Question 1: What is the significance of the opening line: 'Paper thinned by age or touching' in establishing the poem's themes?

Answer: It introduces the fragile nature of paper, symbolizing human life and history's delicacy, setting the theme of impermanence.

Question 2: Identify and analyze the metaphor in the phrase 'to turn and face the sun' from line 3.

Answer: It symbolizes resilience and hope, suggesting that despite fragility, there is strength in facing challenges.

Question 3: Examine the imagery in the line: 'Light as paper, yet it can be changed'. What effect does this imagery create?

Answer: It emphasizes the contrast between fragility and influence, showing how something delicate can still have power to alter perceptions.

Question 4: Quote Explosion: Analyze the phrase 'History, despite its violence, is still a fragile thing.' What does the word 'fragile' suggest here?

Answer: The word 'fragile' highlights the delicate, easily broken or altered nature of history, emphasizing its vulnerability to change or damage.

Question 5: How does the poet use personification in the line 'Tissue, which the sun never touches, is what we fold'?

Answer: Personification gives tissue human qualities, suggesting it embodies human actions and decisions, such as folding, which affects its durability.

Question 6: Identify the theme of power in the line: 'The way we make / memories of paper, or what we keep, / and what we discard'. How does this relate to the poem's overall message?

Answer: It suggests that human choices about what to remember or forget shape history and identity, linking to themes of control and the transient nature of power.

Question 7: Quote Explosion: Analyze the phrase 'Maps too, the sun shines through / this is what I mean'. What does the imagery of sunlight passing through maps imply?

Answer: Sunlight passing through maps symbolizes transparency and the fragility of boundaries or power structures, suggesting their vulnerability.

Question 8: Discuss how Dharker uses structure in the poem to reinforce its themes. Refer to stanza length, line breaks, or repetition.

Answer: Dharker's free verse and irregular stanza lengths reflect the unpredictable, fragile nature of tissue and history, emphasizing its impermanence. Repetition of certain phrases underscores key ideas about fragility.

Question 9: Compare the theme of power in 'Tissue' with that in 'Ozymandias'. How do both poems portray the transient nature of power?

Answer: Both poems depict power as temporary and fragile—'Ozymandias' shows the ruins of a once-great statue, symbolizing hubris and decay, while 'Tissue' emphasizes the delicate nature of human constructs and history, suggesting that power structures are ultimately vulnerable.

Question 10: Write an extended paragraph or prepare a brief essay plan on how Dharker presents the idea of human fragility and resilience in 'Tissue'.

Answer: Students should discuss how Dharker uses imagery of delicate paper contrasted with themes of resilience, such as 'touching' and 'turning face to the sun'. They should explore how the poem suggests that while human creations and histories are fragile, there is also an underlying strength in hope and adaptability.