Look We Have Coming to Dover!

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Nagra, whose own parents came to England from the Punjab in the 1950s, conjures a jazzed hybrid language to tell stories of aspiration, assimilation, alienation and love, from a stowaway's first footprint on Dover beach to the disenchantment of subsequent generations. Once again there is another light-hearted phrase within the poem to contrast with the more serious issues being raised, helping to present people as normal and approachable to a reader.

The immigrants are camouflaged while the animals are out in the open, making noise and going where they please.This line relates to the typical view of Britain as a rainy country with little sunshine, with the humour highlighting the ability for people to integrate into society successfully and quickly.

Some readers may also interpret the less even structure as reminding them of their own experience with foreign languages, in which those who are less practiced may struggle to have an even and regular flow of conversation. Even more intriguing is that this poem was published in 2007, almost a decade before the European Migration Crisis and numerous migrant controversies around the world and in the UK. In addition there is also the description “Blair’d in the cash” in the final stanza, where the use of “Blair” could be interpreted as a reference to former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who controversially decided not to use available restrictions to prevent large scale immigration from many new European Union countries such as Poland.If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading. This could cause many different reactions, such as an immediate assumption that the poem is written by someone with a poor grasp of the English language, or that the idea of immigration is being mocked in some way. I have had the honour of profiting from my good friend Daljit's teachings for a number of months now at my secondary school and would go so far as to say I am the finest student in the class, a muse if you will. Learn more about the White Cliffs of Dover—and the ways that immigration (and invasion) have shaped British culture. Intriguingly, a reader today may find this line even more notable than in 2007 (the year in which the poem was published) due to former Prime Minister David Cameron’s description of migrants crossing the Mediterranean as a “swarm”.

The shape of the stanzas makes what could be interpreted as the waves of the sea, crashing into Dover Beach. Modern Britain is scarred by hostility to immigrants and even the thunder ‘unbladders/yobbish rain’, like the yobs who will attack them.The poem begins with the speaker describing the terrifying arrival into Dover There is nothing beautiful about this scene.