Checking out me history -> dramatic monologue

“Dem tell me… dem tell me wha dem want to tell me”

• “Dem” has undertones of disrespect and creates a distance between the speakers and the writers of white history

• Repetition of “dem” throughout builds up and creates an angry tone, conveying his negative feelings towards those who abuse their authority

“Bandage up my eye with me own history”

• Metaphor for him not being able to learn about or celebrate his history

• Connotations of violence and restriction, they show the pain caused by being cut off from his history

“But now I checking out me own history… I carving out me own identity”

• “Carving” has hints of rebellion and shows the need to fight to discover his identity and share it with others

• “Identity” is the final word in the poem as if to emphasise its significance to him

Themes

• Identity

• Pride

• Power

• Anger

Structure - Dual structure

• the division between the stanzas through Agard’s use of italics shows the separation between the history he was taught, and black history

Structure - Stanza organisation

• Each stanza ends with a reference to a black historical figure; this indicated their significance to John Agard

Structure - Enjambment

• The use of this shows how much Agard cares about the equal teaching of history

Context

• Agard was born and raised in British Guiana → a British colony in the Caribbean

• when he was a teenager Guyana gained independence

• aims to speak for any non-white person who feels marginalised by society

Poems to compare to

• The Emigree → Identity

• Kamikaze → Identity

• London → anger