Half-caste. (quotes, context)

“Explain yuself” (repetition)

interrogative, colloquial dialect and phonetic spelling shows his anger and expresses his feelings.

context

“yu mean when picasso / tchaikovsky”

examples of people in western culture and high influence. also both white men. Trying to engage with educated people and almost prove that he is educated and knowledgeable. Sarcastic, funny, ironic. Its almost like he’s mocking the backwards attitudes that people have on mixed race.

context

form “yu” “england” "mih” “ah rass”

Dialect and not using grammar rules and colloquial/ phonetic. deliberately exclusionary because he is almost trying to demonstrate how it feels to be excluded for no reason.

Short lines almost half lines because they are so short and the enjambment shows that it is an ongoing issue. stream of consciousness 

context

“I dream half-a-dream”

double entendre. - joke and also suggests he gets lack of opportunities because of his mixed race.

context

(come back tomorrow)“wid de whole of yu eye/ear/mind”

repetition of whole, which juxtaposes to the whole poem which is focused on half. 

Also suggests that people are closed minded and only see what they expect to see. Also suggests that he is not important because people only focus half themselves on him. 

context

1949 in Guyana

moved to Britain in 1977

talks about the racist experiences he’s encountered in life

dub poet

Portuguese mother

Guyanese father

left school early to be a librarian

he received a British style education because of British colony