"Checking Out Me History" was written by the British Guyanese poet John Agard and first published in 2005, in the collection Half-Caste. The poem focuses on the holes in the British colonial education system—particularly that system's omission of important figures from African, Caribbean, and indigenous history. In other words, the poem discusses how colonized people were forced to learned about British history—which had little to do with their actual lives—at the expense of their own history. Not only does the poem call attention to the oppressive nature of colonial education, but it also praises important figures who were left out—figures such as Touissaint L'Ouverture, the leader of the Haitian revolution. The poem suggests the colonial syllabus deliberately blinded colonized people to their own histories, and argues that only by re-learning their history can these people can fully understand and embrace their identities.

• Read the full text of “Checking Out Me History”

• “Checking Out Me History” Summary

• “Checking Out Me History” Themes

  • 

    Colonialism, History, and Identity

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-53

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Checking Out Me History”

  • Lines 1-3

    Dem tell me ...
    ... to tell me

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 4-5

    Bandage up me ...
    ... me own identity

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 6-9

    Dem tell me ...
    ... me bout dat

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 10-21

    Toussaint ...
    ... de Haitian Revolution

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 22-25

    Dem tell me ...
    ... Nanny de Maroon

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 26-31

    Nanny ...
    ... To freedom river

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 32-35

    Dem tell me ...
    ... de Arawaks too

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 36-39

    Dem tell me ...
    ... bout Mary Seacole

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 40-45

    From Jamaica ...
    ... the Russian snow

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 46-49

    A healing star ...
    ... To the dying

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 50-53

    Dem tell me ...
    ... out me identity

    

    

    

    

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• “Checking Out Me History” Symbols

  • 

    Light and Vision

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 4-5: “Bandage up me eye with me own history / Blind me to me own identity”
    • Line 10: “Toussaint”
    • Lines 11-12: “A slave / With vision”
    • Lines 20-21: “Toussaint de beacon / Of de Haitian Revolution”
    • Line 27: “See-far woman”
    • Line 36: “Florence Nightingale and she lamp”
    • Lines 46-49: “A healing star / Among the wounded / A yellow sunrise / To the dying”

• “Checking Out Me History” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Repetition

    

    

    

    

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    Where repetition appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-2: “Dem tell me / Dem tell me”
    • Line 3: “Wha dem want to tell me”
    • Line 6: “Dem tell me bout”
    • Line 7: “Dem tell me bout ”
    • Line 8: “Toussaint L’Ouverture”
    • Line 10: “Toussaint”
    • Line 18: “Toussaint de thorn”
    • Line 20: “Toussaint de beacon”
    • Line 22: “Dem tell me bout de”
    • Line 24: “Dem tell me bout de”
    • Line 25: “But dem never tell me,” “Nanny de Maroon”
    • Line 26: “Nanny”
    • Line 32: “Dem tell me bout ”
    • Line 33: “But dem never tell me”
    • Line 34: “Dem tell me bout ”
    • Line 36: “Dem tell me bout”
    • Line 38: “Dem tell me bout ”
    • Line 39: “But dem never tell me”
    • Line 50: “Dem tell me”
    • Line 51: “Dem tell me ,” “wha dem want to tell me”

  • Colloquialism

    

    

    

    

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    Where colloquialism appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-3: “Dem tell me / Dem tell me / Wha dem want to tell me”
    • Line 4: “Bandage up me eye with me own”
    • Line 5: “me own”
    • Line 6: “Dem tell me bout 1066 and all dat”
    • Line 7: “Dem tell me bout,” “he cat”
    • Line 9: “No dem never tell me bout dat”
    • Line 13: “Lick back”
    • Lines 22-25: “Dem tell me bout de man who discover de balloon / And de cow who jump over de moon / Dem tell me bout de dish ran away with de spoon / But dem never tell me bout Nanny de Maroon”
    • Line 32: “Dem tell me bout”
    • Line 33: “But dem never tell me bout”
    • Line 34: “Dem tell me bout”
    • Line 35: “de Caribs and de Arawaks”
    • Line 36: “Dem tell me bout Florence Nightingale and she lamp”
    • Lines 38-39: “Dem tell me bout ole King Cole was a merry ole soul / But dem never tell me bout Mary Seacole”
    • Line 41: “She travel far”
    • Line 43: “She volunteer to go”
    • Lines 50-51: “Dem tell me / Dem tell me wha dem want to tell me”
    • Line 52: “I checking out me own”
    • Line 53: “I carving out me”

