He speaks -- or rather, his characters speak -- in a whole variety of voices: teenage Jaswinder who wishes she was black and chilled, querulous Kabba laying into his son's English teacher ('my boy, vil he tink ebry new/Barrett-home Muslim hav goat blood-party/barbeque? This poem is about the experience of immigrants to England, and has been cleverly written to be read in parallel with Matthew Arnold’s Dover Beach. One interpretation of the specific use of five could be as a reference to the ‘five oceans’ of the world, which have all proved vital to traditional movement and travel over the centuries.

Suffice to say the man knows his stuff but as amusing as studying Shakespeare can be (for novelty value if nothing else), it pales in comparison to Mr Nagra's work: the patron saint of English Literature (a BLUE CHIP subject). One can’t help but wonder how this initial impression of England contrasted with that the immigrants might’ve expected. Beyond the title, there is a reference to Matthew Arnold’s “Dover Beach” which is a lyrical poem looking at transitions from old to new and the loneliness that this can cause for an individual. This could therefore be interpreted as a criticism of those who are see immigration as hugely detrimental or even dangerous.The poem also considers the uncertainty of the modern world, which is very much in keeping with ‘Look We Have Coming to Dover!

It reads, “So various, so beautiful, so new…” There is nothing “beautiful” about the speaker’s description of the Dover shore in the first stanzas of the text. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.

This includes phrases such as “diesel-breeze” which alludes to pollution and environmental damage as a result of travelling, and harsh and unpleasant industry-heavy areas. Descriptions such as “swarms” take individuality out of those coming to the country, showing how identity can easily be removed and stereotypes applied. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

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. Taking in its sights Matthew Arnold's 'land of dreams', the collection explores the idealism and reality of a multicultural Britain with wit, intelligence and no small sense of mischief. I always enjoy poetry with a touch of fiction or drama about it -- the sort that introduces characters and makes them come alive, and tells stories or at least parts of stories, and keeps us entertained. Building on your ideas, in stanza three, “unclocked by the national eye” also suggests that the only work the migrants can get is illegal.by Daljit Nagra tells of the arrival of immigrants to England and of their lives filled with hard work, fears, and dreams.