Half-caste

• This video summarises the poem 'Half-Caste' by John Agard, which appears in Part 3 of the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Anthology
• Part 1 of the anthology featured only non-fiction texts, Part 2 was a mix of fiction short stories and poems, and Part 3 exclusively features poems
• Poem 'Half-Caste'


  • Explores the use of the derogatory term 'half-caste' which refers to mixed-race people
  • Written by an Afro-Guyanese poet who moved to the UK in the 1970s
  • Challenges the racist assumptions behind the term 'half-caste'
• Structure of the poem

  1. Written in dramatic monologue

  2. Uses enjambment to speed up the pace

  3. Repetition of the title 'half-caste' as a refrain
• Dramatic monologue


  The poem is written from the perspective of a speaker addressing a listener
• Enjambment


  The continuation of a sentence or phrase from one line or couplet to the next, without terminal punctuation
• Refrain


  The repetition of a phrase or line, usually at regular intervals, within a poem
• Literary devices used


  • Oxymoron (e.g. 'half-cast weather')
  • Alliteration (e.g. 'them don't want the sun pass or ass')
  • Rhyming couplet (e.g. 'pass and ras')
• Mixing of colours/elements in art and nature


  Challenges the idea that mixing is inferior or 'half-caste'
• Mixing of black and white keys on a piano

  Creates a 'half-cast symphony', showing how mixing can produce something beautiful
• Semantic field of body parts

  Emphasises the speaker's humanity and challenges the dehumanising effects of the term 'half-caste'
• The speaker reclaims the term 'half-caste' and challenges the racist assumptions behind it
• The speaker invites the racist listener to come back with an open mind and listen to the 'other half' of his story
• The video promotes an in-depth course covering all the texts and poems in the Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Anthology
• The website www.firstfreeteachers.com offers English revision worksheets, model answers, and online courses