The Wedding by Moniza Alvi —

An EXTREMELY Detailed Analysis

‘I expected’, ‘I insisted’ and ‘I wanted’, phrases of this kind are used which constantly remind us

of the persona’s individualistic eye, giving the idea she wants things to suit her wishes, but it

seems as though she narrates her thoughts and desires to us, rather than the antagonists of the

poem, perhaps to make us feel as helpless as she did in the situation.

The lack of pauses in this poem makes the persona seem like she is in a rush, giving the feeling

she is running out of time and is about to be caged. It also hints towards the theme of

displacement and being victimized by one’s surroundings running along the lines of the poem. It

may further symbolise the persona’s lack of control and how there seems to be no ‘balance’ due

to her powerlessness.

It is prominent that the persona uses a number of similes, this may suggest that she cannot

acknowledge the truth herself and that she needs the support of some sort of imagery to explain

her ideas. This may hint at one of two things: she is either too overwhelmed by this

hopelessness and helplessness to fully explain herself, or that she is so detached, she is numb to

her surroundings and doesn’t put any feeling into her words. This links to the idea that although

the persona is at her own wedding and is supposed to be the center of attention, she seems like

an outsider, making her appear physically uninvolved in the event. The reason for this may be

hinted through the rural imagery throughout which shows her simple self and how she is so
close to nature, completely contrasting to her in-laws who are from the materialistic world and

criticise the dowry she is to bring.

The poem is also home to the theme of lack of communication, as we see the conflicting

situation between the persona and ‘they’ which ended up with her looking at her ‘bridegroom’

with ‘turbulence’.

Lastly, we must not ignore the constant theme of disappointment; this is when the persona

realizes she is not important at all.

I expected a quiet wedding

high above a lost city

a marriage to balance on my head

The poem starts off presenting us with a tone of disappointment, by using the phrase ‘I

expected’, thus apprising us of the conflicting situation she has come to face. She then paints a

romantic picture of what she expected, giving the idea that her expectations appear to be a
fantasy, hence implying that her in-laws are powerful people, who can forcefully pull her out of

the image she had created. The ‘quiet wedding’ may show the persona’s simple style, how the

rural people prefer things, but got something very different to her wants. The idea of a ‘lost city’

may symbolise a sense of adventure, hence attaching a romantic and thrilling element where

two lovers will learn to trust each other. Moreover, the ‘high above’ may show that in her

expectations, she and her bridegroom would be away from the world’s reach and that they

would have been able to do whatever they wanted, while they surround themselves by nature.
The ‘marriage’ the persona longs to ‘balance on’ her ‘head’ may indicate her want to create a

balance between rights of her husband and herself, and that her words would be considered as

important as her husband’s. Contradictory to this, she creates not only a tone of

disappointment, but a tone of longing as well by indicating that no such thing happened.

The persona plays with the words ‘wedding’ and ‘marriage’ making one realise how different the

two are. It seems that the persona does not find the ceremony to be as important in comparison

to the tie between man and woman, but this idea is not echoed by her in-laws, who are shown

to be more materialistic in nature, wanting everything superfluous.

like a forest of sticks, a pot of water.

The ceremony tasted of nothing

had little color — guests arrived

The persona uses the simile ‘like a forest of sticks’ to create a link between the previous and the

current stanzas, the ‘forest of sticks’ may represent the beauty of nature and its rawness. The

idea of a ‘forest’ has the thrill aspect attached to it, as it may represent the risk the persona and
her husband are taking, and that will either they will build up the trust between them, or that

unbalanced power dynamics due to their different backgrounds will play a significant role in

their relationship. Furthermore, we must note that she does not focus on the trees the forest is

home to, but on the sticks, showing the rough side of nature and how the people of the rural

area use them to their advantage by using them as instruments of construction, and this could

further suggest that the persona is alien to the modern instruments and will not be able to

construct a firm foundation of her relationship with her husband, for he will be unable to let go

of his own up to date tools and will not allow her to take part in this exercise, creating power

dynamics. On the other hand, the ‘pot of water’ shows the peace and tranquility of the
relationship the persona had in mind, showing that amidst the precariousness of the future,

there is a flicker of hope.

