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Tasks: Listen Mr Oxford Don by John Agard

The British-Caribbean poet John Agard is reading from one of his books. He's a coloured man with a grey beard. Photo.
John Agard reading his poetry. Bilete: Hamtun_Eye / CC BY-SA 4.0

Discuss:

  1. What facts are we given about the speaker?

  2. Why do you think the poet has chosen to write his poem in a Caribbean accent and in the first person?

  3. Find out what an Oxford don is. In this poem, who does Mr Oxford don represent in the British society? How does Agard feel about Mr Oxford don?

  4. In the fourth line, Agard states that "I didn’t graduate. I immigrate". What do you think he implies by contrasting these two very different, but still life-shaping experiences?

  5. He says that "I’m a man on de run". What is his offence?

  6. What does Agard mean when he says "inciting rhyme to riot"?

  7. Agard says that "Human breath is a dangerous weapon". What do you think he means by that? And do you agree?

  8. What would you say is John Agard's message in this poem? What is he trying to teach us?

  9. Several places in the poem, Agard has added a slash in order to force the reader to stop mid-sentence. Why does he does that? Examples:

  • to split/ up yu syntax

  • to mash/ up yu grammar

Digging deeper:

Work together in pairs.

  1. Find the language errors in the poem. Group them into different categories, for example spelling errors, syntax, errors in verb tenses and forms, double negation, pronouns, etc.

  2. Rewrite the poem into correct Standard English.

  3. Read the poem aloud: Student A reads it as it is – with a Caribbean accent, if you're able to – and student B reads the Standard English version.

  4. The Caribbean English accent has a very different rhythm and stress compared to Standard English. (Read about the difference between syllable-timed and stress-timed languages in the expandable box.) How does the rhythm of the poem change? Where would you put the stress?

  5. How does the use of Standard English (pronunciation, grammar, and stress) change the mood of the poem?

The difference between syllable-timed and stress-timed languages.

English, German, Arabic, Russian, and Norwegian are examples of stress-timed languages.

In a stress-timed language, syllables all have different lengths because important (i.e. stressed) syllables are longer, and less important (i.e. unstressed) syllables are shorter. It can sometimes be difficult to understand a word if you stress the wrong syllable. For example, 'photograph', 'photographer', and 'photographic' all have different stressed syllables. If you stress a syllable that is normally unstressed, it might sound like you're saying a different word.

Examples of syllable-timed languages would be French, Italian, Turkish, and Spanish. English spoken with a strong Caribbean accent would also be syllable-timed.

A syllable-timed language is a language where each syllable has roughly the same duration. Syllables may still have stress, but each one is roughly of similar length and each syllable should be pronounced clearly.

Literary devices:

John Agard uses several literary devices to bring out his message. Discuss the following questions with a partner:

  1. He uses contrast in the first stanza:
    "I didn't educate / I immigrate"
    What does he achieve through this contrast?

  2. He also creates contrast between his self-image and how he is perceived by native English people. How does he regard himself, and how does the British society regard him? Give examples from the poem.

  3. Identify examples of repetition in the poem. Why do you think he uses repetition? What is the effect?

  4. What is Mr Oxford don a symbol of?

  5. Would it be fair to say that the dictionary and the English language itself are used as symbols of British culture and British people in general?

  6. It is possible to argue that the use of words like 'gun', 'knife', 'axe', and 'hammer' are important because they function as metaphors for how the British view immigrants. Do you agree with this argument?

  7. What do you think he's trying to express through the following metaphors? Read them in context in the poem.

  • "mugging de Queen’s English/is the story of my life"

  • "dem accuse me of assault/on de Oxford dictionary"

  • "armed wit mih human breath"

Write:

Write a literary analysis of the poem 'Listen Mr Oxford Don' by John Agard where you focus on one or several of the following literary devices:

  • contrasts

  • repetition

  • symbols

  • metaphors

Remember to not only identify the literary devices, but also point out the effect they have on the mood and the message of the poem.

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