John Agard - Half-caste

  

A comment by Rendell Harris at www.englishresources.co.uk © 2000 English Resources, University of Wales

  

 

 

In this poem John Agard is satirising the stupidity and offensiveness of the term "half-caste".   The poem is aggressive in tone, directly addressing the reader, making you responsible for thinking about why you might use the term.   The poet uses a variety of clever techniques to show the absurdity of the term.

  

KEY POINTS
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Notice the language used by the poet: his use of phonetic spelling and West Indian slang shows his pride in his language and his refusal to apologise for or tone down his culture.

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Look carefully at the wordplay - the jokes on "half a leg" and so on. You should comment on the way the poet uses humour to point out the absurdity of certain attitudes.

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The skill of the poet is a statement in itself: the use of language and imagery proves that he is not the half a man which the term "half caste" implies.

http://www.newi.ac.uk/englishresources/workunits/ks4/poetry/rhpfocat.html