Half caste. Half-Caste This fantastic poem is mainly about how John Agard feels about people using the phrase half caste.

John Agard obviously feels strongly about this because he is sick and tired of people using that word to de grade people and also of the way he questions about the phrase “half caste” . He also makes us think about what it must be like to be a half caste in a culture like ours today. There are two means by which the poet helps to create a shape or structure in this poem. Most obviously he uses the term half caste to make the poem appear to be like a speck, saying to everyone that the term half caste can be insulting. John Agard uses some very cleaver images to make his point about the use of the word half caste. There are several in the poem, but I will concentrate on the images of the weather “yu mean when light and shadow mix in the sky is a half caste weather”

I think that this is the most successful because the words “light” and “shadow” are completely different, and are perfect for what John Agard is trying to say. The poet also uses the musical nature of West Indian words, like “yu mean Tchaikovsky sit down at dah piano and mix a black key wid a white key is half caste symphony”. This helps to strengthen the poem , and puts in another comparison.

In conclusion, this is a very powerful poem that really talks about colour prejudice. I think without the coulours in it, John Agard would struggled to use the comparisons relating to half caste. The poet obviously thinks that the people uses the term half caste without realizing it causes offence, and that is who the poem is aimed at.

The end