Checking Out Me History

Question 1

Form

Answer 1

• Verses about black people are in italics to show important lack of rhyme scheme and free verse should. No one controls these people all of them contain natural imagery suggesting there are positive influences.

Question 2

Opening

Answer 2

“Bandage up me eye with me own history”
* Metaphor – Blinded by the history he has been taught. Told he has been damaged so is bandaged
* “eye” homophone for ‘I’ which is an ironic pun. The ‘I’ is his identity which is being damaged
* “Me own history” – Cruelty to Agard as his own history has blinded him. They talk about the miserable involvement in black history, but the positive side of his history is bandaged up by the presentation of negative history

Question 3

SOAPAIMS

Answer 3

“A healing star”
* Mythologising Seacole and making her represent something greater than herself. She will guide us. Agard doesn’t want to reveal the hidden history forcefully through violence but through healing. The poem is meant to make us better people.
* Links to Zeus as he takes the bodies of impactful figures and changes them into constellation for hope of future generations. Agard is creating a visual map so we will see Seacole when we look at the stars

Question 4

Structure x 2

Answer 4

“Dem tell me Dem tell me”
* Anaphora shows anger. Colloquial language as he spells how Agard pronounces them. He refuses to conform against English people against the control of English communications which would isolate black people.
* Lack of punctuation reflect the refusal to except a restriction enforced upon him.
“but”
* Enjambment suggest uncontrollable emotion and anger. Once sentence is forcing black and white people together. They are making us realise that they belong together

Question 5

Ending

Answer 5

“But now I checking out me own history I carving out me identity”
* Change of tone shows the speaker is empowered by going back and seeing their real history.
* “carving” is a strenuous and active task, but it validates us. He is creating a masterpiece and it will last a long time and change history. Its sculptor is creating a masterpiece
* “History…identity” is a couplet so in a traditional way he is completing the poem with a positive resolution.