The Poetry of Benjamin Zephaniah Literary Elements

The speaker is the poet. His point of view is generally anti-Empire and his poems often come across as angry or exhortive.

The poems are typically non rhyming. For example, "We Refugees" has an A-B-C-D meter

In "The British" there is an ongoing culinary metaphor as the influx of each new nation into the country is likened to the blending of different ingredients and spices in cooking.

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"The British" is an ironic poem; it juxtaposes the attitude of the British, and their reluctance to see immigrants as Britons, with the fact that Britain has enjoyed a vibrant flow of immigrants for years and their descendants are now also British.

Dub poetry

Modern day Britain, particularly in the central area of Birmingham, where the poet lives.

Angry,accusatory, ironic, bitter, contemptuous.

The protagonists of each poem are the underdogs, and the antagonists are the empire-building British.

"The British" refers to the invading Picts and Celts, with whom the nation of ancient Britain was at war in pre-Medieval times.

The climax of 'The Refugees" refers obliquely to racism and the fact that people can be hated for just being themselves.

The coming of the Christmas season foreshadows a violent end for the turkeys in "Talkin' Turkey".

The poet tells us that Christmas is a worrying time for a turkey, which is an understatement because the turkey can end up served as a festive lunch.

In "The British" the poet alludes to the various invasions that have taken place on British shores.

The British is the term used repeatedly by the poet to encompass all of the people in the country, but also to represent those who direct policy.

The turkeys in "Talkin' Turkey"are anthromorphosised, but there is no actual personification of inanimate objects in the poems.

The poet states that anyone can be a refugee in their own country,which is a political sense is hyperbolic, but in a poetic sense represents the way that he feels in his homeland.

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