Checking out me history

• The poem "Checking Out Me History" by John Agard begins with the speaker listing historical figures he was taught about as a child.
• In the next stanza, the poem reverts to plain text and lists further white figures.
• The poem concludes by stating that despite not being taught about members of black history, it is okay as they are researching their history themselves.
• John Agard was born in Guyana and received a British education due to the country being colonised up until 1966.
• Mary Seacole fought against oppression in order to help others and returned to live in poverty.
• The division between the stanzas in Agard’s poem is marked by the use of italics, reflecting the separation between the history he was taught and black history.
• Shaka de great Zulu was one of the most influential military leaders of the Zulu kingdom in South Africa.
• The volta “but now” in Agard’s poem marks a turning point in the poem as the speaker switches from referring to “Dem” to “I”, showing him taking ownership of his own identity and making the poem about himself rather than them.
• The use of “I” in the ending of Agard’s poem also acts to conclude the sentiment throughout the poem that colonialism has had a large effect on individuals as people.
• The overflowing sentences in Agard’s poem show that the speaker is attempting to express too much emotion to be constrained to a single line, showing how much Agard cares about the subject matter which has impacted him as a person.
• The Arawaks were the indigenous people of the greater Antilles who were mostly wiped out by old world diseases (for example, smallpox) or driven out by the Caribs.
• The repetition in Agard’s poem could also be interpreted to allude to his emphatic desire to have his message heard.
• In the stanzas regarding black history, there are frequent references to light imagery, indicating that the speaker associates these figures with light due to their emotional significance to him.
• Nanny de Maroon was a renowned outstanding military leader and most of her knowledge came from oral tradition which Agard is continuing by including her in his poem.
• The Caribs are indigenous people from the lesser Antilles (a group of islands in the Caribbean sea) who were forced out of their homes by the British and French.
• The rich imagery in Agard’s poem juxtaposes with the almost childish lexis in the other stanzas to show the beautiful and complex nature of black history.
• Each stanza in Agard’s poem ends with a reference to a black historical figure, symbolising their significance to him.
• The repetition of “Dem tell me” mirrors rote learning and it could be inferred that Agard had to rote learn the history he was taught due to its lack of personal relevance to him.
• The connective “But” in Agard’s poem is used to tie together black and white history, implying that they cannot be separated and black history cannot be ignored.
• Each stanza in Agard’s poem begins with “dem tell me”, showing how colonial control has dominated his life in the same way it dominates the poem.
• The rhyme scheme in Agard’s poem ties together the sections concerning white and black history, showing how Agard is attempting to end segregation through literary unification.
• The repetition in Agard’s poem creates an oppressive tone to the teaching of history.
• Nanny de Maroon was the female leader of the Jamaica maroons who escaped from slavery in Jamaica after being taken from Ghana.
• Mary Seacole is now a well known figure in history for her groundbreaking work improving hygiene in hospital wards in Crimea.
• Seacole is less well known than Florence Nightingale but arguably did more than her which is an example of everyday, casual racism.
• Guyana was originally a Dutch colony, part of the Dutch West Indies Company, during this time, Africans were sold as slaves to America and the Caribbean.
• Agard’s formative years were lived under British rule, however, eventually he saw his country become independent and realised how much of his identity he was deprived of.
• The poem "Checking Out Me History" was inspired by reading a school textbook which claimed that West Indian history began with Columbus.
• The poem "Checking Out Me History" was published in the collection "Half caste and other poems" which was focused on both culture and racial identity.
• Agard published the collection "Half caste and other poems" after living in Britain for approximately 30 years.
• The poems in the collection "Half caste and other poems" were intended to be universal to apply to all people living under oppression and being denied their cultural identity.
• The use of repetition in the poem "Checking Out Me History" creates an accusatory tone, showing the speaker’s anger.
• The phrase "Dem tell me" in the poem "Checking Out Me History" has injury-like connotations which imply that the speaker feels he has been hurt by his sheltered upbringing.
• The italics used in the poem "Checking Out Me History" highlight the two accounts of history being distinctly separate.
• The phrase "Dem never tell me" in the poem "Checking Out Me History" implies that the speaker feels he has lost his childhood and is stuck in the past.
• Toussaint L’Ouverture led the revolution by black slaves against the French colony of Haiti and led to their freedom.
• Haiti became the first nation to free itself from slavery.
• Toussaint L’Ouverture is a symbol of rebellion and resistance and could be interpreted to be an inspiration to Agard to resist the oppression he is subjected to.
• Creole is the native language of an area which has arisen from attempting to speak two different languages.
• An angry tone is created through the frustrated repetition of "dem tell me", implying that the speaker feels that no one is listening to him.