Context

Post-colonial and cultural context

• John Agard was born in Guyana, a former British colony, and his education was based on a British curriculum that largely ignored non-European history.
• The poem critiques this Eurocentric education system for its bias, which celebrated white historical figures while omitting the achievements of people from colonised nations.
• Agard moved to Britain in 1977 and his work often explores themes of cultural identity, heritage and challenging the legacy of colonialism.

Linguistic context

• Agard's use of Caribbean phonetic spelling (e.g., "Dem", "me", "bout") and non-standard grammar is a deliberate political choice.
• This approach reclaims and celebrates his linguistic heritage, resisting the dominance of the 'standard' English imposed during colonial rule.
• The poem is written to be performed aloud, reflecting the strong oral traditions of Caribbean culture.

Overview

Checking Out Me History in a nutshell

• What literally happens in the poem: The speaker lists the irrelevant British historical and fictional characters he was taught about at school, contrasting them with powerful Black historical figures he was never taught about. He resolves to learn and define his own history.
• Context and significance: Agard protests against an education system that erases non-European history, arguing this is a form of cultural oppression. He seeks to empower readers to challenge official narratives and reclaim their own heritage.
• Key techniques and approach: Agard uses a non-standard form, phonetic spelling, and a clear structural juxtaposition [contrasting elements placed together] between European and Black history to challenge colonial power and celebrate his own identity.

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Lines 1-5

"Dem tell me
Dem tell me
Wha dem want to tell me

Bandage up me eye with me own history
Blind me to me own identity"

Translation

• An anonymous authority figure ("Dem") has told the speaker what they want him to know.
• This education has acted like a bandage, blinding him to his true history and identity.

Agard's intention

• The anaphoric repetition [repetition at start of lines] of "Dem tell me" creates a chant-like, accusatory tone, establishing a conflict between the powerful ("Dem") and the individual ("me").
• The metaphor of injury in "Bandage up me eye" and "Blind me" is deeply ironic. It suggests that education, which should enlighten, has been used to cause harm and prevent him from seeing the truth.

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Lines 6-9

"Dem tell me bout 1066 and all dat
dem tell me bout Dick Whittington and he cat
But Toussaint L'Ouverture
no dem never tell me bout dat"

Translation

• The speaker was taught about key dates in English history ("1066") and mythical figures like Dick Whittington.
• However, he was never taught about Toussaint L'Ouverture, a real and highly significant historical figure.

Agard's intention

• Agard juxtaposes important English history with folklore to suggest that both are given equal, and sometimes greater, importance than Black history.
• The dismissive phrase "and all dat" shows the speaker's contempt for this biased curriculum.
• Introducing a powerful but ignored Black figure immediately establishes the poem's central argument about historical omission.

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Lines 10-21

"Toussaint
a slave
with vision
lick back
Napoleon
battalion
and first Black
Republic born
Toussaint de thorn
to de French
Toussaint de beacon
of de Haitian Revolution"

Translation

• This section gives a brief, powerful summary of Toussaint L'Ouverture's achievements.
• He was a former slave who led the Haitian Revolution, defeating Napoleon's forces to create the first independent Black republic.
• He was a "thorn" (a source of irritation) to the French but a "beacon" (a guiding light) for his people.

Agard's intention

• This stanza is written in italics and free verse, structurally separating it from the main narrative and giving it greater importance.
• The short, simple lines create a quick pace, reflecting the dynamic and impactful nature of Toussaint's actions.
• The metaphor "beacon" introduces a semantic field [group of words linked by theme] of light, which contrasts with the "blindness" mentioned earlier, presenting Black history as illuminating and empowering.

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Lines 22-26

"Dem tell me bout de man who discover de balloon
and de cow who jump over de moon
Dem tell me bout de dish ran away with de spoon
but dem never tell me bout Nanny de maroon"

Translation

• The speaker lists more trivial things he was taught: the invention of the hot-air balloon and characters from nursery rhymes.
• In contrast, he was never taught about "Nanny de maroon," a real historical figure.

Agard's intention

• Agard uses the semantic field of nursery rhymes ("cow who jump over de moon") to ridicule the Eurocentric curriculum.
• He shows its content to be childish and absurd when compared to the vital history of figures like Nanny de maroon, a leader of formerly enslaved people in Jamaica who fought the British.

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Lines 27-32

"Nanny
see-far woman
of mountain dream
fire-woman struggle
hopeful stream
to freedom river"

Translation

• This section describes Nanny as a visionary ("see-far woman") with a dream of freedom.
• Her struggle is compared to fire, and her hope to a stream flowing into the "river" of freedom.

Agard's intention

• Like the stanza on Toussaint, this section uses italics and free verse to elevate Nanny's story.
• Agard uses natural imagery ("mountain", "stream", "river") to associate her with fundamental, powerful forces. The metaphor of a "stream" becoming a "river" symbolises how individual hope and struggle can grow into a powerful collective movement.

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Lines 33-36

"Dem tell me bout Lord Nelson and Waterloo
But dem never tell me bout Shaka de great Zulu
Dem tell me bout Columbus and 1492
but what happen to de Caribs and de Arawaks too"

Translation

• The speaker was taught about famous British military victories and explorers like Columbus.
• He was not taught about Shaka, the influential leader of the Zulu kingdom, or about the indigenous Carib and Arawak peoples, who were victims of European colonisation.

