Why is there no punctuation in Checking Out Me History?
Without punctuation, the reader is unsure of the intonation, allowing the poem to be interpreted in different ways. An angry tone is created through the frustrated repetition of “dem tell me”, implying that the speaker feels that no one is listening to him.
Why is dem tell me repeated in Checking Out Me History?
Agard is angry that he wasn’t taught ‘black history’ at school;аhe was only taught ‘white European history’. ‘Dem tell me’анаthis phrase is repeated to create a sense of separation between Agard and his teachers. The use of phonetic spelling shows he is rejecting Standard English and finding his linguistic identity.
What techniques are used in Checking Out Me History?
“Checking Out Me History” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
- Repetition. The speaker uses repetition throughout.
- Colloquialism.
- Enjambment.
- Metaphor.
- Consonance.
- Assonance.
- Juxtaposition.
- Allusion.
What does Checking Out Me History mean?
The poem ‘Checking Out Me History’ is both an angry and assertive poem that links the history one is taught in school with a sense of cultural identity or lack thereof. Agard talks of ‘dem’ and ‘me’, clearly separating himself from those who taught history at school.
What is the significance of the figure of eight in Kamikaze?
Military and patriotic symbols run throughout the description of the tranquil image of seafaring Japan, for example ‘arcing in swathes’ and ‘like a huge flag. ‘ The ‘figure of eight’ creates an image of an infinity symbol, suggesting the pilot is trapped – perhaps war seems like an endless cycle?
What does dem tell me mean?
Dem tell me / Wha dem want to tell me. Straight away, Agard begins his poem with a stark contrast between himself and the oppressive British education system through the exclusive pronoun “Dem” (‘them’) and his personal pronoun “me”, foregrounding the poem’s themes of identity and opposition.
What imagery is used in Checking Out Me History?
Mary Seacole is described in dramatic imagery as a “healing star” and a “yellow sunrise” to the patients she treats. All three are associated with light – “beacon”, “fire-woman” and “star” – suggesting that they play metaphorical roles, illuminating the poet’s true historical identity.
Why does Agard use phonetic spelling in Checking Out Me History?
Checking Out Me History by John Agard John Agard was born in British Guiana, now called Guyana, in the Caribbean, in 1949. He uses non-standard phonetic spelling to represent his accent and mixes Guyanese Creole with standard English. ‘Checking Out Me History’ was published in 2007.
Why does Garland use italics in Kamikaze?
Sections of the poem are presented in italics as first-person narrative, where the storyteller speaks directly for herself. This has the effect of heightening the sense of sadness she feels.
What imagery is used in the poem Kamikaze?
The poet uses colour imagery (green-blue), adjectives (translucent) and a simile (strung out like bunting) to suggest the serenity and beauty of life for the seafaring peoples of Japan. The beauty of these fishing boats is ironic as the pilot is supposed to be looking for warships.
Is blood shadow a metaphor?
At once a literal, concrete noun and a metaphor as the blood stain becomes a “shadow” of the life the soldier unnecessarily ended. We begin to see the ghostly form that will haunt Armitage’s character in later stanzas.
What is the significance of the figure of eight in kamikaze?
What does it mean to spell something phonetically?
Phonetic spelling is a system of spelling in which each letter represents one spoken sound. In English, some words are pronounced exactly as they look.
What does Bunting mean in kamikaze?
The simile, adjective “tiny” and naturalistic imagery of the “green-blue translucent sea” create an innocent and pretty image in sharp contrast to the militaristic first stanza; as bunting is often put up to celebrate victories, a feeling on sadness can also be created here: no pilot is supposed come back alive so no …
What does the figure of eight Symbolise in kamikaze?
Why does Garland use italics in kamikaze?
What does it mean dug in behind enemy lines?
: in an area controlled by the enemy a secret mission behind enemy lines.
What is the meaning of poppies by Jane Weir?
“Poppies” addresses the anxieties and grief that parents face as they send their children to fight in war. It does so through an extended metaphor, comparing going to war to a more mundane kind of departure: a mother sending her child to school.
What does blood shadow mean?
His blood-shadow stays on the street. At once a literal, concrete noun and a metaphor as the blood stain becomes a “shadow” of the life the soldier unnecessarily ended.
What technique is blood shadow?
The ‘blood-shadow’ attacks the speaker with a physical reminder of what has happened. It becomes clear that the speaker needs to get away from the location of the event, which seems to be the case in line 20.
What is the message of checking out Me history?
‘Checking Out Me History’ was published in 2007. It is in the form of a dramatic monologue that employs Creole to represent the voice of a black man who is angered and frustrated by a Eurocentric history syllabus. Themes. The speaker refers to figures and events from both white and black history.
Why did John Agard write checking out Me history?
“Checking Out Me History” was written by the British Guyanese poet John Agard and first published in 2005, in the collection Half-Caste. The poem focuses on the holes in the British colonial education system—particularly that system’s omission of important figures from African, Caribbean, and indigenous history.
What does the speaker in ‘checking out Me history’ learn?
And the speaker in ‘Checking Out Me History’ notes that they never learned about such figures, but were only taught of the glory of England instead.
What does the yellow sunrise mean in checking out Me history?
Despite this, in one of the more abstract and poetic aspects of ‘Checking Out Me History’, she is described as “a yellow sunrise / to the dying,” a metaphor that suggests she is daylight to those who are not going to see the light of day again.