Checking Out Me History Flashcards
What is the narrative
He wants the reader to learn more about black history
What is the context
The poem focuses on the holes in the British colonial education system—particularly that system’s omission of important figures from African, Caribbean, and indigenous history
What is the structure
Written in free verse it is a dramatic monologue which sounds like a speech about non-European history the poet teaches the reader his ‘history’. The poem alternates between two structures which are marked by two different fonts
What is the form
The poem is written in free verse, with the occasional use of rhyming quatrains (four-line stanzas). The poem contains 10 stanzas and a total of 53 lines
What are the language techniques
Agard uses a dialect (Creole) in this poem shown by the phonetic spelling, making clear that language is part of identity his linguistic heritage. He does not bow to the conventions of using Standard English, which is often seen as a symbol of colonisation
