carper weavers poem analysis

carper weavers poem analysis

The poem “Carpet-weavers, Morocco”, by Carol Rumens, reflects the issue of child labor, which is defined as the unauthorized exploitation of underage individuals for little or no pay. The poem, through vivid imagery, describes as children of various ages work on their brightly- colored carpets. The carpets are then transported to their respective mosque. In the last stanza, it is communicated in an emotional manner how these children are trapped working, instead of attending school and living normal childhoods. Key themes in this poem include child labor, injustice and social divisions.
In the first verse, weaving children with ‘oiled, black braids’ and ‘brightly colored dresses’ are introduced; it is described how their differences in size and their colors provide an almost musical effect, similar to that of chimes. In the second verse, the poet describes how these children are completely driven to their work, as described in the line ‘they watch their flickering knots like television’. In Verse 3, we see how the carpets are transported to their markets- as it will be used to pray on. In Verse 4, the poem sadly compares the schools of other children, to these groups of weavers, where their school depends on what they weave for it to be sold.
Stanza 1 states: “The children are at the loom of another world”. This tells the reader the way in which the children use the loom as their way of working, but this specific line has a double meaning; ‘loom’ refers to as ‘coming into view’. A second meaning to this would be that the children are expressing their views of their own, imprisoned world, which they are able to represent solely through the art they create.
In Stanza 4, the reader learns how they ‘watch their flickering knots like television’. This is a comparison to other children who are able to indulge in the pleasures of technology, in richer countries. However, this is somehow sad as the weaver’s ‘television’ is not...