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Prompt 01

Essay task

AQAAP LiteratureIB Language & LiteratureEdexcel

In Imtiaz Dharker's poem Tissue, paper serves as a powerful metaphor to examine the connection between human creations and human vulnerability. In a well-organized essay, argue how Dharker employs the symbolic characteristics of tissue paper — its translucency, delicacy, and ability to be written on — to question the permanence of human-made structures like borders, ownership, and identity, ultimately suggesting that genuine human freedom is found in accepting impermanence.

Your essay should

Suggested length: 4–6 paragraphs

  • Formulate a clear, arguable thesis that addresses Dharker's main message regarding power, control, and human fragility.
  • Analyze at least three specific instances in the poem where imagery, structure, or language choices strengthen the central metaphor.
  • Reflect on how the poem's form and structure (e.g., enjambment, stanza breaks, the isolated final stanza) enhance its meaning.
  • Include quoted evidence from the poem and explain how it bolsters your argument.
  • Conclude by considering the wider implications of Dharker's perspective — what does it signify for human beings to be, like tissue, "transparent"?

Prompt 02

Essay task

AQAGCSE English LiteratureEdexcelIB Language & Literature

In Imtiaz Dharker's poem Tissue, paper symbolizes both the fragility of humanity and the possibility of liberation from rigid, constructed systems. Write a coherent essay arguing how Dharker employs the extended metaphor of paper to critique how humans create and are limited by power structures — including money, religion, maps, and architecture — while also proposing a more fluid and compassionate way of existing in the world.

Your essay should

> "If buildings were paper, I might / feel the / slightest / breath of wind / take the roof right off..."

  • Present a clear, debatable thesis that addresses Dharker's main argument regarding power, impermanence, and humanity.
  • Analyze specific poetic techniques (e.g., imagery, enjambment, tone, structure, and diction) and explain how they bolster your argument.
  • Consider how the poem's form and structure (including its fragmented stanzas and open ending) emphasize its thematic concerns.
  • Engage with at least two of the symbolic systems mentioned in the poem (e.g., receipts/money, the Qur'an, maps, architecture) and discuss what Dharker suggests about each.
  • Conclude by reflecting on the poem's final image — "turned into your skin" — and what it implies about the connection between paper, the human body, and vulnerability.

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