Poems from different cultures - Half Caste, by John Agard.

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Poems from Different Cultures Poetry is used by writers’ world wide to express them. Many of these poems are very negative and show it in the use, and misuse, of language.  Other poems are more positive. Poets often use their work to express difficult situations. ‘Half Caste’ is a good example of this because it portrays the writer in a negative situation that the writer expresses his opinions about. ‘Unrelated incidents’ is a similar type of poem with a varying, but overall alike problem. The poem ‘Not my business’ is a more literal poem. The poem is similar because it shows the poet in a difficult situation but the way the poet expresses himself is completely different. In Half Caste, by John Agard, the difficult situation is one of prejudice. The writer is expressing his dislike of
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the prejudice he suffers because he is of mixed race or, in his words, ‘half caste’. The word half-caste is shown to be the culprit in this poem and the entire poem ridicules the word and those who use it. The writer uses various strategies to achieve this goal. In the first paragraph the writer immediately draws the reader’s attention with an apology, “excuse me,” he says. This draws the reader’s attention because it is a very abrupt way of starting a poem and the reader continues to read to see what he is fact sorry for. Immediately, Agard shows ...

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*** 3 stars. This essay is well written and well structured and the writer makes an effort to explore and explain his reactions to the poems. More quotes are needed throughout to support comments made. In places words and phrases are repeated and alternative synonyms need to be found. Conclusion needed.