Poetry - Part 2 (7 Poems) Flashcards
CONTEXT
Half-caste
- Agard moved from guyana to england
- guyanese father + portugese mother
- explores issues to do w/ race
FORM
Half-caste
perspective, ‘excuse me’:
* previous politness in face of racism
* shifting to sarcasm OR
* shifting to a challenge to those who are racist
* ‘ex’ - harsh constant
STRUCTURE
Half-caste
short start & end stanza, long middle stanza:
* start and end stanza r 3 lines, sense that resolution has been found
* middle stanzas - rant like, passive stream of concious
* start stanza - empethetically introduces topic
LANGUAGE
Half-caste
juxtaposition ‘light an shadow’:
* aspects of speakers character are at odds
* reflects parentage
* feels contrasting abt himself
* ends with ‘whole’ - reader gaining sense of self at end
LANGUAGE 2
Half-caste
carribean dialect, ‘yu’:
* dialect relfects speaker
* speaker can take ownership of his own identity
CONTEXT
No Problem
- he likes to use parody format
- likes use of humorous and hopeful tone
- work is often lyrical & rhythmic
- shaped by political & environmental movements
FORM
No Problem
two stanzas:
* sense of divide - mirrors content
* first stanza: positive, ‘versatile’
* second stanza: thoughtful of effects of racism, ‘affect/ As he get older’
* humour unifies 2 stanzas
STRUCTURE
No Problem
ABCB rhyme scheme:
* not wholly reliant on ABCB - mirrors disconnection and divide between ppl and himself bc of racism
* more natural + carribean dialect - speaker is casually talking to reader
* subtle half rhymes, ‘stunt’ & ‘brunt’
LANGUAGE
No Problem
direct address, ‘yu’:
* aligns reader w/ ppl who havent experienced racism
* reminds reader racists arent diff class of ppl - reader may hold racist beliefs - interrogation of reader’s beliefs
* speaker having conversatino with reader
STRUCTURE 2
No Problem
repetition, ‘I am not de problem’:
* speaker reassuring himself that he is not the issue
* refrences criminalisaiton of black ppl by common media - counters the portrayal
CONTEXT
Catrin
- has 3 kids
- writes abt nature + uses natural imagery
- poem stemmed from her daughter asking to skate for 1 more hour
FORM
Catrin
bipartite, 2 clear stanzas:
* 1st stanza - past tense, centres around memory of birth
* 2nd stanza - present tense, centres around conflict between mother and daughter
* emphasises time passed between bitrh and present
* increasing speration between mother and daughter
STRUCTURE
Catrin
enjambment, ‘Of our struggle to become/ Separate’:
* reflects changing dynamic in relationship between mother/child
* emphasises ‘separate’ - establishes themes of distance & seperation
LANGUAGE
Catrin
direct address vs collective pronouns, ‘you’ + ‘I’ vs ‘we’:
* juxtaposes dependence of young baby vs independence of teen
* 1st stanza - collective used, shows closeness of baby and mother
* 2nd stanza - separation, sometimes pronouns of speaker and daughter seperated by enjambment, diff pronouns on diff lines
LANGUAGE 2
Catrin
continous metaphor, ‘rope’:
* umbilical cord - importance of physical closeness w/ children + emotional closeness
* weaker in 2nd stanza compared to first stanza
* ‘old rope’ - ‘old’ refers to impact of time on relationship