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African american literature
Discuss the themes of African-American literature
Discuss the themes of African-American literature
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In the poems King of Hearts by James Fross, Over the Middle Passage of Time by Millard Iowe, and The Little Black Boy by William Blake, the poets, like Marilyn Nelson’s Conductor and A Wreath for Emmett Till, all focus on the gravity and poignancy of slavery and racial discrimination. In order to emphasize the common theme—slavery, the poets apply in their poems several literary techniques, most notably contrast, allusion, and metaphor. Although the contrasting images may vary in the aforementioned poems, the poets all effectively use contrast to develop their themes. In The Little Black Boy, for example, Blake starts the poem off by juxtaposing the colors black and white. The clear contrast between a black body and a white soul in the first …show more content…
The alliteration in the words “bastard blue blood” also adds to the strength of Iowe’s message. In King of Hearts, the contrast between power over minds and over hearts shows a clear distinction between the fake control over the slaves and the true power of leadership. Through this contrast, Fross is able to condemn the “fools” who had only ostensible control over the slaves, but had failed to establish the real leadership. In the tenth sonnet of the poem A Wreath for Emmett Till, Nelson establishes a contrast between “lilacs from the dooryard” and “wildflowers” at the beginning of the sonnet. Lilacs, a symbol for people of social status, reflects the commonness of the “wildflowers”, which in this case stands for Emmett Till, a common black teenager who lost his life due to an unfortunate accident with a white woman. Similarly, the image of “greening woods” followed immediately by a meditation on “death” suggests the unexpectedness of Till’s death. In Conductor, Nelson contrasts the peaceful image of “raising my girls” with …show more content…
In The Little Black Boy, the “shady grove” alludes to the Southern plantations where slaves have worked. The “shady grove”, unlike the “beams of love”, serves to limit the slaves’ basic rights and freedom. The “middle passage” in Over the Middle Passage of Time is an allusion to the triangular trade, in which numerous Africans were forced to become slaves and transported to other continents. The allusion to historical facts adds credibility to the poem as a whole and strengthens the pitiful emotions evoked by the poet Iowe. In the same poem, Iowe applies a biblical reference—“the last supper”—to indicate that the minds of the slaves do not belong here and their “last supper” shall happen at their birthplace. However, the fact that this proposal is not achievable makes the situation of slaves more poignant and hopeless. Then in the tenth sonnet of A Wreath for Emmett Till, the image “lilacs from the dooryard” is an allusion to a poem When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d by Walt Whitman. Like Whitman’s elegy to Abraham Lincoln, Nelson’s sonnet is also an elegy, but to a common person, Till. Nelson establishes a comparison between the two people in order to suggest that Till deserves to be remembered, like Lincoln. In the poem Conductor, by contrast, Nelson alludes to a historical event—the Underground Railroad, which stands for the secret routes for runaway slaves from the South to the freedom in the north. In referring to the
Even if these poems had the same theme of the delayment of a dream, each poet’s vision towards this dream is explored differently, where readers are able to grasp both the effects and potentials of a dream deferred, through the use of imagery. Nonetheless, both poems had fulfilled the role of many distinguished poems during the period; to communicate African-Americans’ desires to live a life of equality and free from prejudice.
The poem, “My Great-Grandfather’s Slaves” by Wendell Berry, illustrates the guilt felt for the sins of a man’s ancestors. The poem details the horror for the speaker’s ancestors involvement in slavery and transitions from sympathy for the slaves to feeling enslaved by his guilt. Berry uses anaphora, motif, and irony, to express the speaker’s guilt and provide a powerful atmosphere to the poem.
...did through his poems. Although the themes of slavery, past and longing were depicted in Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poems, he provided a different aspect in each one; portraying ‘A Drowsy Day’ of a lonely reminiscent narrator, who was trapped in their confined home as well as their mind, being unable to escape from the constant swirl of memories. He uses ‘An Old Memory’ to convey the past as positive and full of hope, although disappointed by his present day, the past remained to have a ‘subtle charm’ – contrastingly in ‘Sympathy’, the poet describes the past as ‘cruel’, thus portraying it in a more dark and unwelcome light. Arthur Miller portrays the past as full of regret for Biff, but also of ambition for his father. All of these texts portrayed the past as a place where identity was stronger, however it could be argued that the past was where slaves had no identity.
...rt-breaking result of racism in the United States and the subject has made its way into the African American literary tradition. Slave narratives such as Douglass’ Narratives and Negro spirituals such as “I feel like my time ain’t long” and “Many Thousands Gone” have made African American literature true to the history that has been recorded. A present day controversial subject in our society is why can’t people, especially African Americans, forget about slavery and the adversity against African Americans? It is believed that African Americans have progressed and made advancement since that time; however, with writers like Elizabeth Alexander, the past just can’t go away forgotten; especially a past that was as gruesome as that of African Americans. Every single bloody lash, death and groaning happened and as she said we have to “say it plain” that it happened.
Though this poem is only a small snapshot of what I personally thought Douglass was going through, I could never adequately understand the frustration he must have had. My hope in writing this poem was not to provide a psychoanalysis or theoretical idea structure to any audience, but rather to show that even today, a modern audience member like me, can appreciate the struggle of a fellow human and speak against injustices, specifically in Douglass’s time.
