Tatamkhulu feels strongly about the methods of affairs that were run in the period in which apparently apartheid was ended. In the last stanza, it says ‘Hands burn for a stone, a bomb, to shiver down the glass. Nothing’s changed.’ This is affective, one reason being that he used the title 'Nothing's Changed' to end the poem.
Both titles, Half-Caste and Nothing’s Changed, both give you a clue to what is the poem is about. Nothing’s Changed is more of a statement whilst the title Half-Caste is just quoting the issue John Agard is about to comment about. The beginning of the poems are quite different, Nothing’s Changed starts off by describing the habitat whereas Half-Caste begins off with a short stanza saying ‘Excuse me standing on one leg I’m half-caste’. This showing that he is mixed race and using humour by assuming that if someone is ‘half-caste’ then they are half a person. The endings of each poem are quite similar. Tatamkhulu develops his anger throughout the whole poem, 'hot, white, inwards turning anger of my eyes'. Also 'crushed ice' could have a different meaning from Tatamkhulu's view as 'crushed' is used there, and 'white glass' being used to describe the 'haute cuisine' just brings the reader back to 'hot, white, inwards turning anger..'. However John doesn’t express anger but turns the poem round accusing that he is not half a person but the prejudiced people who think of him and his fellow mixed race people of being a ‘half-caste’.
Nothing’s Changed has seven stanzas. Every stanza has 8 lines except for four and five which is broken up into a two and six. This is because Tatamkhulu captures the reader’s attention for those two lines which say ‘No sign says it is: but we know where we belong.’ He develops the poem with the first two/three stanzas describing the surroundings. 'linen falls, the single rose' and 'take it with you, eat it at a plastic table's top' are quotes taken out of the 5th and 6th stanza which describes the two eating places. He develops this anger through the poem to the last stanza showing his feelings. On the other hand Half-Caste has more of an unusual structure. All the stanzas have no similar numbers of lines, ranging from three to twenty six, although the structure does complement the poem. The second stanza being twenty six lines gives numerous examples of the different things in the world being a mixture. Following that the third and fourth build up to the short fifth and sixth three line stanza turning round the poem showing that it isn’t him that is half a person but the ones that are biased are.
Both structures of the poem are quite different but both do use the structure as a climax.
Both poems create different moods maybe because of the period of time. Also Nothing's Changed is more serious. Half-Caste has both a humorous and questioning mood. 'Ah listening to yu wid de keen half of mih ear' makes you think that it is ridiculous and wonder they are not half a person. By saying outrageous things like that John creates a mood. In contrast Tatamkhulu isn't humorous in 'Nothing's Changed' but in a protesting manner.
Half-Caste is in a Caribbean dialect which makes it a quite fast paced poem. The rhythm is relatively exhilarating. The phrase ‘Explain yuself wha yu mean’ is emphasised because of the dialect and is repeated plenty as well. John gives importance to this phrase because he is reaching out to the reader to make them understand why people judge mixed race people to be ‘half-caste’. He doesn't believe just because they are mixed race that they are half a person and by turning it around in the last stanzas he shows how it feels to go through what he goes through. However Nothing’s Changed has nor a lively or upbeat tempo but more of a slow rhythm because then Tatamkhulu can emphasise most of the words in the poem because of the slow pace to it making the reader acknowledge every word and recognise his aim. The rhythm helps the reader value his rage in various parts of the poem such as ‘and the hot, white, inwards turning anger in my eyes’. Also the four consecutive 'ands' in the 2nd stanza before the phrase quoted before really give the anger its climax.
Nothing’s Changed captures all the words making you reflect about every line in more depth then usual. On the contrary Half-Caste being in a Caribbean dialect is more dynamic, but in this circumstance it helps the poem. For instance ‘wid de whole of yu eye n de whole of yu ear an de whole of yu mind’ would be difficult to comprehend but reading it promptly and in a Caribbean dialect would make it comprehensible.
Both poems paint pictures in your mind of images that John and Tatamkhulu create with their poetry. Nothing’s Changed give details to most of the environment in which the poet go through and come across, like when he is striding above the ‘hard stones’ and ‘amiable weeds’. As a reader you can picture Tatamkhulu looking up from the ‘grasses’ and have a image of a board saying ‘District Six’ but then disappearing like it was never there but just in his mind's eye. In addition his hands metamorphosing from his accustomed colour to white illustrating his fury, transforming the complete atmosphere very cold. Half-Caste alternatively doesn’t produce images seen by John in real life but generating pictures of examples of features in the world that have a combination like ‘half-caste weather’ or ‘half-caste symphony’. He constructs visions of a ‘cast half-a-shadow’ of a ‘half-caste human being’.
Half-Caste uses repetition for its key features, in addition to catch the reader’s attention. It is also in a Caribbean dialect. John exploits the phrase ‘Explain yuself wha yu mean’. He emphasises his point by having a none stop twenty six line stanza which clarifies all his various fusions in life which are a mixture like ‘half-caste canvas’. In contrast Nothing’s Changed uses the structure as a approach to get his key features at certain points. ‘No sign say it is but we know here we belong’ is isolated into a two line stanza. John Agard in a manner has an absolutely different way of expressing his key points.
In conclusion both Half-Caste and Nothing’s Changed has very serious issues in which they write about. Both being from the party in which are being attacked. Being from different time periods makes it slightly diverse. Tatamkhulu has been influenced by his culture and background in the way that there were only non-whites and whites in that particular area. Taking that into consideration most non-whites would have despised all whites thinking all of them would be against them so the anger in his poem would explain that. Whereas John's culture and background does have some bearing on his opinion but he in fact knows that not everyone would think of him as half a person to another human being or any other mixed race individual.
