Imtiaz Dharker's "A century later" celebrates (and mourns) young women who fight for their right to an education and who often meet with terrible violence from oppressive religious and political forces in response. The poem alludes to the story of Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani activist who stood up to the Taliban when they banned girls' schools in her hometown. The Taliban retaliated by attempting to kill her, but their plan backfired when she survived the attempted assassination and became a world-famous advocate for women's education. Young women like Yousafzai, the poem suggests, will not be stopped by violence, and their ideas can't be killed. Yet even as the poem honors Yousafzai's triumph, it also quietly laments the fact that she and others like her have to march to the "front lines" to win the right to an "ordinary" life as schoolgirls. This poem first appeared in Dharker's 2014 collection Over the Moon.

• Read the full text of “A century later”

• “A century later” Summary

• “A century later” Themes

  • 

    Girl's Courage in the Face of Violent Oppression

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-19
  • 

    The Unstoppable Power of Learning and Ideas

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 7-10
    • Lines 14-16
  • 

    Grief for the Suffering and Violence Faced by Youth

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-2
    • Lines 9-10
    • Lines 17-19

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “A century later”

  • Lines 1-4

    The school-bell is ...
    ... from being fifteen.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 5-7

    Surrendered, surrounded, she ...
    ... and walks on.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 7-10

    The missile cuts ...
    ... full of poppies.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 11-14

    This girl has ...
    ... go to school.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 14-19

    Bullet, she says, ...
    ... the front line.

    

    

    

    

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• “A century later” Symbols

  • 

    The Orchard and the Field of Poppies

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 8-10: “an orchard / in full bloom, a field humming under the sun, / its lap open and full of poppies.”
  • 

    The Buzzing Swarm

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 9: “a field humming under the sun”
    • Lines 15-16: “You cannot kill a book / or the buzzing in it.”
    • Line 17: “A murmur, a swarm.”

• “A century later” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Imagery

    

    

    

    

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    Where imagery appears in the poem:

    • Lines 3-4: “Here is the target, fine skin at the temple, / cheek still rounded from being fifteen.”
    • Lines 7-10: “The missile cuts / a pathway in her mind, to an orchard / in full bloom, a field humming under the sun, / its lap open and full of poppies.”
    • Line 17: “A murmur, a swarm”

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-2: “The school-bell is a call to battle, / every step to class, a step into the firing-line.”
    • Lines 7-8: “The missile cuts / a pathway in her mind,”
    • Lines 9-10: “a field humming under the sun, / its lap open and full of poppies”
    • Lines 15-16: “You cannot kill a book / or the buzzing in it.”
    • Lines 18-19: “the schoolgirls are standing up / to take their places on the front line.”

  • Alliteration

    

    

    

    

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    Where alliteration appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “bell,” “battle”
    • Line 3: “target,” “temple”
    • Line 5: “Surrendered, surrounded”
    • Line 9: “full,” “field”
    • Line 15: “book”
    • Line 16: “buzzing”
    • Line 18: “schoolgirls,” “standing”

  • Allusion

    

    

    

    

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    Where allusion appears in the poem:

    • Lines 3-7
    • Lines 9-10
    • Lines 11-16

  • Enjambment

    

    

    

    

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    Where enjambment appears in the poem:

    • Lines 5-6: “she / takes”
    • Lines 6-7: “head / and”
    • Lines 7-8: “cuts / a”
    • Lines 8-9: “orchard / in”
    • Lines 11-12: “won / the”
    • Lines 18-19: “up / to”

• “A century later” 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.

  • Temple
  • Surrendered
  • Bangles
  • (Location in poem: Line 3: “fine skin at the temple”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “A century later”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “A century later” Speaker

• “A century later” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “A century later”

• More “A century later” Resources

  • External Resources

    • The Poem Aloud —  Listen to Imtiaz Dharker reading the poem aloud (and describing how the Wilfred Owen poem "Anthem for Doomed Youth" inspired her).

    • A Short Biography — Learn more about Dharker via her publisher, Bloodaxe Books.

    • The Poem's Inspiration — Learn more about the story of Malala Yousafzai, the young activist who was one of the inspirations for this poem.

    • A Celebration of Dharker — Read an article about Dharker from the year that she won the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry.

    • Dharker's Website — Visit Dharker's personal website to learn more about her life and work.

  • LitCharts on Other Poems by Imtiaz Dharker

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    • Living Space

    • These are the times we live in (I)

    • Tissue

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