"built to let the daylight / break through"
Why this quote matters: "Break through" is more forceful than "shine through" in stanza one. Dharker escalates the argument: light does not merely filter through this imagined architecture — it breaks through. The verb suggests both natural force (daylight cannot be kept out forever) and a challenge to the walls and borders that human power erects. The enjambment forces a pause before "break through", creating the sense of light arriving with sudden force.
Use this quote when answering: The poem's vision of alternative, more transparent forms of power; how Dharker uses light as the poem's central image; how she imagines a different world; the shift from describing the existing world to imagining a new one.
This study notes covers 💬 Anchor Quote: The Transparent Building within Tissue (Dharker) for GCSE English Literature. Revise Tissue (Dharker) in Power and Conflict Poetry for GCSE English Literature with 10 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic appears regularly enough that it should still be part of a steady revision cycle. It is section 9 of 20 in this topic. Use this study notes to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Practice questions for Tissue (Dharker)
In 'Tissue', what is the final image Dharker uses at the end of the poem?
How does Dharker use form in 'Tissue' to enact her argument about power? [2 marks]