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What is John Agard's most famous poem?
"Explain yuself / wha yu mean / when yu say half-caste / yu mean when picasso / mix red an green / is a half-caste canvas?" So questions the narrator of John Agard's well-known poem 'Half-caste', a wry, imaginative and darkly comic take on racial misconceptions and divisions.
What are John Agard's poems about?
John is fascinated with the world, and how everything works, taking inspiration from science and maths as well as legends and fairy tales – he's able to apply this passion for learning to his writing, with poems about everything from big numbers like the 'Googol' to those in the voice of an alarm clock, in 'Clockwise', ...
What's that fluttering in the breeze?
What's that fluttering in a breeze? that brings a nation to its knees. What's that unfurling from a pole? that makes the guts of men grow bold.
How can I possess such a cloth?
How can I possess such a cloth? Just ask for a flag, my friend. Then blind your conscience to the end. From Half-Caste and Other Poems (Hodder Children's, 2004), John Agard 2004, used by permission of the author and the publisher.
What is the message of flag by John Agard?
John Agard's “Flag” concerns the dark power of national flags (and by extension, patriotism or nationalism) over the individual. The question-and-answer structure evokes the way in which this mere “piece of cloth,” while presenting itself as the symbol of a people's virtue, can deeply undermine it.
What inspired John Agard's poetry?
People like my teacher Father Maxwell, the people who published my books, those who contributed to my journey way back in the Caribbean, and John Arlott, the legendary cricket commentator who inspired me with his words. “This thing called poetry has power and I still get excitement from language.
Why is the Flag in his poem so significant?
His poem, 'Flag', is an indication of the great many different ways different people can view the same national symbolism. Most people are fairly familiar with their own national flag — for some it is an indication of pride, for some a sign of home, for others, a nostalgic memory.
What does the poem Flag mean?
John Agard dictates excerpts of his poem 'Flag' and the 'journey of questions' the poem invokes. He discusses the symbolism of flags, from a simple piece of cloth to Imperialism, and asks if humanity waves a flag or if we are controlled by our own ideology.
What figure of speech is used in the line fluttering and dancing in the breeze?
“Fluttering and dancing in the breeze Tossing their heads in sprightly dance Out-did the sparkling waves in glee” All the above lines are personification of the flowers. The waves beside them danced; Wordsworth has personified the waves in this line.
Why does the poet keep referring to the Flag as just a piece of cloth?
Flags are highly symbolic objects. However, here Agard juxtaposes his simple description of a flag as a 'piece of cloth' with the powerful symbolism of a flag. In other words, it's just a piece of cloth but has the power to bring a nation to its knees. He repeats this structure throughout the poem.
What is the structure of the poem Flag?
Structure. Owen Sheers splits Flag into 8 stanzas of three lines each. This elected form is known as tercets, and is an epic form related to Welsh tradition. In using this form, Sheers calls upon his ideas of Welsh identity, which houses the ideas of tradition and national identity which are within the poem.
What kind of poems does John Agard write?
A unique and energetic force in contemporary British poetry, John Agard's poems combine acute social observation, puckish wit and a riotous imagination to thrilling effect.
What is the writers message in remains?
The poem examines the effects of guilt and trauma both during and after active duty, and suggests that the effects of wartime violence linger long after soldiers leave the battlefield. At first the speaker seems distanced from the violence being described, as if it were simply part of being a soldier.
What is the lynching poem about?
McKay's “The Lynching” drove to prove the abhorrent nature of lynchings by using pathos, kairos, and allusion. The reader is driven to feel sorrow from the allusions between Christ and the victim, from the lack of white sympathy, and the objectification of black bodies.
What is the poem in the suburbs about?
Class. By linking social class with the suburbs, Simpson's poem perpetuates stereotypes both of people who live in the suburbs and of those who inhabit the middle class. Equating a middle-class life with a “wasted” life, the speaker draws on popular assumptions about what constitutes the middle class.
What does the flag represent in John Agard's poem?
For John Agard, the national flag is an especially vague symbol. His poem, ‘Flag’, is an indication of the great many different ways different people can view the same national symbolism. Most people are fairly familiar with their own national flag — for some it is an indication of pride, for some a sign of home, for others, a nostalgic memory. For others, the flag of a foreign country might represent whatever they think of when they consider that country. A number of these interpretations are explored in this poem, and the flag is given a great many dimensions to explore and represent.
What does it mean to wave the victor's flag?
On the other hand, in the case of conquest, the waving of the victor’s flag can be seen as bringing their rivals “to their knees.”.
Where was Flag published?
John Agard first published ‘Flag’ in his 2005 collection, Half-Caste and Other Poems, at a time in his life when he lived in Britain. When he was born, however, he was born in the British colony of Guiana (present-day Guyana) in the Caribbean.
What is the first line of each stanza?
The first line of each stanza is a query regarding the flag which is being asked by the naive questioner, the next two strains then reply the query. The second line in each stanza is the shortest; this creates a blunt and cynical tone. The first and third lines in each stanza rhyme, besides within the last stanza, this links the query and the answer and helps make the last word in every stanza vital.
What is the context of the poem "The Flag"?
The context of the poem is how a flag can cause so many different conflicts between completely different people elsewhere all over the world. The poem is timeless as it can be about any conflict that has ever happened in the past or one that’s nonetheless happening today . The poem is generally about patriotism. Throughout the poem John Agard comes across as being sarcastic and his attitude towards the flag is that it isn’t as important as individuals believe it is, as he repeatedly says the line “it’s only a piece of cloth”.
Who wrote the poem Flag?
Throughout this essay I will be taking a glance at how the theme of conflict is offered in the poem ‘Flag’ written by John Agard. ‘Flag’ is a poem that’s presented as a conversation between a naive questioner and a responder in regards to the power that a nationwide flag or symbol can have over folks, particularly people who are extraordinarily patriotic. For each query the responder explains how the flag holds so much power and is ready to make folks fight wars and give lives to protect the ‘piece of cloth’.
What is John Agard's poetry?
About John Agard. A unique and energetic force in contemporary British poetry, John Agard’s poems combine acute social observation, puckish wit and a riotous imagination to thrilling effect. Born in Guyana, South America in 1949, Agard moved to Britain in the late seventies.
When was John Agard's recording made?
John Agard's recording was made on 26th November 2009 at the Audio Workshop, London and was produced by Anne Rosenfeld.
