Comparing Poems Essay

Identity is different for every person, it is what separates us all and makes us unique. Identity can be split into many categories. In the poem ‘Nothing’s Changed’, segregation is used to show us the poets feelings whereas ‘Half-Caste’ is mainly focused on racial equality.  Each of the poets structure their poems in ways that express their feelings and ideas about identity; the differences in each vary. ‘Half-Caste’ consists of 4 stanzas, written with a lack of punctuation and in patois dialect that allows the reader the freedom to express the poem in a way that they wish. Also, the haphazard, informal way that the poem is written suggests it should be read aloud. This reflects John Agard’s strive for freedom. The phrase, ‘Explain yuself/wha yu mean/when yu say half-caste’, is a refrain. This refrain is repeated throughout the poem to question the reader. It is an aggressive confrontation between the reader and the poet that elicits an answer from the reader. ‘Nothing’s Changed’ is written formally so that the poet can express a controlled anger. Segregation is used to show the separate identities of blacks and whites. It is set out in 7 stanzas. The formal punctuation and structure is very organised which makes the poem seem like a story. Language is used to a dramatic effect in both poems, it reveals the poet’s ideas about identity. Firstly, in ‘Half-Caste’ there is a pun of the half-caste weather, ‘yu mean when light an shadow/mix in de sky/is a half-caste weather/’, this play on words mocks the phrase ‘half-caste’ which emphasises the poets feelings about a half-caste identity. In ‘Nothing’s Changed’, throughout the first stanza there is a series of onomatopoeias that give the reader the image of a man walking in a baron place. The mood of the poet is very much reflected in the language of ‘Half-Caste’ and portrays the image of anger, confusion and annoyance. An example of this language is: ‘Ah listening to yu wid de keen/half of mih ear†¦why I offer yu half-a-hand’. This gives the reader the representation of a ridiculous happening, which is disrespectful to the opposing person. ‘Nothing’s Changed’ also shares a similar mood of anger and frustration. The poet writes:  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœand the skin about my bones/and  the soft labouring of my lungs,  /and the hot, white, inwards  turning/anger of my eyes.’  This includes within it repetition, powerful, angry words and references to body parts that identify the person’s feeling of a painful anger. The poets use language to reveal their feelings about identity in both similar and different ways. They both project anger and confusion about the attitude of today’s society knowing that equality is not present. In ‘Nothing’s Changed’ the poet writes:  Ã¢â‚¬ËœHands burn/for a stone, a bomb,  /to shiver down the glass. /  Nothing’s Changed.’  This begins with a metaphor; ‘Hands burn’ which shows the person is feeling angry. The words ‘a bomb,/to shiver down the glass.’ Are extremely effective as the glass acts as a symbolic barrier between colours and to ‘shiver down’ this glass would be to break the differences/barriers between people of different colours. The poem ends with ‘Nothing’s Changed’, which basically sums the whole theory up: there always has been and always will be inequality within the world. This is similar to ‘Half-Caste’ because throughout this poem John Agard is saying that people have no respect for each other and never will. He hopes though by saying ‘but yu must come back tomorrow†¦de other half/of my story’ that one day the prejudice might be put aside and people will come back with a better attitude towards each other. The identities that both poets show to reveal their feelings are similar because they both feel as though they have been victimized. The similarity is that in ‘Half-Caste’ the man emphasises his thoughts by expanding things out of proportion to prove a point: ‘Ah listening to yu wid de keen/half of mih ear†¦why I offer yu half-a-hand’, and in ‘Nothing’s Changed’ the person also takes things and changes them into something worse. An example of this is when it says ‘whites only inn/No sign says it is:/but we know where we belong.’ This is saying that the restaurant is only for rich, white people even though he knows there isn’t a sign saying so (He knows that if he goes in he will be laughed at). Both poems are similar also because they are based on black people being discriminated against by white. Both of these poems were very interesting and presented me with a question, which was how could I break down the barriers people have to make them better people? The poem I favoured was ‘Nothing’s Changed’ because it was easier to picture as a story and I feel that the majority of people have felt like an outsider at least once in their life. ‘Half-Caste’ did bring a strong point across but I believe that it was brought across in a bizarre and confusing way whereas ‘Nothing’s Changed ‘ was easier to relate to from a past event.