Blessing and Half Caste Comparison

COMPARISON BETWEEN HALF-CASTE AND LIMBO:

Half-Caste' is a poem that talks about the attitude of intolerant people that he must have found, who consider people of mixed races to be inferior to themselves. The poem is written in a non-standard English way, this means that it is written in an English from a non-English speaker; this is why the words in the poem are spelled exactly as they sound. Limbo is a poem tells the story of slavery in a rhyming, rhythmic dance.

These two poems, in a way they are similar but just because of their themes. Both of the poems talk about nationalism, the two authors talk about their cultures and how much they like and believe in their culture. Another theme shared between the two poems is racism; in both poems we see how the authors hint to us that other people feel superior to them just because of the culture and beliefs. (Half-caste) “‘When yu say half-caste
yu mean Tchaikovsky
sit down at dah piano
an mix a black key
wid a white key
is a half-caste symphony” Black and white keys seem a direct parallel to black and white people so this is a perfect example of racism.

In terms to language both poems have many differences; Half-caste represents load of phonetic spelling while limbo uses always-correct English grammar. The use of phonetic spelling can be justified because the author is a non-native English speaker so he decides to write English words just liker they sound – “when yu say half-caste”. This phrase is repeated constantly and is a perfect example of phonetic spelling.

The structures of the two poems have various similarities and also various differences. The major difference between the two poems is that one, half-caste is written in stanzas and Limbo is written in free verse. Half-caste does not follow a rigid structure but it does rhyme sometimes because of the use of repetition; in the other hand, limbo does not follow any structure and does not rhyme. Both of the poems do use the poetic technique enjambment. Half-caste uses this technique a lot. “yu mean when Picasso mix a red an green”

The tones of the poems are different. Half-caste is a more ironic, strange poem whilst limbo is a more upsetting and more making you think poem. Half-caste uses ironic passages like “excuse me”. This is a ironic apology that the author uses to feel more confident with the reader. “Standing on one leg”; this is a short sentence that demonstrates us that the reader is trying to tell us that 'What do you expect? If you consider me to be only half a person, then I would only have one leg.'