Revision Day 1

Character & Voice

Re-read Singh Song! by Dalit Nagra and explore how dialect has been used in order to highlight and challenge stereotypes of asian culture?

Select at least five quotations that address the themes of stereotypes and love.

Identify and explore figurative language and rhythm – how has this been used to create the speaker’s voice.

The poem does not use proficient English grammar. It uses phonetics instead of correct English; ‘I run just one ov my daddy’s shops’ this causes some difficulty in understanding the poem however this is deliberate. This is deliberate as Daljit Nagra intended to use language and spelling that reflects the English of people whose native language is Punjabi. This can also show the view that others have on him, by having a different speech pattern it clearly presents his ethnicity.

Following on to the first quotation ‘I run just one ov my daddy’s shops from 9 o’clock to 9 o’clock’ showing the reader that his father wants him to work a twelve-hours a day in the shop which would reference the stereotype of immigrant work ethic. These stereotypes are then challenged by the consistently attacked by the images of his wife: ‘netting two cat on her Sikh lover site’, another being him swearing at his mother (both unexpected due to stereotypes) but not as much as the reveal of his wife’s appearance. Revealing his wife’s punk-like appearance with a ‘red crew cut’ and a ‘Tartan sari’.

Aside from this the main focus is on the love between him and his wife; the human view of their experience strongly displays the idea that the stereotypical views and expectations that are placed on you cannot be used to judge what a person will be like.The poem is playful. The rhyme, the subversion of expectations and the comic images that seem created just for the rhyme (making love “like vee rowing through Putney”), all create a light-hearted poem and prevent the end from becoming sentimental.

The sound describes the character. There are many instances of rhyming in the poem which is expected as the poem is presented in a song form. It does not follow a regular pattern due to the structure being irregular. It usually uses end rhyme which features the ‘ee’ sounds such as chutney and chapatti; these types of words tend to dominate the entire poem. The rhyming speeds up during the middle of the poem but slows down during the end which is appropriate in the most affectionate section of the poem. This can also refer to the type of character that the poem is presenting, the speed of the rhyming would show his attitude as shown by the lack of respect to the shop whilst the slowness would show the surplus of respect towards his wife.