Monday 23rd September 2013 L.O. To explore the theme of Identity through John Agard’s ‘Half-Caste’ All will be able to extract and recall relevant information Most will be able to identify linguistic features Some will be able to convey the effect of language and structure on the reader

What defines identity? Your age? Accent? Gender? Religion? Ethnicity? Humour? Birthplace? Beliefs? Taste in music? Occupation? Dialect? Way you look? HAVE YOU EVER BEEN JUDGED FOR THE WAY YOU LOOK? 3min … Write down a list of what you think makes up your identity as an individual. 3min…Now in pairs, write down what makes up your identity as a school.

Half-Caste? What is your personal response to the term half-caste? A Caste system is a social status in which you are born and cannot move from. In Burma, a ‘half-caste’ was anyone with mixed ethnicity from Burmese and British, or Burmese and Indian. During the British colonial rule, half-caste people were ostracized and criticized in literary and political media. For example, a local publication in 1938 published the following: "You Burmese women who fail to safeguard your own race, after you have married an Indian, your daughter whom you have begotten by such a tie takes an Indian as her husband. As for your son, he becomes a half-caste and tries to get a pure Burmese woman. Not only you but your future generation also is those who are responsible for the ruination of the race.“ (An editorial in Burmese Press, 27th November 1938) Have something missing? Not whole? Mixed race? What does this term mean? Is it racist? Do you think they are/were treated different? Why? Still are? Bangladesh and Thailand.

Is the term used in a negative or positive light? The Untouchables of Spain and France (Cagots): While they had the same skin colour and religion as the majority, in the Churches, they had to use segregated doors, drink from segregated fonts and receive communion on the end of long wooden spoons. It was a closed social system. In South Africa, people of mixed descent, the ‘half-caste’, were considered inferior and slaves by birth in the 19th-century hierarchical social system. According to UNICEF and Human Rights Watch, caste discrimination affects an estimated 250 million people worldwide. Lets look at one origin of the term Caste; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTC51EZbtf8 Is the term used in a negative or positive light?

JOHN AGARD 1949-Present Playwright, poet, short-story and children's writer John Agard was born in Guyana in 1949, with a Caribbean father and a Portuguese mother and therefore of mixed race. Agard worked as a teacher and journalist before moving to Britain in 1977. In Britain, he initially worked for the Commonwealth Institute as a touring lecturer, giving talks and readings promoting greater understanding of Caribbean culture. Realising that most people who say ‘Half-caste’ do so without thinking about what it really means, he expresses his feelings through the stanza’s of this poem. John Agard now lives in Sussex with his partner, the poet Grace Nichols, and spends much of his time visiting schools to promote poetry. His poetry collection We Brits (2006), was shortlisted for the 2007 British Book Awards Decibel Writer of the Year award. His latest poetry collection is Clever Backbone (2009).

HW Techniques used….emotive, descriptive, structure.

Excuse me standing on one leg I’m half-caste Excuse me standing on one leg I’m half-caste. Explain yuself wha yu mean when yu say half-caste yu mean when Picasso mix red an green is a half-caste canvas? explain yuself wha yu mean when yu say half-caste yu mean when light an shadow mix in de sky is a half-caste weather? well in dat case england weather nearly always half-caste in fact some o dem cloud half-caste till dem overcast so spiteful dem don’t want de sun pass ah rass? explain yuself wha yu mean when yu say half-caste yu mean tchaikovsky sit down at dah piano an mix a black key wid a white key is a half-caste symphony? Explain yuself wha yu mean Ah listening to yu wid de keen half of mih ear Ah looking at yu wid de keen half of mih eye an when I’m introduced to yu I’m sure you’ll understand why I offer yu half-a-hand an when I sleep at night I close half-a-eye consequently when I dream I dream half-a-dream an when moon begin to glow I half-caste human being cast half-a-shadow but yu must come back tomorrow wid de whole of yu eye an de whole of yu ear an de whole of yu mind. an I will tell yu de other half of my story. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00wrlhq VIDEO http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00wrlhq

Language Who is the narrator talking to? Why? How would you describe the language used? What effect does this have on the reader? How does the poet convey his emotions? Sheet of words… WRITE PEEE in BOOKS Direct speech …Explain yuself…when does it change and why? Effect. Mixed Caribbean Creole with standard English…effect on reader to link the two cultures with him as a half caste? Which is more interesting? Why has he named the images that he has? Famous people to defend his argument? Metaphor- music, weather and art…..why these three? Humour – English weather, one leg….effective way to illustrate point and draw attention Irony – English weather – he had beautiful weather but yet he is the one that is being mocked Rhetorical questions – Ellipsis… ‘du’ - do you Repitition – words/phrases Alliteration – rep of sounds haaaaaalfe caaaasste Assonance – rep of vowels

L.O: To develop competence in analysing poetic structure. Monday September 30th 2013 L.O: To develop competence in analysing poetic structure. All will contribute in group discussion about key themes. Most will be able to explain linguistic devices. Some will be able to deconstruct the poem in order to reveal rhythm. Post it will be ticked once they have spoken

