MONIZA ALVI

‘The Wedding’ by Moniza Alvi is a powerful poem that describes a wedding through dream-like imagery.
In the first lines of the poem, the speaker looks back on her emotions regarding her upcoming wedding
ceremony. She believed it was going to be something small, held in a forgotten city. When the ceremony
finally came along, it was as expected—dull. When the guests arrived, their suitcases initiated an
extended metaphor that gives the poem its deepest meaning. The poet uses numerous examples
of similes depicting the wedding guest as beggars and smugglers. 
For her dowery, the speaker offers a smile, whisper, and more intangible things. She rides down the
street with her groom, and they look in front of themselves as though they have the power to look
through their closest surroundings and into another realm of existence. Here, the poem’s dream-like
powers are at their peak. In conclusion, the speaker says that she would prefer to marry the country of
Pakistan itself. 
She imagines the various elements of the country becoming her dress and veil. Her dreams are
temporary, and she knows that holding onto them is going to be impossible. The bride and groom face
one another, and the speaker describes the markings on their hands as appearing like maps.

Structure and Form 

‘The Wedding’ by Moniza Alvi is a twelve stanza poem that is made up of sets of three lines, also known
as tercets. There is a single concluding line that makes twelve stanzas at the end of the poem. Visually,
the poem looks to be quite regular. But, as one is reading it, the repetitive use of enjambment changes
the rhythm dramatically. 
This poem is written in free verse. This means that the poet did not use a specific rhyme scheme or
metrical pattern. The lines end with very different sounds and vary in length.

Literary Devices 
Throughout this poem, the poet makes use of several literary devices. These include but are not limited
to: 
Alliteration: can be seen when the poet repeats the same consonant sound at the beginning of multiple
words in succession. For example: “stealthy as sandalwood smugglers” and “stared straight.” 
Imagery: occurs when the poet uses particularly interesting descriptions. These should trigger the reader
senses, allowing them to envision the scene the writer intended them to. For example: “The ceremony
tasted of nothing / had little color – guests arrived.”
Enjambment: can be seen when the poet cuts off a line before its natural stopping point. This occurs
numerous times throughout the poem. For example, the transition between lines one and two of stanza
one as well as lines one and two of stanza three.
Caesura: occurs when the poet inserts a paws into the middle of a line of verse. For example: “had little
color – guests arrived.” 

Detailed Analysis 
Stanzas One and Two
I expected a quiet wedding
(…)
had little color – guests arrived
In the first lines of the poem, the speaker describes what she expected from her upcoming wedding
ceremony. She believed that it was going to be held in a quiet place in a “lost city,” this is a reference to
a romanticized version of a city in Pakistan, perhaps Islamabad, that no longer exists, or that only ever
existed in a dream. But, as the poem progresses despite some of her expectations coming true, the
wedding ceremony becomes far more complicated.
In these lines, the speaker uses numerous examples of similes and metaphors. She compares her
marriage to a “forest of sticks, a pot of water.” This is the first of numerous dreamlike images that give
this poem its meaning.
This helps to convey the speaker’s experience of being pulled between two histories, countries, and
identities. There is England and there’s Pakistan. She wants to be able to balance her life, meaning,
balance the various cultures that are part of her life.

Stanzas Three and Four

stealthy as sandalwood smugglers.
(…)
I insisted my dowry was simple-
When the wedding guest arrived at the ceremony, they open their suitcases and their cultural identities
spill out. She depicts this quite simply as “England.” This part of her new life is scratching at her, it is
clawing at her trying to keep control of her in full. But, she has another identity that she has to contend
with. The arrival of “England” throws her balance off. It also makes it clear why the speaker has such a
longing for Pakistan or a version of Pakistan. 
The following lines initiate a depiction of the speaker’s metaphorical dowry. Rather than possessions or
money, she has something else to offer.

Stanzas Five and Six 

a smile, a shadow, a whisper,
(…)
Our eyes changed color
The speaker notes that she has a “shadow, a whisper.” These are the things that she can give on her
wedding day. The home she has is made of things that are not durable or dependable. They are “rags
and bamboo.” Here, the speaker is creating an intentional juxtaposition between England and Pakistan
as well as what one would expect and what reality is.
The speaker in her groom travels around roads “with English / names.” They are living an English life but
still have a different cultural heritage to contend with.

