Topic > Childbirth in Poetry by Gillian Clarke and Tishani Doshi

Doshi's "The Deliverer" is set in Kerala at a center designed to help children who have been rejected by society because of their gender, deformities and skin. The immorality of the scene represented by the description of "naked on the street" and "stuck" in bags (referring to children) creates the semantic field of inattention. These terms imply that children are considered property and not a living being deserving of care and love. This is reinforced by the dog thinking that children are "bone or wood", implying that children are seen as an expendable and useless resource by parents unless they provide financial or social benefits (male or fully abled). A contrasting tone is shown in "Caitrin" as the metaphor of the "tight red cord of love" (actually an umbilical cord) is used to convey the immediate and vehement emotional connection between the mother and child. The use of 'tight' suggests that the mother is immediately protective of her child, and Clarke uses enjambement to isolate this word at the end of a line emphasizing its emotional impact. This contrasts with the objectification of children within "The Deliverer", highlighting social differences in how the value of life is viewed. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The fact that the child was buried alive serves as a metaphor for how those who are considered inferior are at the bottom of society and seen as "filth." This connects to the compassionate tone in the first three stanzas which reflects the lack of empathy shown by mothers and fathers, as they are "gather[ed]" just like a useless commodity found in abundance in contrast to the Western ideal of children. The title itself has a double meaning as the deliverer could also be the delivery from God, highlighting how desperate the children are for some form of salvation which is shown to be provided by the American family in the fourth stanza. Furthermore, the imagery of "waiting at the gates" implies that this is heaven for the child and that they are the "Gods", further inferring that they had the ability to choose life or death for the child. The part in the Milwaukee airport draws many parallels to "Caitrin" as the parents are entirely focused on the baby and is described as a "ceremony" which implies that the birth/babies are respected and cared for, as shown in "Caitrin" when the mother talks about 'tender[nes]' and 'love' creating a semantic field of care, just like in stanzas five to eight. In "Caitrin" the entire poem is centered on the struggle between birth and the child, while in "The Deliverer" birth is trivialized by placing it in a single verse and talking about it in a blas? way – 'the body slides out of the body'. The repetition of "body" and its equivocal meaning of being dead or the scientific term for ourselves dehumanizes both the child and the woman, suggesting that they are regarded by society as simply a vessel for producing children. The adjective "crawl" implies the action was accomplished with ease, while the use of the term "struggle" in "Caitrin" suggests it was a difficult task. This shows the stark contrast between the approach to childbirth as 'crawling' suggests it is a frequent occurrence, whilst 'fighting' implies that the act of childbirth is a considered decision both economically and physically, reinforcing the difference between Western and Indian society. The contrast between the two realities is immediately evident in the fourth verse, when it is said that Americans do "things well". The connotations of "right" are an integral part of the.