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Subject matter
Unfortunately, we can't reproduce the poem 'Half-Caste' here, so it may be helpful for you to have your copy of the AQA Anthology to hand.
What is 'Half-Caste' all about?
The speaker in the poem ridicules the use of the term 'half-caste' by following the idea through to its logical conclusion:
- Should PicassoPicasso: Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973), famous Spanish painter and sculptor. be seen as second-rate because he mixed a variety of colours in his paintings?
- Should the English weather be scorned because it is full of light and shadow?
- Should the music of TchaikovskyTchaikovsky: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893), a famous Russian composer. be seen as inferior because he used both the black notes and the white notes on the piano?
- Is someone who is called a 'half caste' only half a person?
The poet asks the listener to begin to think in a more open-minded way.
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