explain yuself
wha yu mean
when yu say half-caste
yu mean tchaikovsky
sit down at dah piano
an mix a black key
wid a white key
is a half-caste symphony/
Explain yuself
wha yu mean
Ah listening to yu wid de keen
half of mih ear
Ah lookin at yu wid de keen
half of mih eye
and when I'm introduced to yu
I'm sure you'll
understand
why I offer yu half-a-hand
an when I sleep at night
I close half-a-eye
consequently when I dream
I dream half-a-dream
an when moon begin to glow
I half-caste human being
cast half-a-shadow
but yu must come back tomorrow
wid de whole of yu eye
an de whole of yu ear
an de whole of yu mind
an I will tell yu
de other half
of my story
Island Man
Morning
and island man wakes up
to the sound of blue surf
in his head
the steady breaking and wombing
wild seabirds
and fishermen pushing out to sea
the sun surfacing defiantly
from the east
of his small emerald island
he always comes back groggily groggily
comes back to sands
of a grey metallic soar
to surge of wheels
to dull North Circular Road
muffling muffling
his crumpled pillow waves
island man heaves himself
another London day
Comparing three poems from different cultures
Introduction
The three poems that I will be comparing are ‘Presents from my aunts in Pakistan’ by Moniza Alvi, ‘Half-caste’ by John Agard and ‘Island Man’ by Grace Nichols. All of these poets have mixed-race backgrounds and all of these poems are linked in with the difficulties arising from having different cultural backgrounds.
Story/theme
‘Presents from my aunts in Pakistan’ is reflective of Moniza Alvi’s childhood and her experiences of being from two different backgrounds “glass circles, recall the story how the three of us sailed to England.” She tells the reader about her experiences in Pakistan, the journey from Pakistan to England and about being in England. This shows that although she is confused about her background, she remembers everything from both cultures.
‘Half-Caste’, however, is a very confrontational poem and John Agard addresses the reader personally. “Excuse me…explain yuself…yu must come back…” Agard addresses the reader personally and confronts them about their opinions or beliefs of Half-caste people. He asks them to tell him what they mean by the phrase half-caste, then gives various scenarios about what they may mean which are incongruous. This puts his point across and makes people think about or change their beliefs.
Conversely, ‘Island Man’ is the story of a man that used to live on an island, possibly the Caribbean, and then moved to London. This poem describes his feelings as he wakes up for the first day back in London “Comes back…to dull North Circular Road…” This poem also shows that he would much prefer to live on his “emerald island” than in London. This shows that the man has made a conscious decision about which part of his background he prefers and which part of his life he would like to fulfil.
Emotions expressed
‘Presents from my aunts in Pakistan’ is a very sensitive poem and many emotions are expressed throughout the poem. In the first stanza, Moniza Alvi expresses excitement as she lists all of the wonderful things that her aunts have sent her from Pakistan. In the second stanza, she seems down heartened about everything and says, “never be as lovely as those clothes.” For the rest of the poem she seems confused about her background and indecisive about which background she prefers.
‘Half-Caste’, however, expresses a feeling of confrontation throughout the poem and it always seems as if John Agard wants the readers to respond to what he says but because of his hectoring tone the reader believes that they cannot.
On the contrary, ‘Island Man’ has a pessimistic feel to the poem throughout. It seems as though the island man is constantly complaining whilst he is in England and longs to get back to his island.
Narrative point of view
‘Presents from my aunts in Pakistan’ is written in the first person. This makes it a lot more personal and makes the reader feel more involved with Moniza Alvi. The reader feels closer to the action as well and it makes them feel as if they were there and they begin to feel the things she felt. “I longed…I wanted…” It generally makes the poem seem more intimate.
On the other hand, ‘Half-Caste’ is written in the second person. This also involves the reader but in a different way. John Agard used the second person because it addresses the reader directly and makes them feel as if it is them and only them that Agard is talking to “Explain yuself wha yu mean”
‘Island Man’ is written in the third person. This makes the reader feel very detached from the poem because it is just talking about someone that they do not know and not much is told about him. “island man wakes up.” The poem just says that he moved from an island to London. We do not really learn much about him.
Structure/Layout
‘Presents from my aunts in Pakistan’ is set out on the page with no real structure in a rather confused pattern and this reflects her confused feeling towards which background she is from. She is just remembering her memories and writing them down on the page.
Similarly, ‘Half-Caste’ also has no structure to it and its stanzas appear to break at no significant point. This shows that John Agard is imposing his own West Indian culture on the English way of life.
Likewise, ‘Island Man’ has no organization to its structure. This poem is also written in free verse. This implies that it is un-organised. This may reflect the feelings of the island man. In addition, some words/phrases have been separated from the rest of the poem. This is to emphasise these pieces of text.
Poetic devices
‘Presents from my aunts in Pakistan’ utilises many poetic devices. Firstly, simile is used to describe the clothes that her aunts send her. There is also alliteration on ‘l’ sounds while she describes the clothes “glistening like an orange split.” Assonance is also used on ‘I’ sounds. In the second stanza, sibilance is used to describe the clothes, “satin-silken.” This mimics the sounds of satin and silk. In this poem, there are many techniques, this helps add to the confusing quality of the poem. All of these techniques help enhance the quality of the poem.
‘Half-Caste’ also contains quite a lot of poetic devices to help enhance the poem. Alliteration is used on ‘c’ sounds to emphasise what is said “…caste canvas…” Rhyme is also employed during the poem “mean…green…” Throughout the poem, there is repetition of the phrase “Explain yuself wha yu mean…” This implies that John Agard is using a forceful tone towards the reader and not letting them speak. This is a very powerful technique and works well in the poem.
‘Island man’, however, does not employ many techniques. Repetition is used on certain words to suggest certain things. For example, “Groggily groggily” suggests that the man is tired and does not want to do anything. I think that because not many poetic devices are used Grace Nichols is trying to show the simplistic lifestyle of the Island man.
Conclusion
All of these poems have very contrasting themes but also very similar themes. Each poem was written by a poet from two different backgrounds. This was displayed in each poem very differently. Moniza Alvi was reflective, John Agard was confrontational and Grace Nichols was pessimistic. In conclusion, I feel that Half-caste was the best poem because it involved the reader in the issue but also made them think about their beliefs/attitudes towards people from mixed race backgrounds
