Checking Out Me History Flashcards
Structure
Dual structure - division between the stanzas through Agard’s use of italics shows the separation between the history he was taught and black history
Repetition of “dem tell me” at the neginning of each stanza mirrors rote learning, inferring Agard had to rote learn the history he was taught due to its lack of personal relevance to him, also shows how colonial control has dominated his life in the same way it dominates the poem
Enjambment: connective “But” ties black and white history, implying they can’t be separated and black history can’t be ignored, while overflowing sentences show Agard cares much about subject matter inpacting him as a person(“Bandage up me eye with me own history/Blind me to me own identity”)
Volta “but now” marks a turning point in the poem as the speaker switches from referring from “ Dem” to “I”- showing him taking ownership of his own identity and making the poem about himself rather than them.
The final stanza “I carving out me identity” contrasts with “Blind me to me own identity” at the beginning
Non-standard phonetic spelling in “dem,” “de,” shows the speaker resists the traditions of the English languafe and the restrictions imposed by colonial rule
No punctuation - shows Agard’s intention to allow the listener to interpret the poem in their own way without a set of rules and attach their own identity to it, but this also shows the poem’s theme of resisting oppression
Form
“Touissant”- italics here highlight the two accounts of history heing distinctly separate
Rhyme scheme ties together the sections concerning white and black history, showing Agard’s attempting to end segregation through literary unification, but throughout a stanza the rhyming is the same(“balloon”, “moon,”), making each stanza predictable as if the listener’s waiting for the next line.
Language
The rich imagery in black history’s stanzas(claiming “Touissant a slave with vision” showing light imagery contrasts with the blindness of his former education) juxtaposes with the childish lexis in the other stanzas(“de cow who jump over de moon”) to show the beautiful and complex nature of black history
Language
Light imagery - Black figures source of guidance to Agard and the importance of teaching children about these people, Mary Seacole is described as “a healing star” and “a yellow sunrise”
Violent metaphors “blind me to me own identity” shows cruelty of colonialism