Stanzas Seven and Eight 

like traffic-lights, so they said.
(…)
breath life into new cities.
There’s a beautiful simile in the transition between stanzas six and seven. The speaker describes how
their eyes change color “like traffic lights.” Or, at least that’s what people said. This is a suggestion of the
way that the speaker, and perhaps her groom as well, transitions between one culture and one history
and the next. She also notes at this point that it was not time for them to “view each other.”
Since this is a marriage of two countries, maybe the speaker is implying that neither was ready to
embrace the other entirely. Perhaps, there is still some distance between the two due to their
knowledge of what they would lose and gain as they left the unity of their previous lives behind.
Rather than look at one another, the two stare straight ahead, this is something the speaker describes in
dream-like terms once again. She says it’s as though they believed they could “see through mountains /
breathe life into new cities.” 

Stanzas Nine and Ten 

I wanted to marry a country
(…)
Our thoughts half-submerged
In stanza nine, the speaker reveals that she wanted to marry a country. That is Pakistan. She wanted to
have the Pakistani river as her veil and spend time singing in the botanical gardens of the capital. This is
a beautiful image and one that is unattainable. 
It is, of course, impossible to marry a country. Here, the speaker is admitting her fears about the duality
of her identity that she’s going to have to face. As she marries, she’s leaving what she knew behind and
will need to contend with her new life in England. The poet does an exceptional job weaving the theme
of immigration within these lines.
She wanted to marry Pakistan, but it’s hard to hold onto that dream. She compares it to charming a
snake in the tenth stanza.

Stanzas Eleven and Twelve 

like buffaloes under dark water
(…)
and imprints like maps on our hands.
In the eleventh stanza and the final tercet, the speaker creates another simile. She describes how she
and her groom pushed their thoughts deep into their minds, like “buffaloes under dark water.” This is
suggestive of the disruptive power of their thoughts as well as how difficult it would be to submerge
them in this way. The two finally turned face one another in the final lines, but it is not without
“turbulence.” 
At the end of the poem, the speaker notes that on their hands are “imprints like maps.” This is
suggestive of the fundamental way that history, identity, and culture affect one’s experience in the
world and with others. Where they’re from is a fundamental part of their identity.

Presents from My Aunts in Pakistan by Moniza Alvi

This poem, ‘Presents from My Aunts in Pakistan’, gives voice to a young person who has been living
away from her homeland for quite some time. The voice reflects the way in which she has adjusted to
her new home, yet still yearns for the place of her childhood. The speaker receives gifts that make her
long for homeland. These gifts were given to her by her aunts, who still lived in Pakistan. The speaker
reveals that she moved to England because she had an English grandmother and Pakistan became a
dangerous place for her. Although her homeland was not safe and she was forced to relocate,
the tone of this poem reveals the memories of her past life that she cherishes.

Presents from My Aunts in Pakistan Analysis

Stanza One
They sent me a salwar kameez
           peacock-blue,
                 and another
  glistening like an orange split open,
embossed slippers, gold and black
           points curling.
  Candy-striped glass bangles
           snapped, drew blood.
  Like at school, fashions changed
           in Pakistan –
the salwar bottoms were broad and stiff,
           then narrow.
My aunts chose an apple-green sari,
  silver-bordered
           for my teens.
The speaker receives gifts that reveal to her the similarities and differences between two places- the
place she currently resides and the place in which she grew up. Like in England, the styles in Pakistan
had changed. They were quite different from the styles in England, but it is interesting that both groups
of people have changed their tastes in style over time. The speaker notes the differences in the clothes
her aunt sent her, comparing them to the clothes she wore in childhood. The clothes her aunt chose for
her were styles in Pakistan geared toward teens. These styles, however, were quite different from the
styles popular in England at the time.
 
Stanza Two
I tried each satin-silken top –
  was alien in the sitting-room.
I could never be as lovely
           as those clothes –
  I longed
for denim and corduroy.
  My costume clung to me
           and I was aflame,
I couldn’t rise up out of its fire,
  half-English,
           unlike Aunt Jamila.
For some reason, the speaker feels that the clothes from Pakistan were too beautiful for her, and she
“longed for denim and corduroy”. These are likely the materials that were popular in England at the
time, and she had already begun to feel more comfortable in her English clothes than Pakistani clothing.
The speaker, however, specifies that she believes the clothes from Pakistan are too beautiful for her.
This implies her feeling that she lost a part of her beauty in the transformation that took place as she
adjusted from Pakistani culture to the English culture. It is interesting that she refers to herself as an
“alien” as she looked at the clothes. She was, by definition, an alien in England. And yet, she felt she was
an alien when she looked at the clothes sent from Pakistan. She notes at the end of this stanza that she
is half English. The English part of her is what causes her to feel that she is not as beautiful as her full
Pakistani relatives such as her “Aunt Jamila”. This reveals her admiration for that side of her heritage.
 
