In Carol Rumens's "Carpet Weavers, Morocco," a speaker watches in fascination as young Moroccan weavers work away on a prayer rug. No more than "children," these girls are nonetheless practicing a skilled craft—a fact that makes the speaker, an outsider, feel a mixture of admiration, surprise, and curiosity. At last, the speaker comes to see the girls' hard-earned artistry as something sacred, a practice that connects them deeply to their culture, their religion, and the world around them. The poem pays homage to the value of craft and of cultural curiosity, suggesting that openness to what at first seems strange or shocking might offer deep rewards. Rumens first collected this poem in her 1987 book Selected Poems.

• Read the full text of “Carpet Weavers, Morocco”

• “Carpet Weavers, Morocco” Summary

• “Carpet Weavers, Morocco” Themes

  • 

    Artistry, Connection, and the Sacred

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-12
  • 

    Cultural Difference, Curiosity, and Respect

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-12

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Carpet Weavers, Morocco”

  • Lines 1-3

    The children are ...
    ... a melodious chime.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 4-6

    They watch their ...
    ... of the tree-tops.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 7-9

    The carpet will ...
    ... heaped with prayer.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 10-12

    The children are ...
    ... frame of all-that-was.

    

    

    

    

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• “Carpet Weavers, Morocco” Symbols

  • 

    Weaving

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 1
    • Lines 4-6
    • Lines 10-12

• “Carpet Weavers, Morocco” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Imagery

    

    

    

    

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    Where imagery appears in the poem:

    • Lines 2-3: “Their braids are oiled and black, their dresses bright. / Their assorted heights would make a melodious chime.”
    • Line 4: “their flickering knots”
    • Line 9: “Deep and soft, it will give when heaped with prayer.”

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “The children are at the loom of another world.”
    • Line 5: “As the garden of Islam grows, the bench will be raised.”
    • Line 9: “Deep and soft, it will give when heaped with prayer.”
    • Lines 10-12: “The children are hard at work in the school of days. / From their fingers the colours of all-that-will-be fly / and freeze into the frame of all-that-was.”

  • Simile

    

    

    

    

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    Where simile appears in the poem:

    • Line 4: “They watch their flickering knots like television.”

  • End-Stopped Line

    

    

    

    

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    Where end-stopped line appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “world.”
    • Line 2: “bright.”
    • Line 3: “chime.”
    • Line 4: “television.”
    • Line 5: “raised.”
    • Line 6: “tree-tops.”
    • Line 7: “truck.”
    • Line 8: “mosque.”
    • Line 9: “prayer.”
    • Line 10: “days.”

  • Alliteration

    

    

    

    

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    Where alliteration appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “braids,” “black,” “bright”
    • Line 3: “make,” “melodious”
    • Line 5: “garden,” “grows”
    • Line 7: “travel,” “truck”
    • Line 8: “spread,” “servants”
    • Line 9: “soft”
    • Line 11: “From,” “fingers,” “fly”
    • Line 12: “freeze,” “frame”

• “Carpet Weavers, Morocco” Vocabulary

  Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

  • A melodious chime
  • The garden of Islam
  • Mosque
  • The school of days
  • (Location in poem: Line 3: “Their assorted heights would make a melodious chime”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Carpet Weavers, Morocco”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “Carpet Weavers, Morocco” Speaker

• “Carpet Weavers, Morocco” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “Carpet Weavers, Morocco”

• More “Carpet Weavers, Morocco” Resources

  • External Resources

    • Rumens's Website — Learn more about Rumens on her personal website.

    • Morocco's Weavers — Watch a short video about Moroccan carpet weaving and learn more about weaving's honored place in Moroccan culture.

    • A Brief Biography — Learn more about Rumens's life and work.

    • An Interview with Rumens — Read a 2006 interview in which Rumens discusses her work and her influences.

    • Rumens Aloud — Listen to clips of Rumens reading and discussing some of her poetry.

  • LitCharts on Other Poems by Carol Rumens

    • The Emigrée

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