I'm going to read through an unknown unknown girl by Manisa Alvey this may be in preference at preparation for your edexcel GCSE English language exam which it would be paper to your teacher may have chosen for you to take the coursework option so it could be for your coursework or it could be a poem that you're covering for a different example just a little bit of background about Manisa before we continue first of all you do not need to mention context in your answer there is there are no marks awarded for context for ed excel IGCSE however I think it will help you understand this poem more so Manisa was born in Pakistan moved to England and always spoke openly about how she really struggled with her sense of identity ssin quite know where she belonged and kind of what culture Eastern or West and that she associated herself with now the speaker in is a little different she's from it I think she has connections with India we never really know it's a little ambiguous but it suggests that she has connections with India I've got also with the Western world so although it's not Pakistan I think she shares the experience of Manisa Alvie in the sense that they struggle between these two very different cultures okay so looking at the title I'm just gonna focus mostly on the word unknown this reinforces this their idea of lacking identity you'll notice that an unknown girl is repeated throughout the poem so you can refer to this as a refrain suggesting that this line is of high importance initially at the beginning of the poem it seems like an unknown girl is in reference to the girl that is henna in her hand but by the end of the poem you may come to the conclusion that an unknown girl is actually the speaker she doesn't quite know who she is and again of course that's that's linked to her identity you could also analyze girl which connotes inexperience as well okay let's move on in the evening Bazaar studded with neon an unknown girl is henna in my hand so note the diction took choice here in the contrast between them we've got a bazaar which is a traditional market setting in India but it's studded with neon lights which is really evidence of kind of the westernization of India now that contrast might reflect how the girl feels that she feels like she doesn't she stands out in this environment she doesn't quite belong but it could also link to neon lights being quite harsh and superficial and does that maybe reveal how she feels about herself that her identity is superficial whether that be her right her kind of connection with Indian culture or her connection with Western culture it doesn't quite feel real to her so there's something for you to explore she squeezes a wet brown line from a nozzle notice the use of sibilants here to create a soothing tone so this whole process of her hand being henna Dee is soothing and comforting to her and we later learn that it helps create a connection with Indian culture and gives her great comfort she is icing my hand which he steadies with hers on her satin peach knee so the word icing him reminds me of icing a cake which at least in my opinion because I have tried to ice I'm not very good at it I think here she's trying to emphasize the intricacy and the skill of henna ring so she's shown kind of her appreciation for for the girl's skill but also maybe go further and think about how when you ice a cake you're decorating it you want it to look better does she feel like the henna is improving her in some way and and maybe not just physically because of the henna I'm sure many of you will have seen henna it's beautiful but maybe more so she's being improved internally as well she feels better about herself and then the satin peach of what the girl is wearing identifies her as Eastern as well so again it just continues it continues that kind of contrast between east and west throughout this poem in the evening Bazaar for a few rupees an unknown girl is henna in my hand the few rupees reflects the poverty of India but I again not think I'd go beyond here and talk about the irony that it only cost a few rupees yet actually this this process of getting our hand henna dye is extremely valuable to her it brings this wonderful experience that by the end she wants to cling on to so that's why hence why she uses the refrain in the evening bazaar an unknown girl is henna in my hand that's why it's significant to her as a little air catches my shadow stitch camis a peacock spreads its lines across my palm so as the air seems to change slightly I would argue this is the use of pathetic fallacy which creates potentially a sense of unease maybe emotional and ease because she's sensing that she's starting to feel different about herself this could be symbolized as well I haven't written in the annotations but this could be symbolized by the personification of the henna it's now a peacock spreading its lines across my palm rather than you know it's the girl drawing the henna on my hand so it seems like the henna is taking a life of it of its own and kind of taking over her and making her feel more connected notice the the diction choice shadow potentially indicating this something dark within her now could that be linked to her sadness or could it be the fact that she kind of sees herself as a mystery that she doesn't quite understand herself also sorry I should have mentioned peacock is the national bird of India so it's significant that she chooses to