"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.
We can see a difference between the poems “Watermelons” and “Harlem” in the titles alone. Harlem is focused on the dreams of the people who live there “what happens to a dream deferred… Maybe it says like a heavy load…” The people of Harlem always are having big dreams and aspiring to be great but don't do anything to achieve them. They don't do care that they don't come true. “We eat the smile, and spit out the teeth” we forget their importance in the creation of the very thing we enjoy. What is a smile without its teeth. A difference that is evident …show more content…
On the other hand; the poem “I too”, is written from the perspective of a African American, who claims he, too, can have patriotism towards America, even though he does not yet have equal rights. The differences between these two literary works are quite evident: “Bowery Blues “describes the shallowness of the people who surrounded the author, while “I too” talks about racism and segregation in America. These works also use different figurative language. While one strongly relies on metaphors , the other one uses simpler language to achieve its purpose. Another difference between these works is the poetic devices they use. “Bowery Blues” has a strong rhythm, uses assonance, an almost sonnet-like structure. “I too”, because of its attempt to be a universal poem, a poem all African Americans can relate to, has a more prose-like structure. These two classic works have different subject matter, use different figurative language, and have different poetic
We can see a difference between the poems “Watermelons” and “Harlem” in the titles alone. Harlem is focused on the dreams of the people who live there “what happens to a dream deferred… Maybe it says like a heavy load…” The people of Harlem always are having big dreams and aspiring to be great but don't do anything to achieve them. They don't do care that they don't come true. “We eat the smile, and spit out the teeth” we forget their importance in the creation of the very thing we enjoy. What is a smile without its teeth. A difference that is evident …show more content…
On the other hand; the poem “I too”, is written from the perspective of a African American, who claims he, too, can have patriotism towards America, even though he does not yet have equal rights. The differences between these two literary works are quite evident: “Bowery Blues “describes the shallowness of the people who surrounded the author, while “I too” talks about racism and segregation in America. These works also use different figurative language. While one strongly relies on metaphors , the other one uses simpler language to achieve its purpose. Another difference between these works is the poetic devices they use. “Bowery Blues” has a strong rhythm, uses assonance, an almost sonnet-like structure. “I too”, because of its attempt to be a universal poem, a poem all African Americans can relate to, has a more prose-like structure. These two classic works have different subject matter, use different figurative language, and have different poetic