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“Dem tell me/dem tell me/wha dem want to tell me”
Agard’s protest is reflected in his use of enjambment and anaphora to create a frustrated, angry tone. Agard begins with the accusatory ‘dem’ with an opposing side of ‘me’, giving the reader the idea that each side is working against the other. Agard gains some power through the use of his own dialect, which celebrates his history and widens the poetry a modern audience has access to. It also presents alternate perspectives to view the world through, educating his audience.
“Bandage up me eye with me own history/blind me to me own identity”
The juxtaposition of ‘bandage’ and ‘blind’ presents the inequalities he has faced his whole life, as he describes the contrast between the caring actions that he should be experiencing and the force of removal of ‘blind’ - this connotes to aggression and fighting, with links to warfare. His reduced sense of vision is reflected in the metaphor for his vision. Agard further emphasises the inconsistencies that he goes through in life through the phrase ‘me own history’, as it contrasts to the unspoken history that he has been taught for his whole childhood. European history is taught in colonies, while the more personal and relevant history of cultural figures isn’t shared, leading to a loss of ‘identity’.
“Toussiant/a slave/with vision/lick back/Napolean”
As examples of the characters that aren’t taught about, Agard mentions ‘Toussiant’, a slave who fought against Napolean, a great dictator, and won the battle. Agard takes control of the narrative through mentioning his ‘vision’, part of a semantic field of light through the whole poem, while glossing over his lowly status as a ‘slave’ - which makes his achievements greater as, despite the extreme difference in class, Toussiant led his people to victory against a man who raged across Europe. This is one of the methods that Agard fights against the more popular history of Europe; by writing about their failures.
“Dem tell me bout Lord Nelson and Waterloo/but dem never tell me bout Shaka de great Zulu”
Agard breaks the anaphora from earlier as he takes control of his previous ignorance by highlighting what he wasn’t able to learn as a child through the adverb ‘never’. The speaker is no longer passive, he is fighting back and attempting to redress the balance of education in colonies.
“A healing star/among the wounded/a yellow sunrise/to the dying”
Agard references Mary Seacole, a black nurse. He continues the semantic field as he describes her as ‘a healing star’, a character who gives out light through her compassionate personality, although the imagery is contrasted with her role within society - nurses were very actively involved with patients, unlike stars which (although they provide hope) sometimes feel distant and lifeless. She is further likened to ‘a yellow sunrise’, reflecting her ability to give hope to those she meets. The gentle tone in this stanza contradicts the often aggressive narrative that is presented about black people, giving his audience an alternative story to believe in. He also undermines Florence Nightingale, as her held lamp cannot compare to the star and sunrise that Mary Seacole is to her patients - emphasising her inner strength of being a beacon. Yellow is a colour that connotes happiness and joy, thus providing the speaker with light and hope.
But now I checking out me own history/I carving out me identity”
The previously cyclical structure is distrusted as Agard gives the poem a triumphal resolution through a shift in tone with ‘but’, leaving the reader with a sense of empowerment. The verb ‘checking’ implies that Agard is metaphorically going on a journey to get other perspectives on his culture and is no longer accepting one viewpoint on life. The verb ‘carving’ suggests that he is getting rid of excess to find inner beauty and creating a piece of art that is his identity as a result. Although it is a difficult action which requires a lot of skill and patience, Agard shows his determination to uncover his indentity which has been lost to so many people for so long. The active actions contrast the previously passive verbs that he used to reflect the control others had on him. He is taking power back, in the form of his identity.
Context
Agard was born in the Carribean in 1949 and moved to the UK in the 1970s, so had to adjust to the customs he found in his new home. His poems are written to inspire people to take back power and challenge racism and prejudice.
Agard’s purpose
Through the poem, Agard is trying to regain identities lost through a historical lack of education about them, particularly in colonised countries who are controlled by education. Agard celebrates figures who have been sidelined by history but have been given a voice more recently.
Form and structure
It is a dramatic monologue with a dual structure dealing with two versions of history; Eurocentric history is mixed with traditional nursery rhymes, mocking it, which is interspersed with stanzas on black history in italics. The poem is written in free verse, with an irregular rhyme scheme and a lack of punctuation throughout, which all suggest the narrator‘s rejection of the rules and a lack of control over the future, which Agard rejoices.
Themes
Power of art and memory
Abuse of power by institutions
Lack of identity causing powerlessness
Internal conflict
Power of perspective and narrative
Conflict between institutions and people
Comparison
London:
Both poets explore how the abuse of power causes a loss of identity among the people
Similarity: both poets explore the abuse of power by institutions causing powerlessness and a loss in identity
Difference: in Checking Out Me History, hope is regained reflected in the speaker’s own confidence, whereas in London, the people remain powerless while Blake doesn’t experience it himself
