Checking out me history Flashcards
“Dem tell me. Wha dem want to tell me” – repetion (powerful) / anaphora of “dem”
The repeated use of the vowel sound ‘e’ and builds up a rhythm as he makes a politcal point. Agard deliberately tries to get us to educate children in a different way. He tries to educate his white readers as Agard moved to the UK at 28yrs old and had to adjust to the new culture and it was prejudice. He points out how education itself is unintentionally racism as it excludes African/Caribbean identity. The use of dialect shows how he is agaisnt using British standard English as it oppresses his Caribbean identity. The use of the repetition “me” doesn’t only show his personal struggles but any immigrant that are from African or Caribbean
“Bandage up me eye with me own history” - metaphor
The false view of history is portrayed through the metaphor. The use of the homophone “eye” which can be ‘I’ shows this ironic turn of events as it is as though he is unaware of his history. The positive sign of his own cultural history that has been hidden away.
“Toussaint A slave with vision lick back Napoleon”
When he talks about Afro-Caribbean history the form changes and is much more like free verse. He emphasises personal freedom linked to cultural freedom. He does this by showing the contrast to the “this” level of freedom to his real history and compares it to British view of history which is limited. This is reflected by the limited rhyme. He uses a slave and contrast it to a conqueror in Europe claiming that the salve is more powerful. Perhaps shows that we can overcome the British history and to show more of other cultural history.
“But now I checking out me own history I carving out me identity”
He ends the poem with a couplet of to signify that we can have a happy ending of owning our identity. “carving out” suggest that when we find our identity it is like art. That art is beautiful and meaningful.
structure and form
Dramatic monologue
rhyme scheme
