Homework: Comparison of Half-Caste and Six O'clock News
Homework: Comparison of Half-Caste and Six O'clock News Half-Caste and Six O'clock News are very different poems. Firstly Half-Caste is written by John Agard whom has a Caribbean background whereas Six O'clock News is written phonetically by Tom Leonard from a Scottish culture. The poems use very different language. "This is thi six a clock new thi man said." This has a lot of non-standard English and is written how it is spelt. In Half-Caste it is very formal. "Excuse me standing on one leg, I'm half-caste." The narrator in Half-Caste is trying to get the point across that half-caste people are not half; they are full. Using ridicule, imperatives and repetition he mocks us about the way we judge half-castes. He uses colloquialism speech: "ah rass" and clever sentence structure: "and mix a black key with a white key" to stir the readers minds and really think deeply about the poem. Both poems use very short lines but are both written phonetically. This adds impact and keeps the reader interested rather than long, everlasting lines. The narrator in Six O'clock News is emphasizing the way that you only hear people with an "unaccented voice" on the BBC News. He does this very well by explaining that just because people talk differently to others, everyone has a different background and accent. He says "you wouldn't want me to talk about the truth with a voice like one of your
Poetry Analysis of: Limbo, Blessing, and Half caste
Poetry Analysis Coursework Chosen poems: - * Limbo * Blessing * Half caste Edward Kamau Brathwaite: Limbo I have chosen four different poems of which come from varying cultural backgrounds and have a moral. I will now explain how the writers present their ideas and give the readers an insight into different cultures. Limbo is a poem, which shows us the feelings of slaves on slave ships written by Edward Kamau. This poem tells the story of slavery in a rhyming, rhythmic dance. It is ambitious and complex. There are two narratives running in parallel, which are, the actions of the dance, and the history of the people, which is being enacted. The poem shows a lot of repetition of phrases such as 'Limbo Limbo like me, Limbo Limbo like me'. This expresses that the phrase is dominant enough to be said twice. The poem has a very strong beat, suggesting the dance describes: where the word limbo appears as a complete line, it should be spoken slowly, the first syllable extended and both syllables stressed: Lim-bo. The writer shows fluent use of rhythm even by using varied length of lines, this makes the reader go along with the movement of both the poem and the storyline in general, it also makes it more involving to the reader. Limbo is a poem of positions as the writer uses such language to break down the moment in the poem, one example of this is when he uses the words
Poem Comparison-Half Caste and I am not that Woman
7 August 2007 A Comparison of "I am not that Woman" with "Half Caste" The two poems I am going to compare are "I am not that Woman" by Kishwar Naheed and "Half Caste" by John Agard. Although these poems are essentially about different things, with "I am not that woman" being about a feminist and "Half Caste" about skin colour, underneath this they are both about being prejudiced against somebody for no real reason. The poem "Half Caste" begins with the words "Excuse me standing on one leg I'm half caste." This is an almost apologetic beginning to the poem, it immediately shows that being mixed race is seen as negative, and that the person is unsure of himself, because of this view. In contrast, "I am not that Woman" starts very strongly with the title words "I am not that woman." This, although also creating a feel that women are being treated unfairly, shows that the person in this poem is far stronger in her views that it is unjust, and will not stand for it, whereas the beginning of the other poem leads us to believe that the person will put up with the unfair treatment. "Half Caste" then goes on to question why "when picasso mix red and green" is not "a half caste canvas." This, as well as the example of the "half caste symphony," by Tchaikovsky, is used because these also use "half caste" things but these are accepted, and even highly regarded. Therefore, the poet is
Comparison of the poems Half-caste and Not My Business.
Half-caste and Not My Business Essay John Agard and Niyi Osundare have both written poems that protest about events or attitudes of people. Agard is From the Caribbean where the population is made up of people from lots of different races. Therefore he is used to being around people of mixed race and will know from first hand experience how horrible it can be to be called only half a person. Osundare has got a good point to make here which is that if people see something going on that is wrong but does not directly involve them, they should do what they can to stop the wrong doing rather than leave it as it may well be them someday and there could be no one to save them. You never know. The first poem is about the term 'Half-Caste' which the poet: John Agard, objects to as he thinks that it makes us think of people of mixed race as only half a person instead of a whole person or individual. The next poem 'Not My Business' is about the violence used by the state authorities against the people of Nigeria. The poet: Niyi Osundare believes that you should stand up for what is right, regardless of whether it bothers you at that specific time. 'Not My Business' is said to echo this statement: "First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak because I was not a trade
'Half-caste' and 'Unrelated Incident' are both written in varieties of non-standard English - What does this contribute to each poem?
'Half-caste' and 'Unrelated Incident' are both written in varieties of non-standard English. What does this contribute to each poem? In both 'Half-caste' and 'Unrelated Incident', we see that the poets feel discriminated against because of a slight difference in their colour or accent. In 'Half-caste' John Agard is purposely trying to emphasize that people think that because he is half-caste he must be inferior to them and only half of a person. He does this by repeating the word 'half' many times throughout the poem. He also goes onto mock the thought of him being 'half' of anything: 'half of mih ear...mih eye...a hand'. He then contrasts this by repeating 'de whole of' three times. In 'Unrelated Incidents', Tom Leonard is trying to show that people discriminate against him because of his different accent. He is also trying to say that because of his regional accent he is not acceptable as a new presenter because people will think he is not telling the 'trooth' and is therefore inadequate for the job. The two poems are very similar because although they are written by people from completely different places, they feel discriminated against because of their accents. In both poems phonetic spellings are used to emphasize the point the poet is trying to make. By using the kind of dialect they speak instead of the proper written language they are trying to show why people
How do the poems, 'Half-Cast', 'Nothings Changed,' and 'Two Scavengers in a truck, Two beautiful People in a Mercedes,' expree Anger?
