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Form and structure

Living Space is written in one long thin stanza with 22 short lines. Each line varies in length. The longest, 'The whole structure leans dangerously', appears considerably longer on the page than the others, perhaps echoing the fact the whole structure is leaning over. The effect of this is to create a poem that appears as precarious as the physical structures it describes. The lines of different lengths seem to jut out into the page like some of the crooked beams the poet presents.

There are some instances of rhyme in the poem (that/flat, beams/seams, space/place, white/light). In these cases the rhyme acts as a way of holding the poem together. In that respect, the rhymes are similar to the nails in the poem which are attempting to lend stability to the overall structure.

Dharker uses enjambment throughout this poem with lines spilling over into one another. This reflects the way the slum structures lean over and on top of each other.

The first half of the poem describes the structure. From line 11 onwards we are presented with an image of something inside: people living in the space, and the eggs hanging in a basket. This makes the second half of the poem more hopeful, as if showing the power of faith.

Language

The poet presents us with an image, like a snapshot or photograph of a moment in time. The language used is simple and focuses on the shape of the structure. Words like 'crookedly', 'balance', 'leans' and 'slanted' emphasise the instability of the living space.

There is a contrast between dark and light with the bright image of the curved smooth eggs standing out against the darkness of the 'slanted universe'.