Compare and contrast John Agard
EMA Task 1
Compare and Contrast John Agard’s ‘Listen Mr Oxford Don’ and Benjamin Zephaniah’s ‘No rights Red and Half Dead’
This essay will aim to compare and contrast the two poems ‘Listen Mr Oxford Don’ by John Agard and ‘No rights Red and Half Dead’ by Benjamin Zephaniah, using the study diamond and commenting on their effects, the techniques used within them, interpretations of their meanings and any relevant contextual information.
First up the essay will appraise each poem succinctly, then it will deal with differences and similarities in rhyme, rhythm and structure. To conclude, the essay will sum up the major points raised and present them concisely.
‘Listen Mr Oxford Don’ to me is a very complex and clever poem. The subject matter is race but it also deals with anger, repression and English culture. The techniques, structure and language used really help to convey the anger and frustration that Agard is feeling. ‘No rights Red and Half Dead’ is a much darker and more complex. It deals with anger, frustration and oppression. The imagery that runs through the poem is clearly dealing with race. The context for both poems is very similar a black immigrant struggling in a white culture, race is a key issue in both.
The poems are both symmetrically structured but the techniques used are different. Agard uses short, to-the-point lines and Zephaniah uses long descriptive verses. Agards structure of using short lines, dense with information gives the impression of anger and frustration. Almost as if they are being spat out, from behind clenched teeth. It keeps the rhythm fast much like an attack. ‘I ent have no gun/ent have no knife’ ‘No rights Red and Half Dead’ conveys it’s message very differently. The lines are longer and much more descriptive ‘While dem get dem money’s worth/ I started fe feel sick’ it slows the pace, this creates a much more sobering mood, more like a TV narration.
The metrical foot is very different, Agard uses a combination of
Compare and Contrast John Agard’s ‘Listen Mr Oxford Don’ and Benjamin Zephaniah’s ‘No rights Red and Half Dead’
This essay will aim to compare and contrast the two poems ‘Listen Mr Oxford Don’ by John Agard and ‘No rights Red and Half Dead’ by Benjamin Zephaniah, using the study diamond and commenting on their effects, the techniques used within them, interpretations of their meanings and any relevant contextual information.
First up the essay will appraise each poem succinctly, then it will deal with differences and similarities in rhyme, rhythm and structure. To conclude, the essay will sum up the major points raised and present them concisely.
‘Listen Mr Oxford Don’ to me is a very complex and clever poem. The subject matter is race but it also deals with anger, repression and English culture. The techniques, structure and language used really help to convey the anger and frustration that Agard is feeling. ‘No rights Red and Half Dead’ is a much darker and more complex. It deals with anger, frustration and oppression. The imagery that runs through the poem is clearly dealing with race. The context for both poems is very similar a black immigrant struggling in a white culture, race is a key issue in both.
The poems are both symmetrically structured but the techniques used are different. Agard uses short, to-the-point lines and Zephaniah uses long descriptive verses. Agards structure of using short lines, dense with information gives the impression of anger and frustration. Almost as if they are being spat out, from behind clenched teeth. It keeps the rhythm fast much like an attack. ‘I ent have no gun/ent have no knife’ ‘No rights Red and Half Dead’ conveys it’s message very differently. The lines are longer and much more descriptive ‘While dem get dem money’s worth/ I started fe feel sick’ it slows the pace, this creates a much more sobering mood, more like a TV narration.
The metrical foot is very different, Agard uses a combination of
References: Rosemary O’day, Will Hardy, George Marsh, Steve Padley and Leigh- Anne Perryman-Making sense of the arts (2011) (858)