The tone of the stanza changes in the second line, where everything seems so dull and gloomy.

As seen through her eyes ‘tasted of nothing’ and ‘had little color’. This creates a tone of

dejection, the word ‘nothing’ sounds harsh, as if filled with negativity. The phrase ‘little color’

she uses reflects on the abstraction that although the wedding was full of festivity, she did not

feel the way she wanted to, for this is the time when her dreams would come to an end,

removing the colour from her vision.

The enjambment before the ‘guests arrived’ creates an anticipation on the side of the readers,

making the guests seem like the antagonists who are the reason for the persona’s moroseness.

The lack of the article ‘the’ before ‘guests arrived’ also shows that the persona has been

disturbed in a very sudden fashion and speaks in discomposure.

stealthy as sandalwood smugglers.

When they opened their suitcases

England spilled out.

The persona’s sinister view of the guests, ‘stealthy’ and ‘smugglers’, makes it seem as if they

have arrived to harm her, highlighting the persona’s feeling of insecurity due to inferiority in

terms of class and social status. Adding to this, the sibilance in the first line allows a hissing

sound to be produced, creating every serpentine image of the guests, making the reader feel

they have slithered into her life, without good intentions. It could be said that the idea of rich

plundering the poor is ironically shown, they are being represented as smugglers, while she is

shown rich enough to be looted.

‘England’. The ‘suitcases’ may represent her in-laws’ true forms, making the persona feel

uncomfortable because of their radical differences, and this may be the exact time she regrets

signing up for matrimony, suggested by the way she says ‘spilled out’, informing us that they

hadn’t opened their ‘suitcases’ up till now, showing that everything happens so suddenly and

that she cannot do anything to stop the ‘England’ from spilling out and its waves from

consuming her.

Returning to the idea of the difference of social classes, when she specifically says ‘England’, it

gives the idea that she does not understand the guests’ customs and their way of talking, and

she feels them to be her superiors as they came from a place of sophistication, unlike the

persona who is a girl of the rural areas of Pakistan. This could also link to the idea that the British

rule ended only some time back, and that India (Pakistan had not been separated from India at

the time) had been plundered by the British by taking advantage of their locals, and exploiting

the country’s resources, and now it is people from England who have come to take the persona

to live among those people who caused such agony to her ancestors. Furthermore, this may be

the point when the persona realizes that her in-laws are going to take advantage of her

simplicity.

They scratched at my veil

like beggars on a car window.

I insisted my dowry was simple-

This is the stanza where we are shown the bleak picture of how the person viewed the guests,

the violent imagery making it known how edgy the persona felt. The word ‘scratched’ has a

sickening look attached to it, creating the feeling of foreboding that the persona will end up as a
bruised victim; hence she brings the ‘veil’ imagery, which separates her, confronting the

insecurities of being in the hands of these people.

By describing the rich guests as beggars, she creates a paradoxical image, which is ironic, for the

guests may see her family this way, due to their association with rurality. When a reader tries to

break down this image the guests impute, they may come to the conclusion that the guests

wanted to loot the persona of her simplicity and innocence, evident through her close

connection with nature.

The beggars are also shown to be greedy as they keep asking for more and more while the

persona ‘insisted my dowry was simple’. This again is ironic as the persona is supposed to be the

poor one, but the guests take up the role of penury, and want everything they can get, this takes

us to the concept that the rich are greedy because they know they can get what they ask for,

once again highlighting the power dynamics married couples have to face when two contrasting

families are joined by holy matrimony.

The enjambment at the end may suggest that the persona is trying to regain her strength after

she is shaken by this encounter.

a smile, a shadow, a whisper,

my house an incredible structure

of stiffened rags and bamboo.

The tone of the poem changes as the persona talks about the beauty she has surrounded herself

with in life uphill now. The pauses may represent her fear and unease while the guests judge her
and her family, heightening the feeling of estrangement. The first line of the stanza shows the

persona’s dowry consists of and how the guests react to it.