How do the poems, 'Half-Cast', 'Nothings Changed,' and 'Two Scavengers in a truck, Two beautiful People in a Mercedes,' expree Anger? Courtney Lomas All three poems express their anger towards discrimination: 'Half-Caste' and 'Nothings Changed' are written about how racism has affected them and their lives, 'Two Scavengers...' express views on class discrimination. 'Half-Caste' is written as if it is been spoken in a Caribbean dialect, giving the impression the speaker is of a mixed race.In the poem he illustrates the way he feels about how he is treated as a ''half-caste,half person.'' The longer stansas in the poem tell the story of how his race has affected his life, and the way he feels about himself, and the shorter stansa are used to introduce and close the poem. The poems irregularity in terms of lay out, may illustrate the irregularity this man feels in his life,he feels he doesn't feel accepted in either the black or the white community. He quotes ''am i half a man?''This proves his distress,and although he uses humour the poem has a serious message.Agard uses repetition effectively thorught the poem, for example, ''explain yuself, wha you mean?'' This line is used in every stransa.Agard alkso uses surreal comparissons to express his emotions to the reader such as ''black key...white key''Here he is contrasting the black race, and the white race and wander where
Half-Caste by John Agard - How effective is the light-hearted ridicule in this poem?
Half-Caste by John Agard How effective is the light-hearted ridicule in this poem? In the poem Half-Caste by John Agard the poet uses ridicule to put his point across, he uses this technique very effectively and many times and by the end of the poem you realise how stupid the fact of someone being a Half Caste is. The poem is about a man from the West Indies and is called Half Caste, which means of mixed race. The poem starts off with a verse off three lines all written in Standard English. Even in this very short part we can see the way the poet is using ridicule when he says 'standing on one leg', this is inferring that because he is a 'half-caste' he is only standing on one leg and that only one half the white half of him means anything to most people. It may seem like a ridiculous idea that he should stand on one leg but it does show how stupid the idea that someone can only stand on one leg because he is off mixed race. The poem then goes into a West Indian accent and it then makes another example like mixing colours makes him a half-caste. It then says 'explain yuself' again as it did at the start of the verse, this is repeated many times through the poem and becomes a sort of chorus. It is then always followed by an example, in this case comparing light and shadow to black and white. Light and shadow is a euphemism for black and white. The poem then goes
Compare and contrast the cultures of two poems - Unrelated Incidents, by Tom Leonard and Half-Caste, by John Agard
This essay will be based on comparing and contrasting the cultures of two poems. The two poems I will be talking about are "Unrelated Incidents", by Tom Leonard and "Half-Caste", by John Agard. The poems are based on different cultures, and whether or not it matters what culture you have. Both of the poems are structured in interesting ways. "Unrelated Incidents" is set out in a long column with 38 lines and no more than four words per line. It seems to be set out like an auto-cue TV presenters use instead of scripts. There are no sections or verses in it, whereas "Half-Caste" has four verses which is (in my opinion) split into two sections - the first two verses consists of John Agard asking questions and using the word "half-caste" to describe things where colours are mixed, like artwork and piano keys, and in the second pair of verses he is using "half-caste" to describe parts of his body and states of mind. "Half-Caste" has 53 lines and no full stops. It has what (at a first glance) seem to be random forward slashes, but I have now realised that it seems to welcome a pause after each forward slash. In "Unrelated Incidents" there aren't any capital letters except for "BBC" which is something I didn't pick up on at first. The poems are both performance poems and the tone or mood of them are similar - there is some humour in both poems and they look as though they should be
Comparing Poems From Other Cultures
Compare how identity is shown to be important in half-caste and one other poem Half-caste and Search for my Tongue In these two poems, identity is seen to be important, for in half-caste the author is trying to seek acceptance from others around him for who he is as a person, but in search for my tongue the author is losing her identity and is seeking help in finding out who she as a person. Half-caste portrays someone who feels that people label others without knowing them as people first, and how much it can hurt them. For John Agard says: "Explain yuself, wha you mean, when yu say half caste". This shows that he is confused about how he portrays himself to others, and how others perceive him. This make you think that the way in people perceives you on first appearance makes you who you are. Search for my tongue is like a cry out to others to help with her lost mother tongue, and she doesn't know what her identity is because she is confused about which language is her. It also shows how people don't understand how she feels or understand what she is going through with her struggle with the two languages that she uses. For it says: "You ask me what I mean by saying I have lost my tongue." This shows that she feels isolated from others as they do not understand the internal struggle she is going through having to lose her original identity - her mother tongue - to a
Comparing Poems
Great Expectations Coursework Chapter 1 Dickens use of tension between scenes 1 and 39 in the revolutionary novel 'Great Expectations' works very well to create a sensation of suspense and awareness of the tension between Pip and Magwitch in the two scenes. Beyond the churchyard were the marshes then the river. With the wind whistling and the eerie sense of an unwelcome presence gives the impression of desolation and desertion, highlighting Pip feeling frightened, alone and weeping in a swampy churchyard. Suddenly, a new picture emerges, a shady figure in the fog building up the tension as you hear a sinister voice coming from a man rising from the soggy, abyss of the darkness amongst the graves. As this weary man draws closer to the vulnerable Pip, you get a feeling of dread for Pip as you fear just the presence of this man is something ominous. As this mysterious man is revealed, he is shown as bedraggled, due to his prisoner's uniform, he is clearly a prisoner on the run as he is draped in convicts clothing, already just by his presence, you get the feeling that this unwelcoming man would stop at nothing due to his obvious yet unclear appearance and background. He has a shackle on his legs, binding them painfully together. His body is soaking wet and bloody, showing how desperate he is and how little he has to lose. They can do no more to him; he has suffered
