What is the structure of Half-Caste?
Structure and Form ‘Half-Caste’ by John Agard is composed of four stanzas of varying length, although there does seem to be some symmetry with these stanzas, as the first and last stanza contain only three lines, and the second and third stanzas are both fairly long.
What is the message of the poem Half-Caste?
This is a poem about asserting your identity against others who would ‘bring you down’. John Agard was born in Guyana in 1949, with a Caribbean father and a Portuguese mother (he is of mixed race). In 1977, he moved to Britain, where he became angry with people who referred to him as ‘half-caste’.
What does Half-Caste show?
The collection explores multiple race issues faced by black and mixed race people living in the United Kingdom. The poem is a reflection of the feelings evoked in Agard as a result of being labelled “half-caste” upon moving to the UK.
How does John Agard present his feelings about conflict in the poem flag?
He also includes feelings like cynicism; he mocks the way people will allow a symbol of nationalism such as a flag have such power over them and inspire whole countries to go to war. He? s contempt by criticising the way people ignore their sense of right and wrong for the demands of patriotism.
What type of poet is John Agard?
About John Agard A unique and energetic force in contemporary British poetry, John Agard’s poems combine acute social observation, puckish wit and a riotous imagination to thrilling effect. Born in Guyana, South America in 1949, Agard moved to Britain in the late seventies.
What is John Agard’s most famous poem?
“Explain yuself / wha yu mean / when yu say half-caste / yu mean when picasso / mix red an green / is a half-caste canvas?” So questions the narrator of John Agard’s well-known poem ‘Half-caste’, a wry, imaginative and darkly comic take on racial misconceptions and divisions.
How does John Agard explore identity in checking out history?
How does Agard present his ideas in ‘Checking out me history’? Be able to identify techniques and explore the effect on the reader. Agard uses a dialect (Creole) in this poem shown by the phonetic spelling, making clear that language is part of identity his linguistic heritage.
How does Agard use juxtaposition within his poem?
However, here Agard juxtaposes his simple description of a flag as a ‘piece of cloth’ with the powerful symbolism of a flag. In other words, it’s just a piece of cloth but has the power to bring a nation to its knees. He repeats this structure throughout the poem.
When was half caste written?
2005
“Half-Caste” is a 2005 poem written by John Agard. Agard was born in Guyana (at the time British Guyana) in 1949 and moved to England in 1977.
How does Agard present identity in checking out me history?
How are Agard’s feelings presented in the poem checking out me history ‘?
Agard’s repetition of “Dem tell me” shows the anger the speaker feels at having had his heritage hidden from him. Likewise, Rumens appears to have maternal feelings towards her former home and this is shown by the childlike lexis of “I comb its hair and love its shining eyes”.
How does Agard structure the poem to make us aware that he does not value the history he is being taught?
Checking Out Me History Structure Agard wants us to be aware of both the things he was taught at school and the things he did not learn in the mainstream curriculum that he feels are important. He uses the physical separation of the stanzas and the font styles to indicate which culture he is referencing.