1. Her dowry consists of a smile, through which we may see the persona as a pure soul, open

hearted, someone who is connected to nature and does not understand artificial aspects of the

world.

2. The guests respond with a ‘shadow’ and a ‘whisper’, highlighting the idea that they

foreshadow the darkness she will be kept in and will have to come in terms with after the

wedding. The family will conquer the light in her life and she will no longer be able to ‘dream’.

3. The whisper may represent the secrets that are being hidden away from her, the things that

will be/are being done against her and how she will be kept in the darkness so that it is easier for

her in-laws to control and to take advantage of her.

The persona talks about her house, perhaps as an attempt to console herself, although it is of no

material value, just emotional value, for she still sees it as ‘an incredible structure’. The stiffened

rags may suggest the stability and surety she has in life before getting married, and these are the

things that will remain in her mind forever. Thus, we may see that she is trying to hold on to her

maiden life for as long as she can.

We traveled around roads with English

names, my bridegroom and I.

Our eyes changed color

and her husband are not on the same page for there is no ‘balance’. The pause after ‘English

names’ may suggest that she is highly unsatisfied by the fact she has to leave her land and live

with a foreigner. Similarly, the mention of ‘English names’ makes it seem like the persona is very

unfamiliar with her husband and is having a hard time adjusting, and we don’t see the husband

trying to create a middle ground to meet her in between where both can communicate their

wants, thoughts and feelings.

The feeling of unfamiliarity is further explored by the word ‘bridegroom’. She uses this word

instead of the word ‘husband’ or ‘partner’, showing us that there is no sense of intimacy, she

sees the groom the way everyone else sees him, being a spectator of their relationship, despite

being the wife, making makes the persona and her husband seem like two different people who

will not be able to understand each other.

The way their ‘eyes changed colour’ may show the death of innocence and vibrancy of youth,

and are now both bound by law, and not by emotion, suggested by the stanza being void of

emotion, bringing back the idea that she is not part of the picture, but it is watching from afar,

making it highly ironic as she is supposed to be the center of it. If the persona and her husband

are bound by one thing, that is their discomfort about the situation, where her feelings seem to

be in perfect sync with her husband’s.

like traffic-lights, so they said.

The time was not ripe

for us to view each other.

experience, and ‘they said’ shows how the persona and the bridegroom are being treated like

they do not understand what is going on and that they are not clever enough to see each other’s

states. The pause before ‘so they said’ may suggest the dejection and expectation of the

persona, it also hints that the persona despises ‘the guests’, perhaps due to the sense of

superiority, which is once again highlighted as it is ‘they’ who tell the persona and the beloved of

what is happening, this may be a method of shattering their (the persona and the bridegroom)

confidence, by making them feel that they themselves do not know.

‘The time was not ripe for us to view each other’ may mean that the persona and the beloved

were not mature enough to understand and judge each other. They needed to give time to their

relationship to mature and hence let themselves mature before they were to critique on each

other.

The word ‘ripe’ although showing the persona’s attachment to nature, also shows that there is a

specific time at which she can look at her ‘bridegroom’, and not before it, as the crop (their

relationship) will not give the desired results before then.

We stared straight ahead as if

we could see through mountains

breath life into new cities.

The alliterative ‘st’ produces a harsh sound and makes the tone seems stony, giving the persona

a look of deposition. She explains this by making it clear that she and the beloved were

pretending all was going fine. They made it seem that their ambitious goals were what they were

going after but in reality it was all pretense. They were pretending that different aspects of the
relationship (‘new cities’) were building up in the most profound manner, while this was not

actually the case.

The mountains show the ambitions of the persona right now and her beloved, and the fact that

she actually cannot ‘see through mountains’ shows that she believes her goals cannot be

achieved, and that she is supposed to live a monotonous life, working towards nothing. The

persona makes sure to make her side of the story known to us, for she is being kept away in

darkness hence cannot talk to her husband who would not side with her, thus having to do

nothing also but to ‘stare straight ahead’.

