In ‘Dis Poetry’, Zephaniah portrays many ideas about his opinion on poetry, and he also portrays his personal experience with poetry, and how poetry affects him as a person. Through his poem, he aims to break many of the stereotypes surrounding poetry, and how it should be something that is accessible to all, rather than just the elite or well-read
One of the main ideas that Zephaniah portrays in this poem is that poem is all about ‘freedom of expression’, and that it is meant for everyone. He initially writes how ‘dis poetry is not Party Political’, which could be used to suggest that poetry is not meant to affect the real world, and should be taken too seriously, but is instead simply something that everyone can enjoy. The fact that he writes ‘I’ve tried Shakespeare, but dis is de stuff I like’ goes to show how people should not be confined to specific types of poetry, or forced to respect poetry from history, but instead that everyone should be allowed to enjoy whatever form of poetry pleases them. Zephaniah also writes how ‘dis poetry is fer de wise an foolish’, which further illustrates his point that poetry should be accessible to all. He also writes how ‘anybody can do it fe free’ and that ‘dis poetry is fe yu an me’, further showcasing his views on how poetry should be widespread and accessible. He ends the poem with the phrase ‘It goes to yu WID LUV. This shows how Zephaniah believes uses this poem as a message, and the full stop after LUV could be used to emphasise this ‘LUV’, and show Zephaniah’s affection behind the message. Because Zephaniah believed in the need for multicultural acceptance, this poem could be used as a message to portray how everyone should be allowed to enjoy whatever poetry they like, not depending on their background, and this ‘LUV’ possibly is used to show Zephaniah’s love to these other cultures.
