Comparing three poems from different cultures

Comparing three poems from different cultures

Introduction

The three poems that I will be comparing are ‘Presents from my aunts

in Pakistan’ by Moniza Alvi, ‘Half-caste’ by John Agard and ‘Island

Man’ by Grace Nichols. All of these poets have mixed-race backgrounds

and all of these poems are linked in with the difficulties arising

from having different cultural backgrounds.

Story/theme

‘Presents from my aunts in Pakistan’ is reflective of Moniza Alvi’s

childhood and her experiences of being from two different backgrounds

“glass circles, recall the story how the three of us sailed to England.”

She tells the reader about her experiences in Pakistan, the journey

from Pakistan to England and about being in England. This shows that

although she is confused about her background, she remembers

everything from both cultures.

‘Half-Caste’, however, is a very confrontational poem and John Agard

addresses the reader personally. “Excuse me…explain yuself…yu must

come back…” Agard addresses the reader personally and confronts them

about their opinions or beliefs of Half-caste people. He asks them to

tell him what they mean by the phrase half-caste, then gives various

scenarios about what they may mean which are incongruous. This puts

his point across and makes people think about or change their beliefs.

Conversely, ‘Island Man’ is the story of a man that used to live on an

island, possibly the Caribbean, and then moved to London. This poem

describes his feelings as he wakes up for the first day back in London

“Comes back…to dull North Circular Road…” This poem also shows that he

would much prefer to live on his “emerald island” than in London. This

shows that the man has made a conscious decision about which part of

his background he prefers and which part of his life he would like to

fulfil.

Emotions expressed

‘Presents from my aunts in Pakistan’ is a very sensitive poem and many

emotions are expressed throughout the poem. In the first stanza,

Moniza Alvi expresses excitement as she lists all of the wonderful

things that her aunts have sent her from Pakistan. In the second

stanza, she seems down heartened about everything and says, “never be

as lovely as those clothes.” For the rest of the poem she seems

confused about her background and indecisive about which background

she prefers.

‘Half-Caste’, however, expresses a feeling of confrontation throughout

the poem and it always seems as if John Agard wants the readers to

respond to what he says but because of his hectoring tone the reader

believes that they cannot.

On the contrary, ‘Island Man’ has a pessimistic feel to the poem

throughout. It seems as though the island man is constantly