I wanted to marry a country

take up a river for a veil

sing in the Jinnah Gardens

Although marrying ‘England’, over here the persona may mean the ‘country’ as in the rural life.

She would rather live with a man who understands her customs and traditions like his own,

someone who would be open to her thoughts and ideas and would treat her like an equal to
‘balance’ their relationship. The ‘river for a veil’ she wanted to ‘take up’ shows that she wanted a

stable relationship, as the rivers are used for production of crops, so in this case it would mean a

prosperous of the relationship. Moreover, this rural imagery shows that she longs for a person

who would speak in her tongue, who could appreciate the beauty of something raw the way she

did.

Although the ‘Jinnah Gardens’ is a place in Lahore, it could also symbolise Pakistan as a whole, as

in the garden of the founder, highlighting how attached she is to her home land and how much

she cherishes it. This makes her unlike other romantics, as she does not dream to go to a foreign
land, but to stay put where she is, because she knows that her naive character in an alien land

will be taken advantage of, hence bringing about a tone of longing, desire and helplessness.

hold up my dream, tricky

as a snake-chamber’s snake.

Our thoughts half-submerged

The sibilance in this stanza is highly noticeable, especially with the snake imagery, creating a

tone reflecting the toxicity of the situation in hand. The persona makes it known that she

wanted to fulfil her dreams till before this very moment, for now, she compares her injustice

with her dreams like the treatment of a snake charmer with his snake; he lures the snake within

the music, forces age to come out by taking all control and then makes it do what he wants to

do, and when the music stops and the snake regains its senses, he puts it in the desk to stop it

from taking its true form. The persona does the same with her dreams, she lets them flourish

and the puts them in the darkness, but thinks about them from time to time.

The idea that her ‘thoughts’ are ‘half-submerged’ gives a sense that they are not allowed to
grow and are oppressed, which may be what their in-laws expect her to do. But when she says

‘our’, it makes it seem like her ‘bridegroom’ is in the same position as her and they are both

being taken advantage of because of their youth and naivety.

like buffaloes under dark water

we turned and faced each other

with turbulence
The idea of ‘buffaloes under dark water’ may show that black is being hidden underneath black,

and that their future is unclear and that her thoughts are not allowed to be developed into

proper ideas and all her thoughts are not worth showcasing hence, they are hidden under the

‘dark water’.

The persona uses the word ‘we’ instead of showing herself and the ‘bridegroom’ as two different

units. This gives a sense of acceptance for one another, and both know how unhealthy their

relationship is. ‘With turbulence’ may suggest that both parties know how disastrous their

relationship could turn out, how the journey could be rocky, and neither will be satisfied. They

both appear to know how awful and wrong this commitment is. The word ‘faced’ may also

reflect on how they will come to face each other in conflicts later on in life.

‘Buffaloes’ give the idea of stupidity, reflecting how neither was logical/smart enough to realise

the negative aspects their relationship would bring until it was too late.

and imprints like maps on our hands.

These ‘imprints’ on their ‘hands; may show that God has carved their ugly destiny/future, and
the period at the end makes it seem like a final unquestionable statement. The ‘imprints’ could

literally mean the lines on the palms of the ‘hands’, but could also mean the journeys they will

take, and journeys in this case have the potential to lead to disasters.

The maps could suggest the differences between ‘England’ and Pakistan and how she will remain

somewhere in the middle. Not arriving to her heart’s destination, but being ‘lost’ and requiring a

map.
Unlike the rest of the poem, the last stanza is only one line, and this produces a dramatic effect

on the audience, it may also show that this is not the end of her story, but the mere beginning of

another phase in her life, and leaves us to ponder over the complexities the couple is bounded

to face.

I have also uploaded my analysis of ‘I Years had been from Home’ by Emily Dickinson. If you are

a student interested in the comparison of two poems, you could compare this to I Years had

been from Home, as both have the distinct theme of alienation.