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My Last Duchess & Checking Out Me History - Coggle Diagram
My Last Duchess
&
Checking Out Me History
Paragraph 1
Similarity
Themes of
oppression
My Last Duchess
'That's my last Duchess'
from the beginning of the poem, the Duke establishes his complete control over the Duchess using the possessive pronoun
'my'
the Duchess' oppression is also shown though the form of the
dramatic monologue
- the Duke does all the speaking and
does not give the Duchess and chance share her own experiences
'(since none puts by the curtain I have drawn for you, but I)'
)
embedded clause mimics curtains
showing how the Duchess is hidden away and
treated as property of the Duke
only the Duke is allowed to open the curtains -
he has utter control over her life
- she has no power at all
'I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together'
implies he
ordered her death
- his immense power means that he can
do whatever he wants to her and not face any consequences
Checking Out Me History
'Dem tell me wha dem want to tell me'
this shows the
imbalance of power
and creates a distinct
separation between the faceless power 'dem' and 'me'
this is a
political diatribe
that
accuses the British
of only
presenting the point of view that they favour
- in the same way as only the Duke's POV is hear in MLD
'dem tell me bout Dick Whittington and he cat but Toussaint L'Ouverture no dem never tell me bout dat'
Dick Whittington is a
childish, pantomime character
who comes to London to seek his fortune
Agard is arguing that is it
unfair that made-up characters are given stronger importance than real people
that made a real difference to the world
the poet is
asking for people of Caribbean heritage to be even equal opportunities
as the white British people
Toussaint L'Ouverture was the
leader of the first successful slave revolt
in Haiti - he was a slave himself who escaped and
dedicated himself to helping other people in his position
Agard uses an
unfamiliar name
to make the readers
realise how little they know about black history
and
entice them to research more
each stanza ends with a reference to a black historical figure
to show how
little significance they are given in comparison
to their white counterparts
Paragraph 3
Difference
Contrasting
depictions of
pride
My Last Duchess
'Frà Pandolf'
he
values the painting not because of its description
of his wife but
because of who painted it
this
name-dropping
makes him seem narcissistic and entitled
*'My gift of a nine-hundred-year-old name'
he
believes he is important
because of his
wealthy lineage
his
pride is very negative and detrimental
to the people around him
Checking Out Me History
the
pride
in Checking Out Me History is much
more positive
and an
expression of the joy of Caribbean culture
he speaks of the black historical figures very positively -
'Toussaint de beacon of de Haitian Revolution'
'fire-woman'
Agard uses a
motif of light imagery
to show his happiness and
pride around these people and what they represent
he seems to find a
sense of pride in himself
at the end of the poem as he rejects the oppression and declares he is
'checking out (his) own history'
and
'carving out (his) own identity'
Paragraph 2
Similarity
Both use
rhyme schemes
and
form
express the concept of power
My Last Duchess
uses
iambic pentameter
to reflect how the Duke holds
traditional and conservative views of women
written as
one single stanza
- this makes it
overwhelming and tiring to read
which mirrors the
Duke's overwhelming power
and his
exhausting narcissistic personality
the
couplet rhyme scheme is disguised by the enjambment
this
mirrors the deceit
of the Duke
Checking Out Me History
the poem has a
dual structure
as it is
divided between black and white history
the
stanzas representing white history have a simple quartet rhyme scheme
- this seems to
mimic childhood songs
, showing how these
stories are taught from childhood
unlike black history
this is somewhat reminiscent of
calypsos from Caribbean cultures
calypsos originated from the struggle for emancipation
showing that the poem is
fighting for black people to have the same freedoms as white people in terms of learning their history
there is
no punctuation at all
- punctuation can be seen as a
set of rules that restrict freedoms
- his refusal of this shows his
objection to being oppressed
where the
enjambment in MLD is used to show the Duke's deceit and cruelty
, in this poem it is used to show his
overflowing emotions and the intense personal relevance
the contents have to him