Both Agard and Leonard use their poems to make a protest against being judged. Agard challenges people who use the term ‘half-caste’ arguing that people of mixed race are not ‘half’ in any way and he ridicules the notion of judging worth by colour. Leonard, on the other hand protests against accent-prejudice. He argues that what people say should not be valued more or less because of the accent in which they say it. Although both poems contain strong messages of protest and they both use direct address powerfully, the poets use different techniques to convey their message and the tones of the poems differ significantly.
The two poets convey the subject of their protest differently. I noticed the use of humour and the lilting Caribbean rhythm first of all in ‘Half-Caste’. Agard believes that using humour relaxes people and they are more likely to listen to the poem and accept the message if they are enjoying the experience. The message sinks in gradually, almost subconsciously, as the reader enjoys the humour and rhythm of the poem. The most striking features of Leonard’s poem on the other hand, are its shape and the use of phonetic spelling to convey a Scottish accent. The short lines of only 2 or 3 words represent an auto-cue for the newsreader. This structure directly relates to the message that the BBC accent has no authority over any other accent and the use of phonetic spelling is the simplest, boldest way of getting across the protest that ‘if a toktaboot / thi trooth / lik wanna yoo / scruff yi / widny thingk / it wuz tru’. Leonard’s use of structure and accent convey the message directly and boldly; there are none of the distractions that Agard uses.
The way the two poets communicate with their readers or listeners contrasts, yet both are powerful. The short lines in ‘Unrelated Incidents’ create a fast pace and they almost seem to be spat out with aggression and resentment. This makes the poem feel like a direct attack on the reader, and Leonard does this to make his readers understand how frustrating and hurt people feel when their own accent, which is part of their culture and identity, is undervalued. The tone of Leonard’s poem is angry and impatient from the start, whereas in Agard’s poem the tone changes from light-hearted and humorous to serious and rather mysterious: ‘an I will tell yu / de other half / of my story’. The way Agard conveys his protest is equally, if not more, effective because it asks questions and leaves the reader reflecting on the use of the term ‘half-caste’.
The structure of the poems reflects the kind of poems they are. ‘Half-caste’ is divided into 5 stanzas of varying lengths and Agard uses enjambment across gaps between the third, fourth and fifth stanzas to force the reader to think. The gaps provide a space in the middle of the sentence which allows the reader or listener reassess what they have just heard/read and anticipate the conclusion. ‘Unrelated Incidents’ has no breaks and the frequent enjambment has the effect of speeding the poem up to the point where the reader or listener feels that they are being force fed. The final aggressive words ‘belt up’ occur at the poems climax and have the dramatic impact of a physical punch. Leonard’s poem, being regular and unbroken, feels to me to have a physical power and endurance that almost resembles that of a boxer, whilst Agard’s poem, which has a varied structure with breaks at interesting points makes it a reflective and almost philosophical poem.
Although both poets use non-standard English the way they use language in their poems contrasts most significantly of all. Leonard’s use of language is straightforward and unconventionally simple in terms of poetry. When turned into Standard English it looks remarkably plain: ‘This is the six o’ clock news, the man said…’. He does this to show that he is speaking from the point of view of Glasgow’s working class and in this way he values his own dialect and accent. Agard uses the natural rhythms of his own West Indian dialect, but he also uses language to make comparisons and create imagery. He makes ridiculous suggestions such as the mixing of ‘a black key / wid a white key / is a half-caste symphony’ to illustrate the stupidity of naming things and people according to their colour. He also plays with words, such as the two meanings of ‘caste’ in ‘half-caste’ and ‘overcast’, and emphasises the idea of ‘half’ a person by sketching a strange picture of the half-human being, who ‘cast half a shadow’. Agard’s protest develops its power through the layers of the poem and therefore I would argue its message is half-hidden as well. Leonard’s direct approach is hard hitting. There is no way to avoid the poets ‘trooth’: it is not how you say it but what you say that’s important.
Whilst both Agard and Leonard use their poems to make a protest about judging people they use contrasting ‘voices’. The speaker in Agard’s poem remains calm and thoughtful, encouraging us to think about their use of the term ‘half-caste’. Leonard conveys his protest through an angry and powerful voice that shocks the reader or listener with its forcefulness and intensity. I think both poems are effective and convey their message of protest successfully; they just use different techniques.
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