Grade 5-6

Both ‘Checking Out Me History and The Emigree’ explore pride. In Checking Out Me History, Agard makes clear he is proud of his own history by listing black historical figures that he thinks should be taught and remembered, such as ‘Mary Seacole’. Agard contrasts these figures with white British historical figures, such as ‘Florence Nightingale’, who do feature in history lessons in British schools. Both nurses helped many people and showed great bravery, but Florence Nightingale is much better known than Mary Seacole. Agard therefore challenges British schools for not including black historical figures, who he feels very proud of, within the British curriculum. Agard also chooses to use Caribbean dialect throughout his poem in order to demonstrate how proud he is of where he came from. The speaker in The Emigree is also proud. Rumens demonstrates how proud she is of her home country by writing that her memories are ‘sunlight clear’. Rumens’s use of the word sunlight creates warm, happy imagery helping the reader to imagine the happy memories that the speaker has of her home country. Rumens’s use of the word ‘clear’ implies that the speaker can remember her home country very clearly, as if she had only just left. Rumens uses repetition of the sunlight image throughout the poem not only to emphasise how proud the speaker feels of her home country but also to show how her view remains fixed, even when people tell her that the country has changed as a result of war. It is clear that both speakers feel very proud of where they came from.

Both poems explore being outsiders. In the opening line of the poem, Agard demonstrates that he feels like an outsider in Britain by writing ‘dem tell me’. Agard uses the word ‘dem’ to refer to British schools. It is clear that he feels angry that the British schools teach many facts about European history but don’t teach black historical figures who have done many important things. This approach makes him feel like an outsider because it makes him feel that his own culture and history are not valued. Agard’s use of the words ‘dem’ and ‘me’ indicates that he feels very separate from the teachers in British schools because they have not made him feel that his own culture is important. By repeating the words ‘dem tell me’ in the opening and throughout the poem, Agard emphasises the anger and frustration that he feels. The speaker in The Emigree also feels like an outsider. In the final stanza, Rumens conveys the speaker’s feelings of isolation by writing ‘they circle me, they accuse me of being dark’. Just like Agard, Rumens uses the words ‘they’ and ‘me’ to indicate that the speaker feels very separate from the people in her new country. Rumens’s use of the word ‘circled’ creates powerful imagery that helps us to imagine the speaker being bullied and intimidated by people in her new city, while the word ‘dark’ implies that perhaps the speaker has been subjected to racist remarks. Through these words, Rumens explores how difficult it must feel to move to a new country and not feel accepted. It is clear in both poems that the speaker does not feel fully accepted in the country they have moved to.

Both poems explore distance. Agard conveys the distance he feels from his own history by writing that his eyes have been ‘bandaged’. Agard’s use of this imagery helps the reader to imagine that he feels like he is wearing a blindfold and cannot see. This implies that he feels his eyes have been deliberately closed by the British education system and that he has been kept distant from his own history due to the lack of black history taught in British schools. This could be based on Agard’s own experiences, while he was educated at a British school in the Caribbean and when he moved to the UK as an adult. The distance is similar in The Emigree. Rumens conveys the distance between the speaker and her home country by writing ‘the frontiers rise between us’. The word ‘frontier’ refers to the border that separates two countries, implying that the speaker feels there is a larger border between her and her home country. Rumens’s use of the word ‘rise’ implies that the distance becomes larger with the more time that passes. Rumens’s use of the word ‘us’ suggests that the speaker views her home country as a person - like a family member - who she has been made to keep a distance from. It is clear that both speakers wish they could feel closer to where they came from.

Grade 8-9

In their poems, both John Agard and Carol Rumens explore the theme of pride. Throughout Checking Out Me History, Agard makes clear he is proud of his own history and cultural heritage by listing black historical figures that he feels are disregarded by school curriculums, such as ‘Mary Seacole’. Agard contrasts these figures with white British historical figures, such as ‘Florence Nightingale’, who do feature in history lessons in British schools. Both Mary Secole and Florence Nightingale were skilled nurses and brave women, but Florence Nightingale is much better known by British school children. In this manner, Agard challenges British schools for not including black historical figures within the British curriculum. Agard also structures his poem to emphasise his point, by using a mix of tight nursery rhyme phrases and references, to show how meaningless some school content is. He contrasts this with free verse in italics when referencing the Black historical figures, reflecting the freedom Agard seeks. Further to this, Agard chooses to use Caribbean dialect throughout his poem in order to demonstrate how proud he is of his heritage and culture. The speaker in The Emigree is also proud. Rumens demonstrates this pride in her home country by describing her memories of it as ‘sunlight clear’. Rumens’s use of the word ‘sunlight’ creates imagery or warmth and happiness which help the reader understand how the speaker associates these feelings with her home. Additionally, Rumens’s use of the word ‘clear’ implies that the speaker can remember her home country well, as if she had only just left. Rumens uses repetition of the sunlight image throughout the poem not only to emphasise how proud the speaker feels of her home country but also to show how her view remains fixed, even when people tell her that the country has changed as a result of war. It is evident in both poems that the speakers feel a sense of cultural pride that they wish to celebrate.

Both poems explore being outsiders. In the opening line of the poem, Agard introduces his feelings of being an outsider in Britain by writing ‘dem tell me’. Agard uses the word ‘dem’ to refer to British schools. It is clear that he feels frustrated that British schools teach many facts about European history but neglect black historical figures who are equally important. Agard’s use of the words ‘dem’ and ‘me’ indicates that he feels distanced from the teachers in British schools because they have not made him feel that his own culture and history are valued. The repetition of the phrase ‘dem tell me’ in the opening and throughout the poem, emphasises Agard’s anger and this feeling of distance from the school curriculum. The speaker in The Emigree also feels like an outsider. In the final stanza, Rumens conveys the speaker’s feelings of isolation by writing ‘they circle me, they accuse me of being dark’. Similarly to Agard, Rumens uses the words ‘they’ and ‘me’ to indicate that the speaker feels separate from the people in her new country. Rumens’s use of the word ‘circled’ creates powerful imagery of the speaker being surrounded by, rather than a part of the people in her new city. It suggests she feels intimidated by these people. Moreover, the phrase ‘ they accuse me of being dark’ implies that perhaps the speaker has been subjected to racist remarks. Through these words, Rumens explores the trials of moving to a new country and the pain of not feeling accepted there. It is clear in both poems that the speaker does not feel fully accepted in the country where they live.

Both poems explore distance. Agard conveys the distance he feels from his own history by writing that his eyes have been ‘bandaged’. Agard here presents an image of himself being blindfolded to his own history, implying that he feels his eyes have been deliberately closed by the British education system and that he has been kept distant from his own history due to the lack of black history taught in British schools. This could be based on Agard’s own experiences, while he was educated at a British school in the Caribbean and when he moved to the UK as an adult. The distance is similar in The Emigree. Throughout the poem, Rumens uses Free verse to reflect the freedom the speaker feels when she thinks about living in her home country. However, Rumens also conveys the distance between the speaker and her home country by writing ‘the frontiers rise between us’. The word ‘frontier’ refers to the border that separates two countries, implying that the speaker feels there is a larger border between her and her home country. Rumens further suggests that the distance becomes greater over time by using the word ‘rise’. The use of the word ‘us’ here could also imply that the speaker views her home country as a person - like a family member - who she has been made to keep a distance from. It is evident in both poems that the speakers wish they could feel closer to where they came from.