Checking Out me History analysis

Question 1

“A healing star among the wounded / A yellow sunrise”

Answer 1

• nouns ‘star’, ‘yellow’ and ‘sunrise’ create a semantic field of light suggesting how Mary Seacole was a guiding light to those who surrounded her
• Could portray Agard’s feelings towards Mary as she shed light onto his ancestry, with the light as a symbol of his wisdom when he found out about her existence
• written in italics while talking about important Black Historical figures to mark stanzas, suggests it should be sung in a celebratory tone which starks a contrast to the aggressive tone in the rest of the poem

Question 2

“Dem tell me bout 1066 and all dat / Dem tell me bout Dick Whittington and he cat”

Answer 2

• juxtaposition between rhyming couplets and italicised description of his culture suggest how it has no relevance to him
• dark humour between rhyming couplets suggest how it is laughable that important Black historical figures have been excluded for this nonsense
• colloquial pronoun ‘dem’ from the Caribbean Creole along with the disregard for english grammar could be seen as an act of defiance against the commandeering control of the english communication

Question 3

“I carving out me identity”

Answer 3

• anger is conveyed through the violent imagery of ‘carving’
• metaphor suggests that it is hard work as he actively has to teach himself
• carving is associated with art, suggesting how he aims to achieve something permanent and beautiful