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Carpet-weavers, Morocco Carol Rumens
Carpet-weavers, MoroccoCarol RumensThe children are at the loom of another world.Their braids are oiled and black, their dresses bright.Their assorted heights would make a melodious chime.They watch their flickering knots like television.As the garden of Islam grows, the bench will be raised. 5Then they will lace the dark-rose veins of the tree-tops.The carpet will travel in the merchant’s truck.It will be spread by the servants of the mosque.Deep and soft, it will give when heaped with prayer.The children are hard at work in the school of days. 10From their fingers the colours of all-that-will-be flyand freeze into the frame of all-that-was.
Carol Rumens was born on 10 December 1944 in Forest Hill, South London. She won a scholarship to grammar school and later studied Philosophy at London University, but left before completing her degree. She gained a Postgraduate Diploma in Writing for the Stage (with Distinction) from Manchester City College in 2001. She has held the following posts: Writer in Residence, University of Kent at Canterbury (1983-5); Northern Arts Literary Fellow (1988-90); Poet in Residence, Queen's University, Belfast (1991-3) and University College Cork (1994); Writer in Residence for the British Council, University of Stockholm (Spring 1999); Creative Writing Tutor, Queen's University, Belfast (1995-8). She was Poetry Editor for the publisher Quarto (1982-4) and the Literary Review (1984-8). She began publishing music reviews at the age of 16 and has since contributed literary journalism to a wide variety of periodicals and newspapers. She is currently Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Hull.
Social Injustice - links to Song to the Men of England, Caged Bird, Exploitation of Children World of Work - links to Muliebrity, Farmhand, Monologue Appearance and Reality Themes
'Loom' – The loom is a machine use for weaving; 'the children are at the loom…' states that are children are at work weaving, and they are weaving carpets, which relates with the title of the poem. 'Another world' – This can mean the Third World, where the children are.Can also illustrate the fact that the children are heavily concentrated in their task and are in their own world. Also implies a separation between tourists/observers/developed countries ant the children/developing countries 'Their braids are oiled and black, their dresses bright' gives a physical description of the children. The word ‘bright’ is a contrast to the dull work they do. Also shows how the observer sees the girls, as a pretty image. Links to the theme appearance and reality 'Assorted heights' – This expresses the fact that the children are of different sizes, thus, different ages too. 'Melodious chime' – Shows us that there are children of all different ages here. The word 'melodious' states how there are no big gaps in the ages of all the children, and that the heights of the children run smoothly from the smallest to the largest. The internal rhyme in 'bright', 'heights' and 'chime' links the three words and reinforces the theme exploitation of children First Stanza
'They watch their flickering knots like television.' -This line draws a parallel/contrast between these child labourers at work and children of westernised societies. The carpet-weavers are always hard at work with their weaving and many children of the western world are always in front of the TV. This line leaves the impression that this work is very mindless. Like sitting in front of a TV for hours on end. -'Flickering' suggests the speed of the children's fingers 'As the garden of Islam grows, the bench will be raised.' -On the surface this line seems to give the poem an upbeat and optimistic mood. This is due to a link with the ‘garden of Islam’, quite possibly a link to an idealistic world. Also ‘the bench being raised’ on first reading appears to be a phrase with positive connotations. -On the other hand, beneath the surface is a serious problem. In reality the ‘garden of Islam’ refers to the carpet which these children are working so hard to create. In addition to this the ‘bench being raised’ is due to the age and height of the children. These are young children who must stand on a raised bench to weave a carpet. Second Stanza
'Then they will lace the dark-rose veins of the tree-tops.' -This line links back with the previous line and demonstrates the extent to which the children are worked after the bench has been raised. -‘Dark-rose veins’ may be seen as a pattern on the carpet but it also makes the reader think about blood and the pain and suffering this work must be causing these children. -The ‘tree-tops’ again links with the height of the weavers and how they are being stretched in order to weave this carpet. -In saying ‘the dark-rose veins of the tree-tops’ the trees have been personified and almost brought to life. The blood in the trees can be seen to represent the life-force of the children and while these trees are being instilled with life, the life of the weavers is being taken away. Second Stanza (continued)
This whole stanza depicts the journey the carpets undertake to get to their final destination, an Islamic mosque. 'Deep and soft' - these positive adjectives capture the richness and beauty of the carpet and contrasts with the next stanza. 'Heaped with prayer.' -This is ironic because of the fact that the carpets the children are being exploited to make are going to be used for religious purposes. Children are always thought of as the future and are therefore treated like treasures. These treasures are being used to make the very carpets they use in mosques. Third Stanza
'School of days' – This phrase informs us how this work is like school for them; they are at it all day and everyday. Fly’ – is a description of the way their fingers move when they are weaving the carpet. Flying implies speed and agility, and therefore depicts the speed in which their fingers move. The flying can also be describing the ‘colour's, which fly from the children’s fingers and ‘freeze’, become immobile into the frame of the carpet. The colours are the threads which they use to make the carpet, and this also implies that the carpets are very colourful. 'all-that-will-be' – while working, their lives go into the carpets therefore their lives are wasted making carpets Alliteration of 'f' -Links the words and illustrates how, over time, their lives will disappear into the carpets. This means that they have no future. Hyphens -Links the words. The connection between 'all-that-will-be' and 'all-that-was.' their futures become their past. Fourth Stanza
The tense throughout the poem changes. The first four lines the tense is in the present and the poet describes what she sees. It then projects into the future – the next 5 lines are in the future The first line of the last stanza goes back to present The next one is both future and present The last line of the poem is the present and the past Change in Tense
