HALF-CASTE �BY JOHN AGARD
By Anaïs Liechti and Lyn Saad
CONTEXT
Half-Caste by John Agard�� Excuse me� standing on one leg� I'm half-caste�� Explain yuself�5 wha yu mean� when yu say half-caste� yu mean when picasso� mix red an green� is a half-caste canvas/�10 explain yuself� wha yu mean� when yu say half-caste� yu mean when light an shadow� mix in de sky�15 is a half-caste weather/� well in dat case� england weather� nearly always half-caste� in fact some o dem cloud�
20 half-caste till dem overcast� so spiteful dem dont want de sun pass� ah rass/� explain yuself� wha yu mean�25 when yu say half-caste� yu mean when tchaikovsky� sit down at dah piano� an mix a black key� wid a white key�30 is a half-caste symphony/�� Explain yuself� wha yu mean� Ah listening to yu wid de keen� half of mih ear�35 Ah lookin at yu wid de keen� half of mih eye� and when I'm introduced to yu� I'm sure you'll understand�
why I offer yu half-a-hand�40 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�45 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�50 an de whole of yu mind�� an I will tell yu� de other half� of my story�
General Form, Structure, and Language
-1st half Agard uses a series of humorous metaphors to show that the word ‘half-caste’ is meaningless
-2nd half Agard talks sarcastically about being ‘half’ a person.
Stanza 1
Excuse me�standing on one leg�I'm half-caste
‘Caste’ is used in the sense meaning ‘purity’, therefore it’s easy to assume that ‘half-caste’ is an insult to the poet for being mixed race. It is also considered racist and fueled with prejudice and ignorance.
Agard employs sarcasm when he is seemingly excusing himself for being ‘half-caste’ and mixed race, but it becomes evident in the next stanzas that he is rather lauding the fact that he’s mixed race.
Stanza 2 Part 1
Explain yuself�5 wha yu mean� when yu say half-caste� yu mean when picasso� mix red an green� is a half-caste canvas/
��John Agard uses a metaphor of Picasso, a famous and talented artist, mixing red and green colors to create a painting.
The metaphor is again a symbol of him being “half-caste”. He is implying that being “half-caste” is like being a masterpiece.
Receiver aggression, repeated 3 times in stanza 2 🡪 imperative repetition.
When the poet uses “yu” he is directly addressing the reader, in this case people who have called him half-caste in an insulting manner. Agard is asking them to “excuse him”.
Agard has a very demanding and accusing tone toward the audience and reader of the poem. The use of the slash (/) throughout the poem emphasizes his anger and accusation.
Stanza 2 Part 2
10 explain yuself� wha yu mean� when yu say half-caste� yu mean when light an shadow� mix in de sky�15 is a half-caste weather/� well in dat case� england weather� nearly always half-caste� in fact some o dem cloud�20 half-caste till dem overcast� so spiteful dem dont want de sun pass� ah rass/�
Here Agard is expressing a new idea, and he introduces it by the repetition of the same verses he used before: demanding the reader to explain themselves.
This second example is much longer than the previous one, showing Agard’s growing anger toward the person he’s addressing.
Agard compares himself to the English weather saying that the mixing of sun and clouds in the sky makes the weather “half-caste”
Agard’s anger really shows when he uses “spiteful”, when he’s discussing how the clouds don’t want the sun to come out.
Agard is very passionate about this subject and is in a rush to defend himself for being “half-caste”
The line “ah rass” shows the peak of Agard’s anger. It’s an expression in Creole that literally translates “my ass”, something someone says when angrily dismissing someone else’s argument.
Stanza 2 Part 3
explain yuself� wha yu mean�25 when yu say half-caste� yu mean when tchaikovsky� sit down at dah piano� an mix a black key� wid a white key�30 is a half-caste symphony/
Black
White
Third repetition in the same stanza.
He demands to know if Tchaikovsky created half-caste music because he mixes black and white keys on the piano.
In stanza 2 Agard gives possible example of what the person he’s addressing means when they say “half-caste”.
He uses many metaphors to compare himself being “half-caste” to beautiful paintings, weather and symphonies.
His tone is demanding and angry, but also humorous.
Contrasting pairs, to show the mixing of races
Stanza 3
Explain yuself� wha yu mean� Ah listening to yu wid de keen� half of mih ear�35 Ah lookin at yu wid de keen� half of mih eye� and when I'm introduced to yu� I'm sure you'll understand� why I offer yu half-a-hand�40 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�45 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�50 an de whole of yu mind�
Agard begins the third stanza with a structured argument as in stanza 2.
He ceases to give examples and writes in this stanza of having only ‘half’ of everything because he is “half-caste”, therefore only ‘half’ a person.
The constant rep. of “half” emphasizes Agard’s view that “half” is derogatory.
The use of “whole” at the end is to show extreme contrast being half and whole.
This stanza is brimming with sarcasm: one can imagine the speaker spitting the words at someone who thinks being mixed race in in any way lesser than not being mixed race.
Stanza 4
an I will tell yu� de other half� of my story�
Stanza 4 continues stanza 3, where the poet finishes off by telling the reader to return with the “whole” of themselves, and here he tells them that then only will he tell them the other “half” of his story.
He is telling them to stop being narrow-minded to be able to discover who he really is.
This stanza shows that there is more to him than what someone sees at a first glance; and that his race and background aren’t his full story.