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Half by Agard: Caste John

John Agard's poem "Half Caste" addresses the difficulties that those of mixed race backgrounds face in having their identities defined solely by their skin color. The poem mocks the term "half caste" in its title and challenges readers to be more open-minded about people of mixed race, as great artists like Picasso and Tchaikovsky incorporated different elements without prejudice. Through the irregular structure and passionate, punctuated language, Agard confronts ignorance and educates the person he is addressing about appreciating people as more than just "half."

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2K views6 pages

Half by Agard: Caste John

John Agard's poem "Half Caste" addresses the difficulties that those of mixed race backgrounds face in having their identities defined solely by their skin color. The poem mocks the term "half caste" in its title and challenges readers to be more open-minded about people of mixed race, as great artists like Picasso and Tchaikovsky incorporated different elements without prejudice. Through the irregular structure and passionate, punctuated language, Agard confronts ignorance and educates the person he is addressing about appreciating people as more than just "half."

Uploaded by

lkuas
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Half Caste

By John Agard
What is it about?
• Half Caste is a poem by John Agard. It is a
poem which talks about how people who are
Half caste find it hard to express themsleves
beyond their skin colour. The title itself is
mocking half caste people. John Agard wants
the readers to feel open minded about Half
Caste people because he talks about people
like Picasso and Tchaikovsky mixing things
together and not being prejudiced. His
message is for other people to feel the same.
Structure
• The structure of the poem is irregular with the
first and last stanzas having only three lines. The
first stanza which says ‘excuse me son standing
on one leg I’m half caste’ shows that at the
beginning the speaker is sarcastic and ignorant.
However in the last stanza where there are still 3
lines, the mood changes because Agard wants to
educate the person he is talking to we can see
this when he says ‘an I will tell yu de other half of
my story.’ The fact that there are no full stops or
commas suggests that he is very passionate
about the term ‘half caste’.
Language Techniques
• There is repetition in the poem the sentence
‘explain yuself wha yu mean’ shows that
Agard is addressing the reader directly. The
fact that there is no punctuation makes us feel
that he feels strongly about the subject of
caste. Agard writes in patois but he is still
coming across as well educated because he
makes references to ‘Picasso’ and
‘Tchaikovsky’.
Tone
In the poem Agard also shows that he has feelings
even though he thinks of himself as half a person.
We can see this when he says ‘I’m sure you’ll
understand why I offer yu half-a-hand’. He is
making fun of the person he is talking to by using
the metaphor light and dark to contradict the
person he is addressing. This is shown when he
says ‘yu mean when light an shadow mix in de
sky’. It is a deliberately ambiguous question so
that the half caste person is confused to how
he/she should feel.
Imagery
• There is a very clear use of visual imagery in ‘Half
Caste’, it is used when the poet says ‘yu mean when
Picasso mix red an green’ the message behind the
quote intended to say that even though Picasso mixed
colours together he was successful and people who are
mixed race could also be. He also uses different
examples of what half-caste can be so the reader gets
the idea of what he is trying to portray another visual
image used to show this is ‘yu mean when Tchaikovsky
sit down at dah piano an mix a black key wid a white
key’. These visual images relate back to the imagery
and they both link together.

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