Look We Have Coming to Dover!

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What questions could the poem be interpreted as asking a reader, and what impact could this have on their interpretation of the poem?

Society and Culture: A core aspect of ‘Ode on a Grayson Perry Urn’ is the consideration of modern society, and how this may be perceived differently and potentially more positively in the future than it is today. Turnbull also suggests the different social and cultural divisions which exist, such as class differences or generational gaps. His poems have been published in the New Yorker, [9] Atlantic Review, The London Review of Books, The Times Literary Supplement, Poetry Review, Poetry London, Poetry International, The Rialto and The North. While the collection covers polarizing topics, it does not come off as overtly political. The poems possess a human nature that connects to readers of all races in a deep and concise manner. Nagra does not abandon his native form of speech and strictly stays away from sounding too British.A similar technique is the use of British references and imagery to juxtapose with the non-English words and ideas. One example is “ Bedford van” which became a well known piece of British culture throughout the 20th century, including many wartime vehicles branded as “Bedford”. In addition there is also the description “Blair’d in the cash” in the final stanza, where the use of “Blair” could be interpreted as a reference to former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who controversially decided not to use available restrictions to prevent large scale immigration from many new European Union countries such as Poland. As such, this reference can be seen as pointing directly to the idea of immigration and the way that politics, media and society intertwine to react to it. The poem refers to the electronic genre of music called House which developed in the 1980s in the United States, with the idea of it being “imported” from different locations demonstrating how geographical distance has largely been removed thanks to the ease of travel and communication. The line goes on to link “UK garage” so as to demonstrate the diversity of modern culture. It could also be interpreted as having a double meaning and be referring to the idea that households are increasingly diverse with origins from around the world. Flood, Alison (30 November 2020). "Royal Society of Literature reveals historic changes to improve diversity". The Guardian . Retrieved 2 December 2020. The last stanza focusses in on an individual experience and relationship, as does Arnold’s original. There is a sense of having reached a possible, maybe ‘imagined’ destination and having left a state of being ‘hutched’ to be ‘free’. The word ‘free’ itself sits alone after the caesura at the end of a line as a syntactic demonstration of independence but note that it is still enclosed by punctuation. Glasses are raised ‘East’ in a celebration of difference and achievement. The immigrant voice may express the position of the second generation who have become accepted in the Blairite atmosphere of plenty. The voice refers to those who have ‘beeswax’d cars’, a typical image of middle England, and asks the reader to ‘imagine’ again with a sense of irony. The immigrant has the last laugh as Nagra refers satirically again to the prejudiced who might talk of ‘babbling’ and ‘lingoes’. Tippoo Sultan's Incredible White-Man-Eating Tiger Toy-Machine!!!' Philippa Conlon, Prospect Magazine

The poem is a dramatic monologue, the voice that of the poet, using the first person plural ‘we’ and in the last stanza ‘I’.

Daljit Nagra (b. 1966) was the first poet to win the Forward Prize for both his first collection of poetry, in 2007, and for its title poem, ‘Look, We Have Coming to Dover!’, three years earlier. An earlier pamphlet, Oh My Rub! was a winner in the Poetry Business pamphlet competition, and was selected by the Poetry Book Society as a Pamphlet Choice. Nagra has also contributed to a collection of translations from Dutch, Uit het Hoofd, and won the Arts Council Decibel Award in 2008. Born in Middlesex, he now lives in London, where he works as an English teacher. When looking at the poem as a whole the changes in line length become clearer, with each stanza progressing from short lines to long lines, before restarting the cycle for the next stanza. Some readers may see this as showing waves and tides with this gradual but clear flow and change, or alternatively the movement of people across the world throughout history and different cycles of immigration and emigration. Some readers may also interpret the less even structure as reminding them of their own experience with foreign languages, in which those who are less practiced may struggle to have an even and regular flow of conversation. The use of non English words is an intriguing way in which Nagra can be seen to be critical of anti-immigration ideas and sentiments, demonstrating how English has naturally evolved to incorporate words from other languages. There are many examples, such as “alfresco” (Italian) and “camouflage” (French) within the first two stanzas, and reference to champagne through “charged glasses” in the final stanza. This would be very effective for readers who notice the inclusion of such words but don’t immediately see them as ‘foreign’ because it would demonstrate how language has evolved, and how little it has been realised by modern society. There is also frequent use of commas and hyphens throughout the poem, which may represent the idea of diversity and change within society due to the frequent use of these different types of punctuation. Some readers could also interpret this as continuing the idea of foreign languages and speech, with these pauses representing the thinking and consideration for new words when a non-native speaker is using another language. However, as these pieces of punctuation are generally used to join sentences and words together (in comparison to full breaks with caesura, such as full stops and exclamation marks), it could be seen that this is demonstrating how different cultures and people bring society closer together. Poetic Techniques

