18
Checking Out Me History (2005)
John Agard (b.1949)
Story
• The narrator is talking about his identity and how it links to his knowledge of history.
• He was taught about British history, but wasn’t taught about his Caribbean roots.
• He lists famous figures from history and questions why he doesn’t know about people from other cultures who did
great things.
• He mentions men and women from diverse backgrounds who should be celebrated.
• At the end, he says he’s going to create his own identity based on his heritage.
Structure
• The poem has two distinct sections, differentiated by italics.
o The italicised sections show the history of historical figures from Caribbean culture and celebrate their
lives – this is the history Agard believes he should have been taught at school. These sections have few
words per line – this places emphasis on these very important parts of history.
o The non-italicised sections show the history that Agard was taught instead. It mentions historical and
fictional figures from British culture, but only briefly, with little respect. This shows how they are not
the only important parts of history.
Language
• Vision: The narrator says that his education kept his true heritage hidden from him. Images of light are positive
because they suggest an awareness of your own identity.
• Oral Poetry: The narrator uses techniques from oral poetry, such as repetition, strong rhythms, chanting and
phonetic spellings. This likes the poem to the oral tradition of reciting poetry aloud and telling stories, which are
used as ways of communicating history. The use of Caribbean phonetic spellings create a sense of pride in his
background, and the use of standard English in line 46-9 emphasises that the figure from his Caribbean heritage
should feature in the teaching of history.
• Anger: The narrator is angry because the education system didn’t teach him about his culture. He was unaware of
his heritage even though it’s an important part of who he is.
• Admiration: He respects the Caribbean figures he describes in the poem. He admires their achievements and
wants to tell their stories to show the important role they play in history.
• Celebration: At the end, he says he will embrace his own identity in a positive way.
Form
• The poem uses oral/performance poetry, traditionally used to tell stories of heroes from the past, i.e. historical
legends. This reflects how the narrator is writing his own history, which involves his own culture and identity.
• The use of non-standard phonetic spelling also reflects his own culture – it imitates the pride he has for it. This
spelling goes against how Agard was taught to speak in school – he is going against the English he was taught,
exactly how he is going against the history he was taught.
• The use of the present tense demonstrates how the narrator is taking his own history and brining it with him.
Checking Out Me History (2005)
John Agard (b.1949)
Story
• The narrator is talking about his identity and how it links to his knowledge of history.
• He was taught about British history, but wasn’t taught about his Caribbean roots.
• He lists famous figures from history and questions why he doesn’t know about people from other cultures who did
great things.
• He mentions men and women from diverse backgrounds who should be celebrated.
• At the end, he says he’s going to create his own identity based on his heritage.
Structure
• The poem has two distinct sections, differentiated by italics.
o The italicised sections show the history of historical figures from Caribbean culture and celebrate their
lives – this is the history Agard believes he should have been taught at school. These sections have few
words per line – this places emphasis on these very important parts of history.
o The non-italicised sections show the history that Agard was taught instead. It mentions historical and
fictional figures from British culture, but only briefly, with little respect. This shows how they are not
the only important parts of history.
Language
• Vision: The narrator says that his education kept his true heritage hidden from him. Images of light are positive
because they suggest an awareness of your own identity.
• Oral Poetry: The narrator uses techniques from oral poetry, such as repetition, strong rhythms, chanting and
phonetic spellings. This likes the poem to the oral tradition of reciting poetry aloud and telling stories, which are
used as ways of communicating history. The use of Caribbean phonetic spellings create a sense of pride in his
background, and the use of standard English in line 46-9 emphasises that the figure from his Caribbean heritage
should feature in the teaching of history.
• Anger: The narrator is angry because the education system didn’t teach him about his culture. He was unaware of
his heritage even though it’s an important part of who he is.
• Admiration: He respects the Caribbean figures he describes in the poem. He admires their achievements and
wants to tell their stories to show the important role they play in history.
• Celebration: At the end, he says he will embrace his own identity in a positive way.
Form
• The poem uses oral/performance poetry, traditionally used to tell stories of heroes from the past, i.e. historical
legends. This reflects how the narrator is writing his own history, which involves his own culture and identity.
• The use of non-standard phonetic spelling also reflects his own culture – it imitates the pride he has for it. This
spelling goes against how Agard was taught to speak in school – he is going against the English he was taught,
exactly how he is going against the history he was taught.
• The use of the present tense demonstrates how the narrator is taking his own history and brining it with him.
