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Comparing Warsan Shire's Poems 'Home And Ugly'

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Warsan Shire’s poetry undertakes exploring the values and attitudes of their time, through her exploration of values and attitudes; she challenges social discourse around controversial themes. Warsan Shire is a Somalia born British poet, due to being the daughter of refugees she reflects her poetry on trauma and the consequences if discrimination and equality that most refugees have endured through their experiences. The poems “Home” and “Ugly” are remarkably effective in exploring perspectives that have long been marginalised and the values and attitudes of their time. Her poem “Home” centres on the unforgiving trauma and suffering refugee’s experience. Similarly, “Ugly” is circled around the notion of first hand suffering and trauma

Warsan Shire explores numerous perspectives that have long been marginalised, in particular, refugees and immigrants. The poem challenges the social discourse surrounding refugees today, particularly Syrian refugees seeking refuge from the Syrian …show more content…

The poem “Home” undertakes exploring the values and attitudes and Shire who is a Somalian refugee challenges common assumptions about refugees. The anaphora “no one” accentuates that becoming a refugee is not a choice, but in fact is forced upon the individual, it challenges general assumptions about refugees. The enjambment throughout the third stanza, “No one leaves home unless home chases you, fire under feet, hot blood in your belly…” reflects the process of running away from home, it implies the frenetic continuing movement of refugees. Overall, Shire subverts trauma and suffering of the refugee experience, perspectives that have been on the periphery, she challenges the simplistic suppositions surrounding refugees through her representation. Shire universalises stories that create near universal empathy through her

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