Question 1: Briefly summarize the main theme of 'Tissue'.

Answer: The fragility and transient nature of human life, culture, and power as symbolized by paper.

Question 2: Identify two language devices Dharker uses to describe the paper in the poem.

Answer: Metaphor and imagery.

Question 1: What is the effect of the line 'Paper thinned by age or touching' on the reader’s perception of the material? How does it reflect the poem’s themes?

Answer: It emphasizes the fragility of paper, symbolizing human creations and memories that are delicate and susceptible to time, reinforcing themes of impermanence.

Question 2: Describe how Dharker uses imagery in the phrase 'Light shines through this paper' and discuss its significance.

Answer: The imagery of light shining through suggests transparency and vulnerability, highlighting the fragility of life and human constructs, aligning with the poem’s exploration of impermanence.

Question 1: Identify and explain the effect of the metaphor 'Turned into your skin like a paperweight' in the context of the poem.

Answer: It suggests the weight of history and memory pressed into our lives, making the fragile paper symbolically heavy and significant.

Question 2: Find an example of personification in the poem and explain its purpose.

Answer: 'The tiny, weightless or weighty' — personification gives human qualities to paper, emphasizing its significance and vulnerability.

Question 1: Discuss how the theme of impermanence is conveyed through the poem’s imagery and language.

Answer: Dharker uses imagery of fragile, aging paper and light to symbolize the fleeting nature of memory and human power, highlighting that nothing is permanent.

Question 2: How does the poem challenge traditional ideas about power and permanence?

Answer: It suggests that power and permanence are illusions; instead, everything is transient and vulnerable, like paper that can be easily torn or faded.

Question 1: Outline key points for a comparative paragraph discussing how each poem presents the idea of the impermanence of power.

Answer: Both poems explore the fleeting nature of human achievements; 'Ozymandias' shows a ruined statue symbolizing lost power, while 'Tissue' uses fragile paper to suggest the fragile nature of societal constructs and memory. The tone in both is reflective, emphasizing the transient nature of influence and legacy.

Question 1: Analyze the quote: 'Paper that lets the light shine through, and an architecture / of fragile paper, / that can be turned into your skin.' What do the words 'light', 'architecture', and 'fragile' suggest?

Answer: The word 'light' symbolizes clarity and truth, 'architecture' highlights the constructed nature of human life or society, and 'fragile' emphasizes vulnerability. Together, they suggest that our foundations are delicate and permeable, reinforcing the themes of impermanence and the human condition.

Question 1: Create a brief plan for an essay that explores how 'Tissue' uses imagery to comment on the fragility of human life and power.

Answer: Introduction: Present themes of fragility and impermanence. Paragraph 1: Analyze imagery of paper and light. Paragraph 2: Discuss metaphors and personification. Paragraph 3: Connect imagery to themes of memory and power. Conclusion: Reflect on the poet's message about human vulnerability.