 'Tissue' takes advantage of the different things we associate with 'tissue', including: fragility, human life, and documents. What is it called when we associate something with other things?
Correct Answer: Connotations, connotation, a connotation
Q3.
In the poem 'Tissue', Dharker uses the word 'you' to communicate to the audience. What is the name of this technique?
Correct Answer: direct address, second person pronoun
Q4.
Arguably, Dharker refused to accept the role of Poet Laureate in 2019 to preserve the __________ nature of her work.
Correct answer: personal
public
romantic
cultural
Q5.
Throughout 'Tissue', Dharker makes lots of references to paper and documents. Why?
to show these things are irrelevant, best ignored
to show we are losing touch with these things as we become more digital
to show paper documents matter more in some cultures than others
Correct answer: to show that, although fragile, paper can be a powerful part of our lives
Q6.
The poem 'Tissue' has stanzas of four lines. What is the term for stanzas in a poem that have 4 lines?
Correct Answer: quatrains, quatrain, a quatrain

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
A major idea in the poem 'Tissue' is the __________ of human power
Correct answer: fragility
vanity
force
greatness
Q2.
Which religious text does Dharker reference in the poem 'Tissue'?
Correct Answer: The Koran, koran, quran, qu'ran, the quran
Q3.
Dharker uses an extended metaphor in 'Tissue' comparing the fragility of 'tissue' to the fragility of life. Which words does Dharker use that could be considered part of this extended metaphor?
Correct answer: maps
Correct answer: slips
Correct answer: pages
monoliths
architect
Q4.
The poem 'Tissue' is written in which type of verse, highlighting the fact it has an unsteady rhythm and does not rhyme?
Correct Answer: Free verse, free
Q5.
In 'Tissue', Dharker encourages us to consider the transience of life. What does this mean?
Correct answer: life is short
life is powerful
life is valuable
life is meaningless
Q6.
Andeep said: ''Tissue' has a regular structure of nine quatrains that don't rhyme.' What would you say to Andeep?
You are correct!
The poem does have nine quatrains but they do rhyme.
The poem only has seven quatrains that don't rhyme.
Correct answer: You are mostly correct but you forgot the single line last stanza.

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