AQA Power and Conflict

Checking Out Me History Quotes3 key quotes with full analysis.

A defiant speaker contrasts the British history he was taught with the Black history that was hidden from him, reclaiming his identity.

by John Agard

Context

Published in 2007 by Guyanese-British poet Agard. Written in phonetic Creole, it challenges the Eurocentric education system and celebrates suppressed Black heroes.

All Checking Out Me History Quotes

“Dem tell me bout 1066 and all dat, dem tell me bout Dick Whittington and he cat”
IdentityAnger and Protest

Context: The speaker lists the British history he was taught, while Black history was omitted.

Analysis

The repeated "Dem tell me" creates an accusatory, rebellious tone against the white establishment that controlled his education. The use of phonetic Creole spelling ("Dem", "dat") asserts the speaker's own cultural identity in defiance of standard English. Trivial British myths are foregrounded while important Black figures are erased.

Language Techniques:

Phonetic spellingRepetitionJuxtaposition

Exam Tip

Use for power, control of education and cultural identity. The non-standard spelling is itself an act of resistance.

“Toussaint a slave with vision, lick back Napoleon battalion”
IdentityPower

Context: The speaker celebrates Toussaint L'Ouverture, a leader of the Haitian Revolution, in an italicised stanza.

Analysis

Agard reclaims hidden Black history by celebrating Toussaint as a visionary who defeated Napoleon's forces. The colloquial "lick back" energises the achievement with pride and defiance. The italicised, lyrical form of these stanzas separates true heroes from the dismissive British curriculum.

Language Techniques:

AllusionColloquialismStructural contrast

Exam Tip

Use for reclaiming suppressed identity and history. Note how the form changes for Black heroes versus British myths.

“But now I checking out me own history, I carving out me identity”
IdentityPower

Context: The defiant final couplet, where the speaker takes control of his own story.

Analysis

The shift to "now I" marks the speaker's empowerment — he actively reclaims agency over his identity. The verb "carving" suggests deliberate, effortful self-creation, like sculpting. The rhyme of "history"/"identity" binds the two: knowing his true history is essential to knowing himself.

Language Techniques:

Active verbsRhyming coupletTone shift

Exam Tip

A powerful closing quote about empowerment and self-definition. "Carving" implies identity is something actively made, not given.

Compare Checking Out Me History With…

In the exam you compare two poems on a shared theme. These poems share themes with Checking Out Me History:

OzymandiasPercy Bysshe ShelleyLondonWilliam BlakeMy Last DuchessRobert BrowningThe Charge of the Light BrigadeAlfred Lord Tennyson

Explore More Power and Conflict Poems

View key quotes and analysis for all 15 poems in the AQA anthology.

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