Case History Jamaica Flashcards
Name of the poet?
Mervyn Morris
Who is Mervyn Morris
A Caribbean poet, born 1937
from Jamaica.
Main focus of his poetry
His poetry often discusses
historical issues and human
concerns.
What type of poem is it?
This would be considered a free-verse poem.
What is the poem about?
The focus is on colonialism: “the
control or governing influence of
a nation over a dependent
country, territory, or people.”
In what ways is colonialism portrayed?
The reality that black persons
had no legitimate identity during
this period.
How were blacks regarded by the colonizers?
Blacks were regarded as
unimportant by the colonizers
(United Kingdom).
“In 19-something X was born”. What does this line suggest?
By calling the subject “X”, this implies
that he is not important in that
world. He is simply another child.
“X” is used in legal documents for illiterate,
incompetent and disabled people. What
does that mean to you in the context of this
poem?
In the context of this poem it means that not ony was he unimportant but incompetent.
What does the statement “19-something” imply about his birthday?
It implies that his birthday is not
important. No record of when he
was born. No records is a latent
effect of slavery for people of color.
“He asked one day in history where
slaves came from”- Interest in his own
history. What does this show?
It shows his Interest in his own
history.
“They showed him pretty pictures of
his Queen”- What does this line sugg
The image and idea of the
Queen is forced upon his identity. He
has no real personal connection with
her as a West Indian.
What does his teacher’s response show?
Hiis interest is shut down by
his teacher- his history is deemed
unimportant.
What does his teacher’s response show?
Hiis interest is shut down by
his teacher- his history is deemed
unimportant.
What does his teacher’s response show?
Hiis interest is shut down by
his teacher- his history is deemed
unimportant.
What does his teacher’s response show?
Hiis interest is shut down by
his teacher- his history is deemed
unimportant.
What does his teacher’s response show?
Hiis interest is shut down by
his teacher- his history is deemed
unimportant.
What does his teacher’s response show?
Hiis interest is shut down by
his teacher- his history is deemed
unimportant.
What does his teacher’s response show?
Hiis interest is shut down by
his teacher- his history is deemed
unimportant.
What does his teacher’s response show?
Hiis interest is shut down by
his teacher- his history is deemed
unimportant.
What does the line “Up at the university, he didn’t find
himself.”- communicate.
There were no traces of him, his
past, no books, no writings about his own
people.
How did this make him feel?
He became disillusioned,
disenchanted “…and, months before he
finally dropped out.”
What does this line mean? He would “daub his blackness on
the walls”
He tried to create traces of himself, he
tried to leave an impression on the
university.
Why did Mervyn Morris chose to
write his poem, “Case-History, Jamaica”, in
Free Verse.?
Free verse sounds like the way people
speak so this causes the poem to feel like storytelling
Narration: In other words, these kinds of
poems often sound as much like
storytelling of various kinds as they do
poetry.
How can we differentiate between free verse poetry and short stories?
The most basic way to differentiate between Free
Verse Poetry and a Short Story is the structure of
the Free Verse Poem.
The poem is split into lines (versus long
paragraphs)
Poetic language is used: images, metaphors,
repeated sounds, and even made-up words
Identifying free verse poetry
Free from all traditional rules (or
constraints)
Free in it structure - no specific
stanzas are required
A way for the poet to create emphasis
with word choice or word placement on a
page
A rebellion against traditional norms
A way to tell a story in poetic form
Personal expression at its best!