have the peacock henna on her hand rather than any other design so it suggests that she really is trying to connect with Indian culture as well to choose to have the peacock over anything else colors leave the streets float up in balloons so here we've got this like beautiful imagery of it getting darker dummies in shopfronts tilt and stare with their Western perms it's interesting diction choice here because she could have referred to them as mannequins but she chooses to use the word dummies which has much more negative connotations so is she kind of thinking about kind of the artificial or fake Western influence and its contrast to the kind of traditional hen or all the traditional setting or is she very much aware of the clash and how they stand out in comparison to everything else and is that how she feels about herself is this her being self conscious and does she stand out if she feel like she doesn't belong like these dummies do not belong and the fact that they tilt and stare so we've got personification there a sense of an ease does she feel like she's under scrutiny almost again this sense that she doesn't belong and she clearly stands out and everyone's aware of it banners of Miss India 1993 for Curtin cloth and sofa cloth canopy me so it's interesting that she makes reference to Miss India that's a very popular competition in India and it's been repurposed as curtains and sofa cloth the word canopy especially I think more so suggests that she feels comforting and protected by this I have read other interpretations that suggest you might be overwhelmed by that but and you're more than welcome to use that interpretation as well it's always best to show your appreciation of of multiple interpretations I have new brown vanes I love the use of short sentence here there's clearly a change something quite always confident as well and self-assured about that short sentence it's a metaphor obviously her her veins aren't really brown but we're linking this to blood and blood being her heritage so she feels very much like she's becoming much more Indian while she's having her hands hen it in the evening Bazaar very deftly an unknown girl is henna in my hand I'm clinging to these firm peacock lines like people who cling to the sides of train of a train sari notice the repetition of clink think about reasons why you cling on to something it's normally because you're desperate to hold on so she's got this incredible desire to hold on to that sense of belonging that this process of getting our hands henna has given her and then notice the next line now the fury streets are hushed you might argue that this kind of mirrors her experience and might explain why she's trying to cling on to this moment because right now her connection to India is strong but it just like how the streets were furious but that might be temporary and actually she says later it will be that the lines will fade so it's only a temporary it's only temporarily strong and that connection will fade I think that anticipation makes her feel desperate to hold on I'll scrape off the dry brown lines before I sleep now for some reason I've copied this incorrectly so I'll go straight to 41 so I'll scrape off the dry brown lines before I sleep reveal soft as a snail trail the amber bird beneath so here we've got the reference of the amber berm connotations of a precious stone so again this bird which is the national but national animal of India is precious to her it also has connotations amber patience of warm so it gives a regain this great comfort as well it will fade in a week again look at that short sentence it's a temporary feeling just like this line finishes very quickly when Indira appears and reappears I'll lean across a country with my hands outstretched longing for the unknown girl in the neon bazaar so again we have this image think about her kind of leaning out out with our hands stretched out there gained this desperation to hold on to this memory or hold on to this experience this feeling of belonging so we're learning that the speaker rarely feels this great sense of connection with the culture and at this moment she has that she wants to hold on to it because she's uh she's not used to it she's used to feeling quite confused about her about her culture and where she belongs so looking at the poem as a whole it's free verse you might argue that this mirrors her lack of certainty about herself you'll notice that the lines are centered as well rather than to typically to the left does it suggest that she's kind of stuck in the middle of two cultures she's got weak allegiance to I aside and that's one way of reading it the short lines as well could refer to that temporary feeling we were talking about that connection will will end so it's the shortness of the feeling but also the little punctuation which as well you could definitely talk about in German here I forgot to put that on this is just a stream of consciousness something that's happening in the moment that she's having her henna but notice that even though this is a really nice experience it ends up almost with an anxious tone so she's quite comforted at the beginning I was quite excited about the fact that she's starting to feel this connection at the end you might argue that the tone changes it's quite anxious because she knows this feeling won't last forever and that's quite sad that she won't have that sense of comfort in terms of who she is