Compare how the poet presents the effects of power in Tissue and in one other poem.

 

The poet presents the effects of power in Tissue as something that greatly effects human beings, that is external power. The poem explores the power of literal tissue/ paper on human beings (tissue/ skin). Firstly an effect of the powerful tissue paper, specifically credit cards bills, is that they “fly our lives like kites”. The credit cards bills represent the economy and so just as a kite’s direction is not always able to be controlled, have the power to uplift whoever is holding them if strong enough, and is affected by the wind and not so much human beings so the economy effects human beings and is at times more powerful than the human being. Dharker is exploring the history of humanity and paper’s history and the link – she is suggesting that the things created by humans and that exist on paper have overpowered us, like the economy. Similarly War Photographer deals with the power of the external over human beings, or its lack of it. Interestingly it also looks at paper items and their power (or lack of it) over human beings. The photographer himself is overpowered by the images of conflict which he has made into “spools of suffering”. The sibilance present highlights the sounds of conflict and chemicals – both bringing reader to his dark room and the battle grounds. Furthermore spools is plural highlight the incredible amount of suffering and finally the word choice of suffering has suggestions of intense and extreme pain. It is also in present continuous tense highlighting it is ongoing. In the case of the photographer he is also overpowered by the “spools of suffering” just as those in tissue can overpowered by the credit card bills.