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Pretty is a Lie
Nikita Gill
About Nikita Gill
Nikita Gill is a famous contemporary poet and a writer. She was born in Belfast, but she grew up and received education in Delhi. She is an ambassador for National Poetry Day. Some of her famous works are Wild Embers: Poems of rebellion, Fire and Beauty, and Fierce Fairytales: Poems & Other Stones to Stir Your Soul.
What if I told you, the word 'pretty' is a skin
deep, six letter prison they put you in.
They say, 'If you lost some weight, you'd be so pretty'
They say, 'If your skin was clearer, you'd be so pretty'
But what they really mean is, 'If only you looked
like our mass-produced ideal, you'd be so pretty.'
Let me tell you a secret they do not want you to know,
nothing about you is pretty nor will it ever be so.
You see pretty is too small and simple a word to capture
the exquisitely complex human phenomenon you are,
every atom of you was plucked in the quiet
cosmic moments between supernovas and stars
A carefully chosen palette of your skin, your eyes,
your muscles and bones from sunsets and skies.
So when they tell you about how pretty you could be if only-
Cut them off and say 'pretty' is nor your worth or value
nor something you have ever aspired to be.
Available Answers
- 1.
Complete the table.
What Some People Think Pretty Means Poet's Views 1. Having the ideal bodyweight, being neither too thin nor too heavy 2. Having clear and fair skin 3. Having perfect features such as the eyes, nose. and lips 4. Looking like the models and actors who feature in beauty products advertisements - 2.
But what they really mean is, 'If only you looked
like our mass-produced ideal. you'd be so pretty.'- Who is the poet referring to as 'they'?
- Explain the idea of 'mass-produced ideal'.
- Is the transformation that is being talked about in these lines positive?
- 3.
A carefully chosen palette of your skin, your eyes.
your muscles and bones from sunsets and skies- What does the poet mean by the word 'palette'?
- What connection does the poet wish to make between the human body and nature?
- By mentioning 'muscles and bones', how does the poet go beyond the idea of pretty?
- 4.
Why does the poet compare the word 'pretty' to a 'prison'?
- 5.
In what wags does the world push us to be 'pretty'?
- 6.
Why does the world not want us to know the secret that the poet shares?
4 more answer(s) available.
Comments
hwehfwehf
16 Nov 2021Nishka G.