English GCSE AQA: Comprehensive Analysis of the Power and Conflict Poems

Checking Out Me History (2007) - John Agard

Précis: The poem shows anger at being forced to learn solely (white) British lessons and ideals, with ethnic Caribbean/African roots being erased from the education system.

Context: John Agard was born in British Guiana, now called Guyana, in South America (despite the location, Guyana has stronger cultural links to other Caribbean countries), in 1949. He uses non-standard phonetic spelling to represent his own powerful accent and mixes Caribbean Creole dialect with standard English.

"Checking Out Me History" was published in 2007. It is in the form of a dramatic monologue that employs Creole to represent the voice of a black man who is angered and frustrated by a Eurocentric history syllabus. It is filled with a rich historical context that makes up the bulk of the poem's story, which is, in large part, a colonial story. On both "sides" of the British-colonial story are figures whose contributions to their home, culture, or people are significant, and Agard examines both sides to critique blind history and to shed light on some of the most influential historic figures whose names are overshadowed time and time again.  

We look at how history is taught and the conflict between fact and truths which is sometimes obscured by race or gender. The poem gives examples of powerful black figures from history, often involved in conflicts themselves in one way or another. Noticeably the poet emphasises how we often celebrate our national or cultural history, without looking at the history and culture of those we were in conflict with.

Themes: Racial identity and history are important to the poem and the poet writes with a phonetic style to capture their voice and create tone emphasising his Caribbean origins. Conflict occurs when we see the contrast with what we are taught and what we are not, the nature of the characters and history involved being 'conflict' and the conflict of the victor (whom we remember) and those we don't. The poet is also in conflict with "dem" or with fact and fiction to emphasise the conflict in his own identity.

The speaker refers to figures and events from both white and black history. In British schools white history and white children's stories dominate the curriculum; the speaker in the poem feels mocked by this unfair and uneven emphasis. White history is obviously irrelevant to the speaker's cultural identity. Black history is quoted to emphasise its separateness and to stress its importance. The essence of the poem is the importance of identity and knowing one's cultural history, despite a system that denies appropriate education.  

The Dem tell me sections have an accusatory, rebellious tone to them, created by repetition and short lines at the beginning. Whereas the sections on Toussaint L'Ouverture, Nanny de Maroon and Mary Seacole are celebratory in tone, emphasised by images of nature and using epic (out of the ordinary) vocabulary - words like vision, see-far and star.

It is a poem that challenges us to consider the meaning of history, how we come to know about the past and accept versions of history. The poet might be provoking us to check out our own histories, particularly if they include periods or important figures not taught in schools.

Structure: Checking Out Me History alternates between two structures, marked by two different fonts. The first uses the repeated phrase Dem tell me to indicate the white version of history, mostly written in rhyming couplets, triplets or quatrains. Interspersed are the stories of three black historical figures: Toussaint L'Ouverture, Nanny de Maroon and Mary Seacole, told using abbreviated syntax with words missed out, shorter lines and an irregular rhyme scheme. 

Written in irregular rhyme and with shortly mixed enjambment throughout the verses, the work creates the tone of a man speaking out and angry/ frustrated. It also, however, captures the accent and rhythm of the Caribbean ethnicity of the poet and the parts of the work in italic are almost song-like with a rhythm that seems to suggest stories passed down in song or to a beat (very much a Caribbean-style beat). This is done to emphasise that not just the history, but the way it is passed on is very much a part of the poet's identity and draws on his own Caribbean background, at conflict with the repetitive names and dates he was apparently being taught at English schools.