Agard's intention

• This stanza directly contrasts celebrated European figures with the people they oppressed or whose histories were ignored.
• The rhetorical question "but what happen to de Caribs and de Arawaks too" highlights the human cost of colonisation and the deliberate erasure of entire cultures from the historical record.

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Lines 37-41

"Dem tell me bout Florence Nightingale and she lamp
And how Robin Hood used to camp
Dem tell me bout ole King Cole was a merry ole soul
but dem never tell me bout Mary Seacole"

Translation

• The speaker lists more figures from British history and folklore: a famous nurse, a legendary outlaw, and a nursery rhyme king.
• He contrasts them with Mary Seacole, a British-Jamaican nurse who also served in the Crimean War but was largely overlooked by history in favour of Nightingale.

Agard's intention

• The juxtaposition of Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole is particularly pointed, as Seacole's contributions during the same war were ignored for racial reasons.
• Placing historical figures alongside fictional ones implies the curriculum does not distinguish between fact and myth, further trivialising it.

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Lines 42-50

"From Jamaica
she travel far
to the Crimean War
she volunteer to go
and even when de British said no
she still brave the Russian snow
a healing star
among the wounded
a yellow sunrise
to the dying"

Translation

• Mary Seacole travelled from Jamaica to help in the Crimean War.
• She went even after being rejected by the British authorities, showing immense bravery.
• She is described as a "healing star" and a "yellow sunrise" to the soldiers she cared for.

Agard's intention

• This italicised section again highlights the heroism and determination of a forgotten Black figure.
• The light imagery ("star", "sunrise") connects her to Toussaint ("beacon"), reinforcing the idea that Black history is a source of hope and enlightenment. This directly contrasts with the "blindness" caused by his official education.

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Lines 51-54

"Dem tell me
dem tell me wha dem want to tell me
But now I checking out me own history
I carving out me identity"

Translation

• After repeating the initial accusation, the speaker declares that he is now taking control.
• He is actively researching his own history to create his own identity.

Agard's intention

• The poem shifts from a passive tone ("Dem tell me") to an active one ("I checking", "I carving"). This volta [turning point in poem] marks a move from oppression to empowerment.
• The verb "carving" suggests a deliberate, skilful, and permanent act of creation. It implies identity is not something that is given, but something that must be actively shaped, ending the poem with a powerful message of self-determination.

Writer's methods

Analysing form, structure and language together allows for a more cohesive understanding of how Agard conveys his message. For example, the non-standard form and phonetic language reinforce the structural separation between the speaker's own culture and the one imposed upon him.

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Form

The poem uses a non-standard form that blends oral poetry with free verse, rejecting traditional English poetic conventions to reinforce its message of cultural resistance.

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Structure

The poem's structure is built on a clear and deliberate contrast, visually and thematically separating the oppressive, taught history from the empowering, reclaimed history.

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Language

Agard uses powerful metaphors and contrasting semantic fields to expose the damage of colonial education and celebrate Black heroism.

What to compare it to

Effective comparison involves exploring how poets use different methods to present similar or contrasting ideas about power and conflict. Look for connections in the poets' purpose and the messages they convey about identity, oppression, and resistance.

Suggested comparisons

• Checking Out Me History and London - Both poems critique powerful institutions for their oppressive control over people's lives.
• Checking Out Me History and The Emigrée - Both poems explore how personal and cultural identity is shaped by a connection to one's heritage, especially when it is under threat.

Checking Out Me History and London

Comparison in a nutshell

Both Agard and Blake attack powerful English institutions for oppressing and controlling ordinary people. However, Blake presents a vision of inescapable misery, whereas Agard concludes with a message of empowerment and resistance.

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Similarities

Point

Both poets argue that powerful institutions inflict harm upon individuals, creating a sense of entrapment and suffering.

Evidence and explanation

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Differences

Point

While both poems critique institutional power, they differ in their structure and tone, with Blake suggesting power is inescapable while Agard shows a path to resistance.

Evidence and explanation

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Endings comparison

Point

The endings of the two poems present starkly different outcomes: London ends in a cycle of misery, while Checking Out Me History ends with a powerful act of personal liberation.

Evidence and explanation

Checking Out Me History and The Emigrée

Comparison in a nutshell

Both poems explore how identity is linked to a personal and cultural heritage that conflicts with an oppressive reality. However, the speaker in The Emigrée seems trapped by her idealised memory, while Agard's speaker uses his reclaimed history as a tool for empowerment.

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Similarities

Point

Both poets present personal heritage as a positive and powerful force, using imagery of light to contrast with a dark, oppressive present.

Evidence and explanation

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Differences

Point

The speakers have different relationships with their heritage: Agard's speaker actively reclaims his to build a strong future identity, whereas Rumens' speaker is more passive, clinging to a memory that causes her conflict in the present.

Evidence and explanation

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Endings comparison

Point

The ending of Checking Out Me History is one of active creation and defiance, while the ending of The Emigrée is more ambiguous, suggesting survival but also ongoing persecution.

Evidence and explanation