Checking Out Me History Analysis

• The speaker is recounting all of the historical figures he was taught as a child, he then lists all of the figures from black history who were not mentioned. He resolves to discover more about his own heritage.
• Checking Out Me History

  • Dual structure with division between stanzas through use of italics showing separation between history the speaker was taught and black history
  • Repetition of "Dem tell me" mirrors rote learning and creates oppressive tone
  • Rhyme scheme ties together sections concerning white and black history
  • Black history given separated, dedicated stanzas which could symbolise it finally receiving respect and significance
  • Enjambment connects black and white history implying they cannot be separated
  • Volta "but now" marks turning point as speaker takes ownership of identity
• Toussaint L'Ouverture


  Led the revolution by black slaves against the French colony of Haiti, led to their freedom, symbol of rebellion and resistance
• Nanny de Maroon


  Female leader of the Jamaica maroons who escaped from slavery, renowned outstanding military leader
• Shaka de great Zulu


  One of the most influential military leaders of the Zulu kingdom in South Africa
• Caribs


  Indigenous people from the lesser Antilles, forced out of their homes by the British and French
• Arawaks


  Indigenous people of the greater Antilles, mostly wiped out by old world diseases or driven out by the Caribs
• Mary Seacole


  Groundbreaking figure who improved hygiene in hospital wards in Crimea, fought against oppression to help others
• Agard's formative years were lived under British rule


  He was given a eurocentric view of history whilst being denied his own cultural identity
• Checking Out Me History was inspired by Agard reading a school textbook which claimed that West Indian history began with Columbus
• 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 after living in Britain for approximately 30 years
• The poems were intended to be universal to apply to all people living under oppression and being denied their cultural identity
• Motif of light


  References to light imagery in stanzas about black history, associating these figures with light as a source of guidance
• Metaphors


  Violent metaphors used to show cruelty of colonialism, "blind me to me own identity" emphasises deliberate nature of abuse
• Non-standard phonetic spelling


  Use of "dem", "de" and "bout" shows resistance to traditions of English language and restrictions of colonial rule, emphasises oral poetry
• Lack of punctuation


  Allows poem to be interpreted in different ways, shows resistance to oppression