Slave narratives were one of the first forms of African- American literature. The narratives were written with the intent to inform those who weren’t aware of the hardships of slavery about how badly slaves were being treated. The people who wrote these narratives experienced slavery first hand, and wanted to elicit the help of abolitionists to bring an end to it. Most slave narratives were not widely publicized and often got overlooked as the years went by; however, some were highly regarded and paved the way for many writers of African descent today.
African-Americans’/ Affrilachians’ Suffering Mirrored: How do Nikky Finney’s “Red Velvet” and “Left” Capture events from the Past in order to Reshape the Present? Abstract Nikky Finney (1957- ) has always been involved in the struggle of southern black people interweaving the personal and the public in her depiction of social issues such as family, birth, death, sex, violence and relationships. Her poems cover a wide range of examples: a terrified woman on a roof, Rosa Parks, a Civil Rights symbol, and Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State, to name just a few. The dialogue is basic to this volume, where historical allusions to prominent figures touch upon important sociopolitical issues. I argue that “Red Velvet” and “Left”, from Head off & Split, crystallize African-Americans’ /African-Americans’ suffering and struggle against slavery, by capturing events and recalling historical figures from the past.
In 'Ballad of Birmingham,' Dudley Randall illustrates a conflict between a child who wishes to march for civil rights and a mother who wishes only to protect her child. Much of this poem is read as dialogue between a mother and a child, a style which gives it an intimate tone and provides insight to the feelings of the characters. Throughout the poem the child is eager to go into Birmingham and march for freedom with the people there. The mother, on the other hand, is very adamant that the child should not go because it is dangerous. It is obvious that the child is concerned about the events surrounding the march and wants to be part of the movement. The child expresses these feelings in a way the appears mature and cognizant of the surrounding world, expressing a desire to support the civil rights movement rather than to ?go out and play.? The desire to no longer be seen as a child and have her voice heard by those being marched against and by her mother (who can also be seen as an oppressive form of authority in this poem) is expressed by the first few lines. The opinion of the child is much like that of all young people who want to fight for their freedom.
... once ferried African-American slaves; the presidential figure is a time mark for the reader. Another analytical reference from Eliot’s essay would be “the poem must be very conscious of the main current, which does not at all flow invariably through the most distinguished reputations”; the speaker refers back to the Slave Tradition and makes a clear statement about the south, using Abe Lincoln as a time period.
The theme throughout the two poems "A Black Man Talks of Reaping" and "From the Dark Tower" is the idea that African American live in an unjust
The civil rights movement may have technically ended in the nineteen sixties, but America is still feeling the adverse effects of this dark time in history today. African Americans were the group of people most affected by the Civil Rights Act and continue to be today. Great pain and suffering, though, usually amounts to great literature. This period in American history was no exception. Langston Hughes was a prolific writer before, during, and after the Civil Rights Act and produced many classic poems for African American literature. Hughes uses theme, point of view, and historical context in his poems “I, Too” and “Theme for English B” to expand the views on African American culture to his audience members.
Bryant, when writing this poem, was only 17 years old, but that did not stop his amazing ability to shine through his work. Bryant’s similes are dynamic and powerful, not only because of the images that he uses, but also the simplicity in which he words them. Anyone can understand his flow from one image to another, making the figurative language commanding to the readers attention. Lines 77-81 demonstrates Bryant’s considerable range in depth, because he keeps his language simple and easy to understand. This allows more people to read and comprehend his poem, spending his purposes. “Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,/ scourged to his dungeon, but sustained and soothed/ by an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,/ like one who wraps
Over the course of the century chronicling the helm of slavery, the emancipation, and the push for civil, equal, and human rights, black literary scholars have pressed to have their voice heard in the midst a country that would dare classify a black as a second class citizen. Often, literary modes of communication were employed to accomplish just that. Black scholars used the often little education they received to produce a body of works that would seek to beckon the cause of freedom and help blacks tarry through the cruelties, inadequacies, and inconveniences of their oppressed condition. To capture the black experience in America was one of the sole aims of black literature. However, we as scholars of these bodies of works today are often unsure as to whether or not we can indeed coin the phrase “Black Literature” or, in this case, “Black poetry”. Is there such a thing? If so, how do we define the term, and what body of writing can we use to determine the validity of the definition. Such is the aim of this essay because we can indeed call a poem “Black”. We can define “Black poetry” as a body of writing written by an African-American in the United States that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of an experience or set of experiences inextricably linked to black people, characterizes a furious call or pursuit of freedom, and attempts to capture the black condition in a language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm. An examination of several works of poetry by various Black scholars should suffice to prove that the definition does hold and that “Black Poetry” is a term that we can use.
“The Little Black Boy” was inspired by an account of slavery in Suriname. Suriname was an area ruled by the Europeans after the first Indians went away. The Europeans had several plantations, they used African slaves to work on the plantations and treated them inhumanely. Blake wrote “The Little Black Boy” in an attempt to convey his readers that such behaviour is immoral and should be forbidden.
It is relatively easy to see the repression of blacks by whites in the way in which the little black boy speaks and conveys his thoughts. These racial thoughts almost immediately begin the poem, with the little black boy expressing that he is black as if bereaved of light, and the little English child is as white as an angel. The wonderful part of these verses is the fact that the little black boy knows that his soul is white, illustrating that he knows about God and His love.