half caste poem

Question 1

“excuse me standing on one leg”

Answer 1

-mocking and ironic tone
-humurous
-insincere apolgy, grabs readers attention
-enjabment, confrontational tone
-sarcasm, standing on one leg is an incomplete stance, how society views mixed race as unfinished and not whole
-imagery and metaphor
-challenging the implication that he is seen as half a perspn

Question 2

explain yuself what yu mean when yu say half caste

Answer 2

-repeition, emphasising demand for justification
-carribean creole, to assert cultural identity, challenges the idea that one form of english is superior
-direct adress, feels accused, reconsider the term half caste
-cant explain the term half caste, conveying the irrationality of the rascist attitudes

Question 3

an mix a black key wid a white key is a half caste symphony

Answer 3

-juxtaposition, emphasises that opposites complement eachother rather than dilute the value
-critising racial prejudice within society
-metaphor, paino keys symboise racial mixing, both black and white are neccessary for harmnoy, undermines that being mixed race is inferior
-iorny, symphony is a beautiful piece of music, yet people who use the term half caste fail to see that mixed heritage can also be whole and valube

Question 4

“i half catse human being cast half a shadow”

Answer 4

-less than a whole person
-connotations with exclusion, hinting at discrimination
-absurd, emphasise the irony of the whole preceding stanza
-lack of punctuation, mirrors lack of rigid boundaries in race and identity, reinforcing agards message
-imagery and satire, highlights the ridiculous nature of the label

Question 5

“but yu must come back tommorow wid de whole of yu eye an de whole of yu ear an de whole of yu mind”

Answer 5

-poem ends with a challenge rather than a conclusion, reinforcing that change requires effort
-symbolise perception, listening and understanding, qualities neccessary to overcome ignorance and racsism
-speaker urges audience to rethink their prejudices and approach the world with an open mind
-open ended conclusion, leaves reader questioning their views and encouraging change

Question 6

structure

Answer 6

-succession of analogies, to undermine the rascist intention behind the term half caste. he employs visual and oral imagery to get his point across
-lack of punctuation enhances its spoken word qualities, makes agards poem more speech like and direct, reinforces individual identity by rejecting poetic norms
-short lines, grabs readers attention, reflects fragmentation, half caste suggests someone is incomplete

Question 7

form

Answer 7

-free verse and rhthym make it sound like a natural speech, enhances agards anger and frustration about rascism, speech like qualities give his attack a personal, direct tone
-unconventional stanzas,By choosing not to use a conventional verse form, Agard is standing up for his right to his own racial and individual identity:

The form of the poem celebrates his Guyanese heritage and speech patterns

In this way, he reclaims poetry for minority and marginalised voices