Note also that immigrants are described as animals or objects —‘Stowed in the sea’ and ‘hutched’. He uses the language racists use to whip up fear of immigrants who ‘invade’ or ‘swarm’. The immigrants are camouflaged while the animals are out in the open, making noise and going where they please. The speaker also described the “scummed / cliffs” of the shoreline. This is in contrast to the white cliffs normally associated with Dover. One can’t help but wonder how this initial impression of England contrasted with that the immigrants might’ve expected.THE AWARD-winning Anglo-Indian poet, Daljit Nagra, whose ebullient, sharp-witted poems have made him one of Britain's most popular and acclaimed poets, reads from his work at the Town Hall Theatre this Saturday, as part of C�irt. The sibilance and alliteration of ‘Stowed in the sea to invade’ conjure up the sound of the sea and are also reminiscent of Old English alliterative verse, suggesting a certain primitiveness in the account of the voyage as well as highlighting the threat that some believe immigrants present. This, however, also reminds the reader that England is part of an island nation whose population is made up of invaders. Nagra successfully mingles the suggestion of racist attitudes with an ironic reminder of history. Identity: British identity is explored through various iconic images and well known references, but this idea of identity is also increasingly morphed by additional cultural identities. Descriptions such as “swarms” take individuality out of those coming to the country, showing how identity can easily be removed and stereotypes applied. The title is ungrammatical, Nagra teasing his own people for their incorrect English with gentle humour. In another poem Singh Song the humour is sustained throughout, while here the mood is more sombre.

The structure of this poem suggests the sea both in terms of graphology and meter. Lines increase in syllable length through each stanza suggesting a flowing tide. Each stanza starts with an initial ‘s’ sibilance to illustrate the sea until the last which imagines the journey over. There is progression from the boat journey to the Bedford van and then to an end destination of a settled domestic life. Interpreture gives ‘Ode on a Grayson Perry Urn’ a difficulty rating of 4, meaning that it is deemed to be a relatively difficult poem. All aspects of this poem are deemed to be somewhat difficult, with the meaning perhaps hard to initially understand and the poem as a whole made more difficult by the links to Keats’‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’. That said, the strong links between the two poems offer a wide variety of interpretations and potential analysis, particularly in the juxtaposition between modern ideas and a Romantic-based structure. ‘Ode on a Grayson Perry Urn’Current RSL Fellows". Royal Society of Literature. Archived from the original on 5 March 2015 . Retrieved 10 June 2017. The speaker and his traveling companions make it to land and it begins to storm. The thunder is said to “unbaldder” on the newcomers and the speaker describes the rain as “yobbish.” It is important to take note of the words used in ‘Look We Have Coming to Dover!’which are characteristically English in nature. These people make their escape from the shore in a Bedford van. It is white, indistinguishable from other similar vehicles and likely the perfect on land camouflage. Stanza Three His poem "Singh Song!" was added to the AQA English Literature GCSE love and relationships poetry specification. [17]