Julia Ward Howe tells an outstanding story about a man by the name of Robert E. Lee who fought in the Civil War. The story is rather short, however it explains the type of man he was perfectly. Julia was alive during the time in which Lee was serving in war. This helped her get a first hand grasp on what his characteristics were like. The poem has an abab cdcd efef rhyme scheme which creates a smooth and pleasing tune while reading the poem.…
I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen- When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. Tomorrow, I’ll be at the table-When company comes.…
Claudia Rankine’s book, Citizen: An American Lyric, touches on current and past issues in the world today. One of the topics she discusses is discrimination. The book is different from other books that are introduced in schools such as, To Kill A Mockingbird and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Rankine deals with being a citizen in a world where people are worried if they will make it home alive.…
Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem titled "Sympathy" is a metaphor for what it means to be a black male during the 1800s. As a poet, Dunbar was praised as the Poet Laureate of the black race, but at the same time he was criticized for being too pro-white within his writings. With this being said, much of Dunbar's literary success didn't happen until the second-half of the 20th century. Dunbar was an intelligent man who wrote in both common English and black dialect. Poetic scholars like William Dean Howells has suggested Dunbar's poetry can be divided into two specific groups: dialect and literary.…
Dunbar utilizes symbolism to explain that oppression by society causes a desire for freedom. During the time these poems…
Henry Louis Gates Jr, an African American literature scholar, asserts, “No poet in the tradition was more crucial in the shaping of a distinct African- American poetic diction or voice than he, [Paul Laurence Dunbar]” (68). Dunbar’s ability to communicate the struggles of America through the black experience, with the assistance of Negro dialect, elevated him to become one of the most influential African American poets of his time. His success with written language allows today’s readers to experience and obtain knowledge about the life of an African American before and after the Civil War. The life and literature of Dunbar continue to galvanize students, educators, and critics today. Dunbar’s ancestral connection with slavery and interactions…
"I have a dream!" (Martin Luther King Jr) Words have the ability to refine us as humans. Alike to words so does literature. The poems that we’re going to discuss in the following paragraphs have impacted countless of lives by illustrating the reality of racism and depression by using figurative language, subject material and poetic devices.…
A wise man once said, “motion equals emotion.” All words and phrases, regardless of whether they are spoken or written, are characterized by their motion: their meter, their rhythm. The motion created by words has the ability to bring individuals to an emotional place. In Langston Hughes’ “Dream Variations,” motion is at the core of one’s understanding of the poem itself. Throughout the poem, the speaker talks of his experience with racism as a black individual.…
In his poem he is trying to show how African Americans want to fit in…
The poem “ Blink Your Eyes” by Sekou Sundiata, an African American poet and performer, is about him showing his outrage towards racial profiling. He is trying to drive to go see his women, but there is something stopping him from doing that. He is pulled over by a policeman and he feels tension because he understands that there is a possibility he can be subjected to the law for doing nothing wrong. The policeman accuses the African American man of committing a crime just because he is black. He realized that his life could change at any instance just because the law is unfair to him.…
His poems focus on themes of racism, oppression and self-love whilst maintaining an metaphorical and symbolic nature. He communicates African American frustration in the majority of his work. “I,Too”, “Mother to Son” and “Harlem” are concerned with the treatment of African Americans in the US and convey potent messages about the racism and oppression Black people faced in America. Hughes also utilises poetic techniques and rhythms traditionally used in African folk tales and Children’s nursery rhymes. He also employs a colloquialized vernacular to make his work more accessible and relatable to other African…
Written by Edward Arlington Robinson in 1897, the short poem, “Richard Cory,” describes a man who seems to embody the perfect lifestyle, but secretly struggles to find happiness within himself. Looking at Robinson’s childhood, Richard Cory likely serves as a representation of his viewpoints on wealth as he was born the son of a wealthy merchant. Robinson portrays his central theme through poetic devices such as irony and symbolism. The use of these devices allows Robinson’s outlook on wealth to flourish into a rhythmic story of the short life of Richard Cory.…
Langston Hughes’s poem “My People” is a short poem that gives off a variety of meanings. Hughes’s poem gives the reader a different form of viewing people by emphasizing certain features from his people, although not directly throwing it out there for the reader to grasp right away. Also, interior and outer beauty. When the reader first reads this short poem, they would assume that the narrator is implying that his people are beautiful and that is all, just beautiful. Although, as the reader continues to read the poem thoroughly they will realize that there is more to it then just “beautiful” through out the rest of the poem.…
All types of kids will die someday no matter how hard you try to make their lives better economically; similar to the tale “Kids Who Die” by Langston Hughes. Hughes was a literary icon well known for writing about the African Americans’ experience with racism and discrimination during the 1950-1960’s. He was the leading voice of the Harlem Renaissance, promoting upcoming young poets. On the other hand, he was the first black poet to support himself through his writing, according to the Poetry Foundation. In this poem, the theme displays children will die to strive for a better lifestyle, while the affluent people are living care-free.…
Mother to Son The poem “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes, is about a mother telling her son about her hardships in life, how she is not giving up, and how he should do the same. The poem is told from the perspective of a mother to her son. The mother explains to her child how she strived to do better after the problems she encountered earlier in her life. She wants to help her son and teach him valuable lessons on how to not go down the same road she did. Through syntax, imagery, and diction; the author pushes the idea and importance of pushing through the obstacles and inconveniences one finds in life.…