1. Identity
1.1. about the speaker of the poem
1.2. about the culture they come from
1.3. How they see themselves
1.4. What are the issues the speaker has with their identity? Do they know who they are?
2. Language
2.1. structure
2.1.1. the order of ideas
2.2. repetition
2.3. dialect words
2.4. imagery
2.4.1. metaphors
2.4.2. similes
2.4.3. personification
2.4.4. colour imagery
2.5. sound effects
2.5.1. onomatopoeia
2.5.1.1. words spelt how they sound
2.5.1.1.1. bang, pop, crash
2.5.2. alliteration
2.5.2.1. repetition of consonant sounds
2.5.2.1.1. Blue Broken Bottles Busted
2.5.3. assonance
2.5.3.1. repetition of vowel sounds
2.5.3.1.1. Every Empty ElEphant's EnEmY
2.5.4. rhymes
3. Feelings & Attitudes
3.1. How do they feel about what they are talking about?
3.2. What do they believe?
3.3. What ideas do they have?
4. Half-Caste
4.1. Identity
4.1.1. mixed race man
4.1.2. Caribbean
4.1.3. sarcastic, doesn't like racists, proud of being mixed race
4.1.4. Caribbean dialect/Non Standard English: 'wid de whole of yu eye'; 'ah rass'
4.2. Language
4.2.1. repetition
4.2.2. imagery
4.2.3. Addresses audience directly: 'Excuse me...'
4.3. Feelings
4.3.1. angry, sarcastic, sorry for people who are racist, polite but also rude
4.4. About
4.4.1. The way a mixed-race Caribbean man responds to being described as "half-caste".
5. Not My Business
5.1. Identity
5.1.1. working class Nigerian
5.1.2. frightened of being taken by "them"
5.2. Feelings
5.2.1. nervous - disinterested
5.2.2. doesn't want trouble
5.2.3. in last stanza changes: he's next - feels terrified
5.3. Language
5.3.1. 4 stanzas
5.3.2. refrain
5.3.3. repetition
5.3.4. imagery "soft like clay"
5.3.4.1. able to be manipulated, changed(?)
5.4. About
5.4.1. A poem about political repression in Nigeria and the powerlessness of the individual.
6. Unrelated Incidents
6.1. Identity
6.1.1. working class - proud to be a "scruff"
6.1.2. from Glasgow - proud to be Scottish
6.1.3. Humorous/Imaginative
6.2. Feelings
6.2.1. extremely angry
6.2.2. resentment for upper class people and the way they think of working class people
6.2.3. sense of humour
6.3. Language
6.3.1. Repetition lines 15-19 keeps repeating the word "scruff"
6.3.2. aggressive "belt up"
6.3.3. dialect
6.3.4. without captial letters and punctuation
6.3.5. auto cue
6.4. About
6.4.1. a political poem about discrimination against working class people because of the regional way they speak.
7. Hurricane Hits England
7.1. Identity
7.1.1. lives in the UK
7.1.2. comes from Guyana
7.1.3. Caribbean
7.1.4. Black
7.1.5. lost her identity as a black Caribbean woman because she's lived in England for so long
7.1.6. New node
7.2. Feelings
7.2.1. mixed feelings - fearful and reassuring
7.2.2. later in the poem she falls in love with the hurricane
7.3. Language
7.3.1. repetition - "the earth is the earth is the earth"
7.3.2. personification - the hurricane comes to life
7.3.3. metaphor - "howling ship of the wind"
7.3.4. she asks 5 questions
7.4. About
7.4.1. How a hurricane causes someone living in UK to regain a sense of her identity as a Caribbean woman.
8. Search for My Tongue
8.1. Identity
8.1.1. Indian culture
8.1.2. Gujarati
8.1.3. can never speak perfect English
8.1.4. doesn't know whether she is American or Indian
8.2. Feelings
8.2.1. beginning - angry/frustrated
8.2.2. end - joy and pleasure she has kept her language
8.3. Language
8.3.1. alliteration "spit it out"
8.3.2. imagery - extended metaphor (two tongues)
8.3.3. uses her own language - Gujarati to get us to have the same problem she has
8.3.3.1. audience becomes alienated and so able to empathise with speaker
8.3.4. shifts in tone
8.3.4.1. 'death' of mother lang = harsh, guttural lang, images of decay choices: 'rot', 'die', 'spit'
8.3.4.1.1. repetition of 'rot' to reinforce
8.3.4.2. 'rebirth' of mother lang = rich vowel choices, celebratory, triumphant tone:'grows moist...strong', 'bud opens...blossoms'
8.3.4.2.1. repetiton of 'grow' to reinforce
8.4. About
8.4.1. how being bilingual causes a woman to lose a sense of her identity as an Indian.