Name________________________________________________________
Form
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1) Half-Caste by John Agard
2) Search for my tongue by Sujata Bhatt
3) Unrelated Incidents by Tom Leonard
5) Presents from My Aunts by Moniza Alvi
These are additional tasks you can work through on your own on
Poems from Other/Different Cultures.
All these poems can be found on- line.
Some poetry terms that you might find useful
Metaphor
A figure of speech in which two things are compared, usually by saying one thing is another. Some examples of metaphors are:
The world’s a stage; he is a lion in battle, drowning in debt, and a sea of troubles.
Rhyme
The occurrence of the same or similar sounds at the end of two or more words. The pattern of rhyme in a poem is using a different letter for each final sound.
Simile
A figure of speech in which two things are compared using the word
“like” or “as”. Here is an example.
“What happens to a dream deferred, does it dry up? Like a raisin in the sun?
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As you read and complete this booklet and then use it to revise from always try to answer the following key questions :
1. What is the poem about?
2. What is the stance or viewpoint of the poet?
3. What is the purpose of the poem?
4. What is the poet trying to convey?
5. Why did the poet write this poem?
6. what are the emotions or mood of the poet?
7. What does the poet want you to feel?
How does the poet achieve this?
1. S Structure (stanza, divisions etc)
2. L Language (the use of words)
3. I Imagery (what is the effect of similes and metaphors)
4. M Movement and rhythm (regular or irregular? Effect?
5. S Sounds (alliteration, rhyme, assonance, onomatopoeia)
Half-caste by John Agard
The poem “Half-Caste” is by ______________________. The term
Half-caste has been and is still used by some to describe
–
___________________________________________. The poem is about how –
____________ race people are seen by the poet to be viewed in society as
____________ rate citizens. John Agard uses the example of the artist
_______________ and comments because _____________ used a mixture of
_______________ in his paintings does this make him a
___________________class ______________________.
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John Agard within the poem makes use of ______________________ throughout the poem, with reference to the English Weather Agard asks the question: should the English weather be _______________ because it is full of
____________________ and __________________. Agard does this further with reference to the composer _________________________________ and does this for two reasons. One to ask the ___________________________ is a person described as Half Caste ________________________________ a person, or a second _______________________ citizen?
Secondly, to demonstrate the _____________________ of judging someone as
__________________________ worthy of respect.
Agard use of Language in the poem, for example words such as “Yuself “ and
“Yu” are __________________________ this may have been done to show that he is having an ____________________ with the reader. As discussed above the use of ___________________________ for example, with reference to the
English ___________________________, may be an attempt at Agard to use –
_____________________. This is a powerful use of language and helps to
Breakdown boundaries and highlights the ‘stupidity’ of the term
________________________ .
John Agard uses ____________ standard English, why does he do this?
Consider why John Agard uses ________ standard English and give some examples of this from the poem, what does he achieve by this?
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Unrelated Incidents by Tom Leonard (1976)
This poem ________________________ by Tom
________________ is being spoken by a
_______________________________ reader, he is stating that if he was to read the ______________ using an accent like the ordinary _____________ on the street, then the public would __________________ what is he saying as the truth and think that is was _________________.
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Therefore the poet is stating that a newsreader would never reveal his or her ______________________ to the viewer, therefore are the
BBC using a ______________________ message of what they are saying. Do the BBC __________________________ think they are higher _____________ than everyone else? Are they
_______________________.
The language of the poem is the _________________ version of the
Glaswegian Accent (using letters to represent the sound of the speech) , this equates that if the poem is read exactly as it is written the reader will sound like they are talking in a
____________________________.
The poem has short sentences and no
_________________________. The Poem further uses slang and
__________________________________ language.
What is the effectiveness of this? And, how does the poet want you to see this poem? i.e. is it serious or amusing?
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Task one
Compare the poem “Unrelated incidents” to “Half-Caste using the Grid Below
What is similar between the two poems?
How are the two poems different?
What happens in the poem?
Unrelated Incidents Half-Caste
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How is the
Poem set out on the page?
Does the poem use any forms of Imagery
How would you describe the use of language and sound?
Unrelated Incidents Half-Caste
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Task two
Using the grid above, plan how you would write an essay comparing the two poems “Unrelated incidents” and “Half Caste”
Paragraph one
You are going to write an introduction to your essay, you should explain what happens in each poem and the point that you are going to be comparing them! You might want to use the following sentences to help you
 We have studied the poems….
 In the first poem…
 In the second poem…..
Paragraph two
In this paragraph you should look at how the two poems are similar.
What do they have in common?
You will need to include:-
 What are the poems about
 How are they set out
 Do they use any similes or metaphors, repetition, comparison etc
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You can use these sentences to help you
 These poems are similar in some ways. One way is………………..
 Also……..
 Therefore…..
 Another way is……
Paragraph 3
In this paragraph you should write about how the poems are different.
You should write the same as you did in paragraph two but this time for the differences
Conclusion
In this paragraph you should write about what you thought about the poems. Which poem did you prefer and why.
How to get a GOOD GRADE in a poetry essay
Use quotes from the poem
Comment on the theme and structure
Keep a good flow to your essay and don’t repeat yourself!
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Search for my tongue by Sujata Bhatt
Task one: complete the paragraphs using the words in the box below, some of the words may be used more than once!
The poem, an extract from a longer poem gives a
______________________ of the poet’s viewpoint and feelings of what it is like to speak and think in two _____________________.
The poet who is originally from ________ is concerned that she will lose her __________________ language as she lives in the UK, as continues to speak _______________. The poet is in fear that as she has to speak, read and write in ________________ she will forget how to read and write in her _____________ language.
As the Poem progresses she keeps her mother’s _____________ which refers to the language that learnt as a ______________ in her dreams, it can be argued that this is her way of ______________ her origins and roots.
By the end of the poem the poet is ____________________ that this language and _________________ will always be a part of her identity.
Snapshot English India
own tongue maintaining confident
culture child languages
Native
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Task two
Imagine that you have to move to a foreign country where you have to learn a new language and settle into a new culture
You are going to write an account of what you think it would be like for you to live in that environment.
You will have to research the culture of the country you are moving to in order to answer this task!
In your account include the following
 The laws and customs
 Being unable to speak your native language
 How you would feel and cope
 Going to school, making friends
 Coping with the language barriers.
Presents from my aunts by Moniza Alvi
Task one: place the words in the box below into the paragraphs, remember some can be used more than once!
In this poem the poet is describing herself as a _______________ year old girl. The Poet herself was born in _______________ as was moved to _______________ when she was only a child. She, like the poet in “_________________________________” is in fear of losing her own _____________________ identity, but in this poem the poet has little recollection of life in ______________________, and her memory is from old _____________________ and
__________________ articles
The poet in the poem is describing the ____________________ and
______________________ sent to her by her aunts in
_______________________ she is drawn by the loveliness of the items but feels ____________________ wearing them. She feels more comfortable in _____________ and ___________________.
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The poet makes contrasts with the clothes she has from
___________ and _________________ (dull and boring) and the clothes that she receives from her aunts in
_______________________.
The poet is making an attempt to ____________________ what life would be like in this ____________________________.
Pakistan Spencer’s Photographs
Jewellery awkward Remember
Newspaper England Marks
13 world Search for my tongue
Cultural corduroy Clothes
Denim world
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