Multicultural poems

Nothings Changed.

Structure

On the page, the poem is set out in six stanzas, each of eight fairly short lines. This kind of regularity in the layout creates a sense of control: the poet is very clear about what he is feeling - not suddenly flying into a rage.

But within that pattern, the length of the sentences varies from a whole stanza to just two words. To explore the effect of the sentence structure in the poem, look at this example:

District Six.No board says it is:but my feet know,and my hands,and the skin about my bones,and the soft labouring of my lungs,and the hot, white, inwards turninganger of my eyes.

Language

The whole poem is written in the present tense. Although he is recalling a past experience, it is as if the poet is re-living the experience as he writes. This is one of the things that makes this poem vivid to read, and easy to identify with.

The viewpoint in the poem is carefully established. The first stanza, for example, puts us 'in the poet's shoes'. It is as if we are walking with the poet across the rough ground. As the poem develops, it is easy to imagine where we are walking or standing, and what we…