Checking Out Me History by John Agard

Who wrote COMH?

John Agard

What themes are explored in "Checking out me history"?

-power of humans

-anger

-identity

Where and when was Agard born?

He was born in Guyana, South America in 1949, but moved to Britain in 1977

What does Agard's poetry focus on?

His poetry often focuses on ethnicity and identity, mixing social observation with imagination and humour

What did Agard believe?

Agard believed that historical education had a Eurocentric view, and how that view affected the retelling of history

What is the theme of the poem?

The poem focuses on how those in power use that power to shape our understanding of ourselves and our identity

What is the history of Guyana?

-Guyana was a British colony up until 1966, around the time Agard was finishing school

-Guyana was colonised by the Dutch originally, but eventually, the British took over

-A European style of education was enforced

How is the poem about segregation?

The poem is about the segregation of white and black history, but the rhyme scheme forces both white and black historical figures together on numerous occasions

How is importance given to the black historical figures?

-In the stanza about Nanny de maroon, the Jamaican leader is given most importance as the building up of rhyme climaxes on her line, the final line of the verse

-Many of the stanzas end with black historical figures

-For example, Toussaint, Nanny de Maroon and Mary Seacole, and the final verse ends on the poet himself

What does the enjambment used reflect?

-The poet's use of enjambment reflects his anger at the unjust system, it shows an overflowing, unrestrained and uncontrollable emotion

-It also forces the reader to combine black and white historical figures together

-For example, by talking about "Lord Nelson" and "Shaka de great Zulu" in the same sentence, carried over two lines

How is the poet's anger presented?

-The repetition of the short phrase "dem tell me" suggests anger at the miseducation of history

-The short lines in the stanzas on black figures suggests some sort of anger, but a righteous anger that he wasn't taught about these members from black history

What are intertextual references in the poem?

"de cow who jump over de moon", "de dish ran away with de spoon"

-Intertextual references to nursery rhymes

-The simple, childlike rhymes in the verses about white history mocks the presentation of history lacking in cultural diversity, describing it as childish and naive

How are the nursery rhymes contrasted?

-This is a stark contrast to the three verses about black historical figures

-The verses about the black historical figured are italicized, which makes them stand out as important

How are the three black historical figure stanzas presented?

-lack of control

-positive influences

How are the black historical figures presented as free?

-They're also in free verse with no rhyme or regular rhythm which shows the lack of control over them; they are free spirits

-There is also lots of imagery and metaphors related to nature

How are the black historical figures presented as positive influences?

-"mountains", "fire", "stream", "river"

-The positive natural imagery suggests that these are the positive influences on the speaker's life

What is the form?

Oral poetry, through the repetition, phonetic spelling, strong rhythm, etc.

Why is the oral poetry significant?

-Historically, a tradition of reciting poetry alloud to tell stories to others so that they would remember them

-This suggests that the reader must remember and pass down what they learn in this poem

How is the poet "blided"?

"Bandage up me eye with me own history"

-The metaphor means that he is being deliberately held back from seeing his own history

-This contrasts with the final lines of the poem, as we see the speaker "carving out me identity"

How is the poet changed at the end?

-The verb "carving" is an active and strenuous task, suggesting that we have to actively seek out our identity

-But when we find our sense of who we are, it validates us

-The structural device of ending the stanza with a reference to the speaker symbolises how his new-found history has empowered him with a new-found sense of purpose

How is languageused in the poem?

-The use of the Creole language, the Carribean words and the phonetic spellings ties in with the lack of punctuation

-John Agard refuses to conform to the rules of the English language, and is standing against the oppressive, domineering control of English communication

-The use of this language forces the reader to acknowledge Agard's own clear identity

How is grammar used in the poem?

The lack of punctuation in the poem, or the lack of restrictions and rules, symbolises Agard's refusal to accept the restrictions that are forced on him

How is the eurocentric view of history presented?

-The mixture of the nursery rhymes and western history suggests that the westernized presentation of history is just as fictional and ridiculous as a legend or a myth

-It suggests that the Eurocentric view of history is a similar lack of reality as nursery rhymes

-The selective representation of history makes it as unimportant as a child's story

How is grammar used in the stanzas about black historical figures?

-The italicised stanzas of black historical figures lack punctuation, but are meant to be read with pauses

-In refusing to use the conventions of punctuation Agard forces us to be put in the position of failing to fully understand the message without putting in our own effort

-In the same way, because the black historical figures are being left out of history, Agard is saying we don't understand history; we do not have the means to fully comprehend its meanings