Checking out my history by John Agard poem PDF

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Checking out my history by John Agard poem...

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Poet’s message: -The importance of history in shaping your identity. -How a dominant white culture can make this difficult for people of non-white backgrounds. -Education has a Eurocentric view.

Checking out my history by John Agard

Why is anaphora used here

Dem tell me Dem tell me Wha dem want to tell me

What kind of tone does the the singular ‘me’ create?

Why does Agard used these violent metaphors? The plosives could suggest this is a form of attack.

Bandage up me eye with me own history Blind me to me own identity Dem tell me bout 1066 and all dat dem tell me bout Dick Whittington and he cat But Toussaint L’Ouverture no dem never tell me bout dat

Why does Agard use simple childlike rhymes in the verses about white history/ culture but not in the verses about black historical figures?

Why are the passages about non-white history italicised and indented?

What does the colloqui Battle of Hastings?

Think about Agard’s use of metaphor he Agard make this comparison?

Toussaint a slave with vision lick back Napoleon battalion Highlight all the instances in the poem w and first Black light. Who is Agard talking about when Republic born for? Toussaint de thorn to de French Toussaint de beacon of de Haitian Revolution

Dem tell me bout de man who discover de balloon and de cow who jump over de moon Dem tell me bout de dish ran away with de spoon but dem never tell me bout Nanny de maroon

How would you describe the imagery in this verse? How does Agard view ‘Nanny de Maroon’?

Why do the final w rhymes build up t

Nanny see-far woman of mountain dream fire-woman struggle hopeful stream to freedom river

Dem tell me bout Lord Nelson and Waterloo but dem never tell me bout Shaka de great Zulu Dem tell me bout Columbus and 1492 but what happen to de Caribs and de Arawaks too

Why does Agar stop at the end

Dem tell me bout Florence Nightingale and she lamp and how Robin Hood used to camp Dem tell me bout ole King Cole was a merry ole soul but dem never tell me bout Mary Seacole What is Agard trying to say about Seacole when he describes her as a ‘volunteer’ or when she ‘brave[d] the Russian snow’?

From Jamaica she travel far to the Crimean War she volunteer to go and even when de British said no she still brave the Russian snow a healing star among the wounded

What is Agard trying to say w ‘a healing star among the wo ‘a yellow sunrise to the dyin...