Elizabeth Burge’s “Ispahan Carpet” deals with the inescapable continuity of tradition, its cruel 

nature, as well as its indifference, all while giving a particular focus to young women in Persian 
society. His depiction of the poverty-stricken lives of these “Eight-year-old girls” within the 
confines of a room that is “bare but for blackened pots and jars” through the use of various literary 
devices evokes a sense of guilt and sympathy. 
The fact that the poet puts deliberate emphasis on the carpet in the title in a poem where she is 
highlighting the oblivion of the people who fail to recognise the cumbersome work that is put in 
making these carpets is highly ironic. The title’s focus on the tangible outcome of a carpet reflects 
the consumer’s, who fail to see the suffering that goes behind. It feels as if Burges is trying to mock 
these consumers by indicating that they are inhumane to be blinded by this cruelty. While these 
consumers may detect the ‘speaking darkness’ in the ‘large eyes’ of the workers, there is no evidence 
that they actually go on to do something about it. This characterization of a passive 
acknowledgement rather than a proactive stance of the persona to the injustice that these girls face 
highlights the overarching irony of the poem. The persona seems to be indifferent as long as he/she 
is getting the carpet. 
In the first few lines, the poet sets the backdrop of a room filled by ‘Rough timber gallows’. Not 
much is known about the workers except that they are a ‘silent, sallow and dark-eyed Persian 
family’. The repeated ‘s’ and ‘l’ sounds help to create a sombre and slightly ominous atmosphere, 
indicative of the idea that their silence might indicate that they are hiding something (which 
becomes clearer later). This image though, is contrasted immediately with the ‘Lights on the 
jewelled arabesques’ which visually pops up in the reader’s mind and causes the reader to 
momentarily forget that this ‘exquisite’ light is ‘Shadowing’ the makers of the carpet. Even the 
characterization of their workplace as a ‘cavernous hearth’ probably indicates that they are secluded 
from the eyes of society, hidden in a dark void of a cave with just a ‘flickering fire’ which helps 
them make their carpet. Through employing the overpowering light imagery, Burges shows that 
these material object appeal instantaneously and are lucrative to the extent to which light, instead 
of making things clearer, blurs the reality of this family for the reader 
 
The next few lines introduce ‘the makers of the webs’. At the point at which the reader finds out 
that these are ‘Eight-year old girls’, he/she is taken aback, as he/she realises the heinous act that is 
being committed here. The alliterative sounds of ‘s’, ‘b’ and ‘r’ that follow thereafter create a 
rhythm which causes the reader to go over those lines quickly, probably mirroring the seamless way 
in which this act is carried out, thereby intensifying its cruelty. Furthermore, the fact that these 
young girls are ‘Bent like old women’ disturbs the reader even further, who is, by now, angered by 
this injustice The image that they have now become ‘old women’ could indicate that these girls will 
never be able to enjoy their childhood and/or youth and have almost sublimed to old age, working 
all their lives and now approaching death. The ‘unsupported bird-bones’ might indicate the 
crouched shoulder blades of these girls, with the animal reference of birds appropriately portraying 
the torturous, inhumane fate of the girls. The tradition of this task is then conveyed, when the 
persona claims that this is ‘left by their aunts and sisters’, after which he/she portrays his/her 
displeasure with this custom when claiming that these ‘little fingers’ are tying ‘One-hundred knots 
in the space of my thumb nail’. The visualization of this task seems painful to the reader, and with 
the girls’ one hundred knots of hard work only amounting to a trivial area on a thumb nail, the 
reader is bound to sympathise with them and recognise their effort. 
 
The phrases ‘heart-beats of a young child’s growing’ and ‘hours for the space a foot will crush 
down’ suggest that child labour is not only slavery, but also a form of robbery as the author 
intensifies the loss of childhood while mitigates the trade-off for which this is done. At this point, 
the reader is truly dejected. 
 
There is a subtle shift at this point in the poem. The prolonged sound of ‘O’ highlights the 
melancholy of the persona after which the speaker poses a question to pause the readers and let 
them digest this key message he puts forth: that of the ‘world weaving’. This probably refers to 
tradition and its continuity, and the speaker plays on the word ‘woven’ to depict how strictly 
bound the lives of these makers are, while simultaneously asks if there is a way for them to get out 
of this misery. 
 
The last two lines illustrate the tourist’s interaction with the young girl. There is an element of 
touch, as the persona’s ‘swollen hand is gentle on the greenstick shoulders’. The swollen hand 
might be a symbol of an inflated ego, and the fact that he is ‘gentle’ probably suggests that he is 
aware of the worker’s state. The last line is powerful. The ‘speaking darkness’ not only relates back 
to the initial image of darkness, but also portrays the cyclical nature of the poem, much like the 
cyclical nature of poverty and tradition. As such, this phrase poignantly embeds the image of these 
‘large eyes’ in the reader’s mind. 
 
In the end, the poet does not give an answer to his question, much like the fact that he never 
explains his inaction towards child labour. At large, the poem depicts the inescapable continuity of 
tradition, indicating that despite its flaws, it continues smoothly and uninterruptedly.