To recap… Explored the historical context of the word ‘caste’ and its association with inferiority Looked at linguistic devices Highlighted the use of imagery Task: List as many examples of linguistic devices as you can within the poem Handbooks…TASK

Theme Identity Racism/Stereotype Language change – term is now unacceptable Proud of culture

Linguistic devices Direct speech/Imperative – ‘explain yuself’ Creole – Mixture of two languages i.e. Carribbean and English Rhetorical questions – ‘Wha yu mean when yu say half caste? Ellipsis - meshing of two words to make one e.g. ‘du’ for do you Metaphor- ‘whole of yu eye’ – to see the real him Humour – English weather/ standing on one leg….effective way to illustrate point and draw attention Irony – English weather – They live in half-caste weather Repetition – words/phrases – illustrates immaturity of use Alliteration – repetition of sounds - ‘half-caste canvas’ Assonance – repetition of vowels - ‘haaaaaalfe caaaasste’ Metaphoric phrase Contrast of what is expected

Images Picasso - Green and red make…. Weather – Light/dark – overcast Irony: England weather is ‘half-caste’ Tone: shadow/sleep 3. Tchaikovsky - Symphony Half body parts – one leg, eye/ear/mind Changes the tone through imagery – humour, fact, anger

Structure 1. Physical structure of the poem 2. Rhyming scheme 3. Punctuation As a reader, what do you think of the structure? Analysing the intentions behind the unusual structure, does the layout helps emphasise the key idea of the poem? Does the writer emphasise social divisions through its structure? P.E.E.E Structure effective? Divided, static just like peoples opinion. 2 stanzas on their own…minority? Stanza 2: Imagery to convey immaturity of racist people Stanza 3: Tone changes – more serious. More reflective – Yu mind, yu eye….

Rhythm Q. Is there a rhythm or rhyming scheme? TASK: In pairs, I want you to highlight where you think there is rhythm in the poem. In the first section of the poem, there is a erratic half rhyme. Which terms does this half rhyme centre round? Why? Half a rhyme? The poem is highly rhythmic which is driven through the use of Caribbean accent and dialect

Excuse me standing on one leg I’m half-caste Excuse me standing on one leg I’m half-caste. Explain yuself wha yu mean when yu say half-caste yu mean when Picasso mix red an green is a half-caste canvas? explain yuself wha yu mean when yu say half-caste yu mean when light an shadow mix in de sky is a half-caste weather? well in dat case england weather nearly always half-caste in fact some o dem cloud half-caste till dem overcast so spiteful dem don’t want de sun pass ah rass? explain yuself wha yu mean when yu say half-caste yu mean tchaikovsky sit down at dah piano an mix a black key wid a white key is a half-caste symphony? Explain yuself wha yu mean Ah listening to yu wid de keen half of mih ear Ah looking at yu wid de keen half of mih eye an when I’m introduced to yu I’m sure you’ll understand why I offer yu half-a-hand an when I sleep at night I close half-a-eye consequently when I dream I dream half-a-dream an when moon begin to glow I half-caste human being cast half-a-shadow but yu must come back tomorrow wid de whole of yu eye an de whole of yu ear an de whole of yu mind. an I will tell yu de other half of my story. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00wrlhq VIDEO http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00wrlhq

Punctuation 1. To portray cultural identity – non conformist 2. To illustrate emotion e.g. ‘Ah rass!’ 3. Enjambment is the continuation of a sentence or thought over a line-break, into the next line. Q. What does this do to the pace of the poem? TASK: Discuss how important is it for the poet to write in non-standard English? The lack of restrictions of regularity in terms of line length and stanza length, as well as sentence structure, indicate a desire for openness and freedom which suit the theme of the poem.

Effect on reader… In this poem John Agard is satirising the stupidity and offensiveness of the term "half-caste". The poem is aggressive in tone ….., directly addressing the reader ……., making you responsible for thinking about why you might use the term. The poet uses a variety of clever techniques to show the absurdity of the term such as ... As a dramatic monologue, it is easy to imagine how powerful this message could come across. From reading it, we sense the forcefulness in the manner in which the poet is addressing those he is speaking to. He does this through …… For those of us who do not have the chance to experience this, we can still sense how outraged he is by the idea that a person of mixed nationality is any less than anyone else, yet he captures our imagination with his imagery and entertains us with his humour to convince us to listen to his way of thinking.

GROUP TASK 1. Cultural context – Theme/Author 2. Linguistic devices 3. Structure – Rhythm/Punctuation 4. Imagery Brainstorm with your team! Identify key examples of your specialist area, and create a 3 paragraphs about it. You must use P.E.E 4 pieces of sugar paper and write down examples of 1. Linguistic devices 2. Structure 3. Cultural context 4. Imagery Sugar, pens, paper, nominate a scribe. Feedback on the board in columns. They need to write key points from other groups in their draft books as this will be the basis of their comparative essay!

Political? Racism/ Stereotype? Identity? Proud of culture?