Stanza Three
I wanted my parents’ camel-skin lamp –
  switching it on in my bedroom,
to consider the cruelty
           and the transformation
from camel to shade,
  marvel at the colours
           like stained glass.
This stanza of ‘Presents from My Aunts in Pakistan’  reveals that the speaker has carefully considered
certain aspects of her Pakistani culture. For example, when they moved, she wanted the camel-skin
lamp to be in her bedroom, where she could “consider the cruelty and the transformation from camel to
shade” and “marvel at the colours”. This reveals that she embraces even the so-called “cruel” aspects of
her culture, such as the use of camel hide to make lamp shades. She admires the items that have come
from Pakistan, noting them all as uniquely beautiful.
 
Stanza Four
My mother cherished her jewellery –
  Indian gold, dangling, filigree,
           But it was stolen from our car.
The presents were radiant in my wardrobe.
  My aunts requested cardigans
           from Marks and Spencers.
This stanza reveals that her mother also cherishes her Pakistani jewelry. This implies that her mother is
from Pakistan and her father is from England. When they came to England, however, her mother’s
precious jewelry from back home was stolen from their car. This reveals that even though Pakistan had
become too dangerous for the family to live there, England was not without it’s own crime. The speaker
describes her presents as “radiant in [her] wardrobe” suggesting that they stood out against the dull
English clothing she wore on a daily basis. She then states that her aunts has asked her for certain items
of English clothing, including cardigans.
 
Stanza Five
My salwar kameez
  didn’t impress the schoolfriend
who sat on my bed, asked to see
  my weekend clothes.
But often I admired the mirror-work,
  tried to glimpse myself
           in the miniature
glass circles, recall the story
  how the three of us
           sailed to England.
Prickly heat had me screaming on the way.
  I ended up in a cot
In my English grandmother’s dining-room,
  found myself alone,
           playing with a tin-boat.
The gifts from her aunts remind the speaker of her days in Pakistan. Even though her “schoolfriend” was
not impressed with the clothing, the speaker admired the items greatly. She often put them on and tried
to catch a glimpse of herself in a small mirror. As she looked at herself in this clothing, she tried to recall
a memory that was apparently fading. She thinks about the day they sailed to England. She can
remember the heat on her skin, and she can remember “screaming on the way”. The fact that she was
screaming suggests that the speaker was quite young when she made the journey with her family.  The
move must have been quite traumatic for her to have remained in her memory though she had been so
young.
 
Stanza Six
I pictured my birthplace
  from fifties’ photographs.
           When I was older
there was conflict, a fractured land
  throbbing through newsprint.
Sometimes I saw Lahore –
           my aunts in shaded rooms,
screened from male visitors,
  sorting presents,
        wrapping them in tissue.
This stanza of ‘Presents from My Aunts in Pakistan’ also suggests that the speaker was quite young when
she relocated to England. She can picture her birthplace, but not so much from her own memory as
from the “fifties’ photographs” she had seen. She knew that there had been “conflict” and she had
heard it referred to as “fractured land”. It was all over the news, and it is likely that she saw some of the
news of her homeland even while in England. In the pictures and in her memories she can picture her
aunts. They were in rooms that were “screened from male visitors”. This difference between the two
cultures has clearly made an impact on the speaker. She specifically notes that her aunts are kept out of
sight of “male visitors”. Her tone remains one of fond memory. It is clear that this, also, is a part of her
heritage and culture that she cherishes. She remembers the tasks her aunts did as they mingled with
one another away from the view of the men.
 
Stanza Seven
Or there were beggars, sweeper-girls
  and I was there –
           of no fixed nationality,
staring through fretwork
           at the Shalimar Gardens.
Only in the final stanza of ‘Presents from My Aunts in Pakistan’  does the speaker expound upon the
negative aspects of her past life in Pakistan. She saw “beggars” and “sweeper-girls” who were likely
homeless and had no place to go. And yet, when she saw them, she still felt that she was the one who
was on the outside, because she was “of no fixed nationality”. When she was in Pakistan, she had
pondered this as she stared out “at the Shalimar Gardens”. It becomes apparent that the speaker has
never felt entirely at home anywhere. Neither Pakistan nor England seemed to welcome her entirely. In
Pakistan, she felt different because she was part English. In England, she felt different because she was
part Pakistani. The speaker subtly reveals her inner feelings that she has no place to call home because
she is from two different cultures and ethnicity.