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Conflict: identity, class and prejudice

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Three modern poems show conflict caused by labels, prejudice and snobbery, each in a strong, spoken voice. These poems are still in copyright, so this lesson describes them in our own words. Use your anthology for the exact words you quote in the exam.

What each poem is about

Half-caste (John Agard): the speaker takes on the offensive label 'half-caste', used for people of mixed heritage. With mock politeness he asks whether a painter mixing colours, English weather mixing light and shadow, or a composer using the black and white keys of a piano are 'half' too. He then takes the label literally, offering half an ear, half an eye and half a heart, and ends by telling the listener to come back with a whole eye, ear and mind to hear the other half of his story.
The Class Game (Mary Casey): a working-class woman from Liverpool challenges a snobbish listener who judges her. She lists the things that give her away: her accent, her council house, the words she uses for ordinary things, and repeatedly asks how they can tell her class. She ends proud of where she comes from.
No Problem (Benjamin Zephaniah): a Black British speaker says he is not the problem, but he has suffered racist taunts and stereotypes, for example being pushed towards sport at school when he was academic. He ends without bitterness, but the message is clear.

Themes and ideas

Prejudice and labels: all three speakers are judged by others before they speak: by heritage, by class, by skin colour.
Identity as pride: each speaker turns the insult around. Agard shows that mixing creates great art; Casey is proud of her class; Zephaniah's speaker refuses to accept that he is the problem.
Language and power: the poems are written in the speakers' own voices (Caribbean-influenced English, Liverpool speech, Jamaican-influenced spelling), which challenges the idea that only standard English is 'proper'.
Conflict without weapons: this is conflict between people and attitudes, not armies, which makes a strong contrast with war poems such as Exposure.
Context: Agard was born in Guyana and moved to Britain in 1977. Zephaniah (1958 to 2023) grew up in Birmingham with Jamaican heritage and became a famous performance poet. Casey writes from Liverpool working-class life.

Methods and how to write about them

Agard: phonetic Caribbean-influenced spelling, almost no punctuation and lower-case letters; sarcasm and mock-apologies; rhetorical questions; a repeated demand that the listener explain what they mean; a final reversal that asks for the 'whole' listener.
Casey: dramatic monologue with direct address ('you'), mostly rhyming couplets, rhetorical questions and dialect; juxtaposition of working-class and middle-class habits.
Zephaniah: a refrain that repeats the title idea, phonetic Jamaican-influenced spelling, a strong spoken rhythm and rhyme that suit performance; a calm tone that makes the injustice clearer.
To write well: name the voice and explain why it matters. For example: 'By writing in his own Caribbean-influenced voice, Agard proves that his identity is whole, not half.'
Worked example

Plan a comparison: how do Agard and Casey use voice to challenge prejudice?

  1. Thesis: both speakers answer prejudice in their own voice, turning a source of judgement into a source of pride.
  2. Point 1: Agard uses Caribbean-influenced spelling and no punctuation; Casey uses Liverpool dialect and everyday words that mark her class.
  3. Point 2: both use rhetorical questions and direct address to put the listener on the spot.
  4. Point 3: Agard uses sarcasm and absurd literal images; Casey uses angry, rhyming lists of differences.
  5. Judgement: Agard's humour mocks the prejudice; Casey's anger confronts it, but both end proud of who they are.

Answer: Both poets write in the voice that others judge, using direct address and rhetorical questions to challenge the listener. Agard defeats prejudice with sarcastic humour, while Casey confronts it with angry pride.

Key idea

Half-caste: sarcasm, rhetorical questions and Caribbean-influenced voice expose an absurd label. The Class Game: a Liverpool woman's angry, proud challenge to snobbery (couplets, direct address). No Problem: a calm refrain rejects racist stereotypes.

The interactive lesson includes the diagrams for this topic.

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