Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Analysis

Gwendolyn Brooks was one of the few poets able to move between the academic poets of the 1940’s and militant writers in the 1960’s, creating a fresh style of poetry that reflected the philosophic struggle each African American woman dealt with during this time. Her words spoke of the pain which comes with trying to better one’s life, especially in the face of extreme poverty and racial inequality.
Upon initial reading one may see a theme of the stereotypical African American female, often pregnant, irresponsible, and constantly lamenting their circumstances. If we read deeper into the mother, even just examining why the title, her title, is in lower case, it is possible to understand the intelligence, strength, and power in these words which represent women as a new and emerging force in society. These women, especially African American women, are seeing their worth in a new light and emotionally torn by what they must give up in order to seek equality. Abortion was an emotional and intense issue at the time, offering women a way out of the cycle of poverty but placing a heavy emotional burden of guilt on each. Brooks deals with this, and the question of whether or not one is a mother for …show more content…
The narrator, the voice of all African American women, is coming to terms with a new societal norm and seeing how this will lead her people out of bondage once again. Certain words are carefully placed to illuminate despair of making such difficult choices, confusion over where these decisions leave her in society, and the power having choices brings to her life. There are many voices represented in this poem because the personal struggle of each woman is different from the other, it is this unique blending of views into one work that makes Brooks’ words so