Analyzing Mckay's The Harlem Dancer

The Harlem Dancer is a short poem that focuses on a woman’s beauty and a scene inside a bar. The title indicates that the location of the bar is in Harlem which was considered a common place during the Harlem Renaissance. McKay has also described the woman in this poem to be a young, black prostitute and he observes the impact that she has towards the crowd. After a while the speaker notices that the dancer is unhappy due to the lack of respect she is getting from the audience. He incorporates the themes such as sex, youth, and promiscuity to successfully create the effects of an audience’s prejudice on the Harlem dancer, who suffers from cruel misinterpretations. In the first line of the poem, the speaker of the poem characterizes the spectators in the bar as “Applauding youths” and adds that they were laughing. This positive diction creates an image of cheerfulness and innocence. However, at the end of the first line, the reader is introduced to the “young prostitutes” throughout the crowd. The introduction of the prostitutes’ challenges and contracts with the innocent …show more content…
For example, the speaker says that “her voice was like the sound of blended flutes.” By establishing that the dancers voice sounded like many flutes “blended” together, the speaker shows that the dancers voice is unique and not one-side. Instead, her voice is portrayed as complex and complicated. The speaker may also be trying to show that the dancer is not as simple as she might seem to be. In addition, the description of her voice has a compelling contrast. For instance, the speaker uses flutes to describe her voice, and flutes are normally found at formal events. Flutes would not be playing at unsavory bar or night club. Therefore, the speaker illustrates that the dancers voice doesn’t belong in the center of prostitutes neither does her “half-clothed”