  • Enjambment

    

    

    

    

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    Where enjambment appears in the poem:

    • Lines 2-3: “me / Wha”
    • Lines 11-12: “slave / With”
    • Lines 13-15: “back / Napoleon / Battalion”
    • Lines 16-17: “Black / Republic”
    • Lines 18-19: “thorn / To”
    • Lines 20-21: “beacon / Of ”
    • Lines 27-28: “woman / Of”
    • Lines 30-31: “stream / To”
    • Lines 39-40: “Seacole / From”
    • Lines 41-42: “far / To”
    • Lines 46-47: “star / Among”
    • Lines 48-49: “sunrise / To”

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Line 4: “Bandage up me eye with me own history”
    • Line 18: “Toussaint de thorn”
    • Lines 27-28: “See-far woman / Of mountain dream”
    • Line 29: “Fire-woman struggle”
    • Lines 30-31: “Hopeful stream / To freedom river”
    • Lines 46-47: “A healing star / Among the wounded”
    • Lines 48-49: “A yellow sunrise / To the dying”

  • Consonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where consonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 4: “Bandage”
    • Line 5: “Blind,” “identity”
    • Line 7: “Dick Whittington,” “cat”
    • Line 9: “No,” “never”
    • Line 10: “Toussaint”
    • Line 11: “slave”
    • Lines 12-13: “vision / Lick back”
    • Line 14: “Napoleon”
    • Line 15: “Battalion”
    • Line 16: “Black”
    • Line 17: “Republic,” “born”
    • Line 18: “Toussaint,” “thorn”
    • Line 19: “French”
    • Line 20: “Toussaint,” “beacon”
    • Line 21: “Haitian Revolution”
    • Line 22: “balloon”
    • Line 23: “moon”
    • Line 24: “spoon”
    • Line 25: “Nanny,” “Maroon”
    • Line 26: “Nanny”
    • Line 27: “far ,” “woman”
    • Lines 28-31: “mountain dream / Fire-woman struggle / Hopeful stream / To freedom”
    • Line 32: “Lord Nelson,” “Waterloo”
    • Line 33: “Shaka,” “Zulu”
    • Line 34: “Columbus”
    • Line 35: “Caribs,” “Arawaks”
    • Line 36: “Florence Nightingale,” “lamp”
    • Line 37: “camp”
    • Line 38: “ole King Cole,” “merry ,” “ole soul”
    • Line 39: “Mary ,” “Seacole”
    • Line 40: “From Jamaica”
    • Line 41: “travel far”
    • Line 42: “Crimean War”
    • Line 43: “volunteer”
    • Line 44: “even,” “British,” “said”
    • Line 45: “She,” “still,” “brave,” “Russian,” “snow”
    • Line 46: “healing,” “star”
    • Line 47: “wounded”
    • Line 48: “yellow,” “sunrise”
    • Line 49: “dying”

  • Assonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where assonance appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-2: “Dem tell me / Dem tell me”
    • Line 3: “dem,” “tell me”
    • Line 4: “me,” “eye,” “me,” “history”
    • Line 5: “me,” “me,” “identity”
    • Line 6: “Dem tell,” “dat”
    • Line 7: “Dem tell,” “Dick Whittington,” “cat”
    • Line 9: “dem never tell,” “dat”
    • Lines 12-15: “With vision / Lick back / Napoleon / Battalion”
    • Line 16: “Black”
    • Line 17: “born”
    • Line 18: “thorn”
    • Line 20: “beacon”
    • Line 21: “Revolution”
    • Line 22: “Dem tell,” “balloon”
    • Line 23: “moon”
    • Line 24: “Dem tell,” “spoon”
    • Line 25: “dem never tell,” “Maroon”
    • Line 28: “dream”
    • Line 30: “stream”
    • Line 31: “freedom”
    • Line 32: “Dem tell,” “Nelson,” “Waterloo”
    • Line 33: “dem never tell,” “Zulu”
    • Line 34: “Dem tell,” “1492”
    • Line 35: “Caribs,” “Arawaks,” “too”
    • Line 36: “Dem tell,” “lamp”
    • Line 37: “camp”
    • Line 38: “Dem tell,” “ole,” “Cole,” “merry,” “ole soul”
    • Line 39: “dem never tell,” “Seacole”
    • Line 43: “go”
    • Line 44: “no”
    • Line 45: “snow”
    • Line 48: “sunrise”
    • Line 49: “dying”
    • Line 50: “Dem tell me”
    • Line 51: “Dem tell me,” “dem,” “tell me”
    • Line 52: “me,” “history”
    • Line 53: “me identity”

  • Juxtaposition

    

    

    

    

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    Where juxtaposition appears in the poem:

    • Lines 6-9: “Dem tell me bout 1066 and all dat / Dem tell me bout Dick Whittington and he cat / But Toussaint L’Ouverture / No dem never tell me bout dat”
    • Lines 22-25: “Dem tell me bout de man who discover de balloon / And de cow who jump over de moon / Dem tell me bout de dish ran away with de spoon / But dem never tell me bout Nanny de Maroon”
    • Lines 32-35: “Dem tell me bout Lord Nelson and Waterloo / But dem never tell me bout Shaka de great Zulu / Dem tell me bout Columbus and 1492 / But what happen to de Caribs and de Arawaks too”
    • Lines 36-39: “Dem tell me bout Florence Nightingale and she lamp / And how Robin Hood used to camp / Dem tell me bout ole King Cole was a merry ole soul / But dem never tell me bout Mary Seacole”

  • Allusion

    

    

    

    

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    Where allusion appears in the poem:

    • Line 6
    • Line 7
    • Line 8
    • Lines 10-21
    • Line 22
    • Line 23
    • Line 24
    • Line 25
    • Lines 26-31
    • Line 32
    • Line 33
    • Line 34
    • Line 35
    • Line 36
    • Line 37
    • Line 38
    • Line 39
    • Lines 40-49

• “Checking Out Me History” Vocabulary

  Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

  • Dem
  • Wha
  • 1066
  • Dat
  • Dick Whittington and he cat
  • Toussainnt L'Ouverture
  • Lick back
  • Napoleon
  • First Black Republic
  • Beacon
  • Man who discover de balloon
  • Nanny de Maroon
  • See-far woman
  • Fire-woman struggle
  • Lord Nelson
  • Waterloo
  • Shaka de great Zulu
  • Columbus and 1492
  • Caribs and de Arawaks
  • Florence Nightingale
  • Robin Hood
  • King Cole
  • Mary Seacole
  • Crimean War
  • (Location in poem: Line 1: “Dem ”; Line 2: “Dem”; Line 3: “dem”; Line 6: “Dem”; Line 7: “Dem”; Line 9: “dem”; Line 22: “Dem”; Line 24: “Dem”; Line 25: “dem”; Line 32: “Dem”; Line 33: “dem”; Line 34: “Dem”; Line 36: “Dem”; Line 38: “Dem”; Line 39: “dem”; Line 50: “Dem”; Line 51: “Dem,” “dem”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Checking Out Me History”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “Checking Out Me History” Speaker

• “Checking Out Me History” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “Checking Out Me History”

• More “Checking Out Me History” Resources

  • External Resources

    • Further Analysis of Agard's Work — The author Daljit Nagra analyzes "Checking Out Me History" as well as other poems by Agard.

    • More by John Agard — A critical perspective, full biography, and bibliography of Agard from the British Council.

    • The Poem in Performance — Another reading of "Checking Out Me History," this time in a live setting.

    • The Poem Out Loud — Listen to the poem read by Agard himself.

  • LitCharts on Other Poems by John Agard

    • Half-Caste

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