Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Critical review of maya angelou
An essay of maya angelou stylistic elements in poems
Critical review of maya angelou
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Critical review of maya angelou
On the Pulse of Morning Analysis Maya Angelou was a powerful and inspiring woman who had many talents as a writer. Maya was faced with obstacles in her life as an African-American that lead her to experience racial prejudices and discrimination. This allowed her to recite her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” at President Bill Clinton’s Inauguration in 1993 (Angelou). Angelou’s purpose was to call for hope of equality amongst the nation. She uses several rhetorical techniques such as symbolism, shift of tones, detail and parallelism. Combined, these devices helped convey a powerful speech towards the unity of humans. The author first lists symbolism in the first line “A Rock, A River, A Tree” (Angelou). The rock, which humankind stands upon. …show more content…
Throughout the poem, there are various shifts of tone. Angelou creates a solemn tone in the first stanza, “Hosts to species long since departed…Any broad alarm of their hastening doom is lost in the gloom of dust and ages” (Angelou). Any trace that was left back in the past is now gone from existence throughout time. Although throughout the poem, the tone shifts implying the audience of the hope that I provided for the country. At the last stanza she shifts into an optimism tone, “Here on the pulse of this new day, You may have the grace to look up and out And into your sister's eyes, And into your brother's face, Your country, And say simply, Very simply, With hope --Good morning” (Angelou). Her tone is simply more concluding of a new day and nation. She concludes her poem with an optimistic outlook for the …show more content…
She identifies this by “Each of you, a burdened country Delicate and strangely made proud… My shore, currents of debris upon my breast. Yet today I call you to my riverside, If you will study war no more” (Angelou) This image enlightens a sense of peace. Angelou helps create an appeal to emotion because of the effects war has done to the country. She portrays peace in a different environment--The River. Angelou uses the River as it sings a song, or as a calling to humans to its riverside but only if they let go of violence. If humans come to the River, they will have a “clad in peace.” Angelou continues her strong hope for equality by acknowledging diversity among the world. She uses parallelism to emphasize the wide diversity of the audience. From different ethnicities to religion: "The singing River, and the wise Rock. So say the Asian, the Hispanic, the Jew, the African, the Native American, the Sioux, the Catholic, the Muslim, the French , the Greek, the Irish, the Rabbi, the Sheik, the Gay, the Straight, the Preacher, the privileged, the Homeless, the Teacher. They hear. They all hear the speaking of the tree"
The overall themes of this poem are beauty, love, and destiny. The speaker constantly discusses beautiful things and how they can help us. Love can be felt throughout the entire poem. In the first stanza, the speaker verbalizes how he “came with love of the race.” He also expresses love for the beautiful things around him. The theme destiny can be seen in the third stanza when the speaker talks about staying on course. It can also be identified in the last stanza when he describes something inevitable that was about to
"On the Pulse of Morning," is a poem written by Maya Angelou. In this poem, Angelou depicts personification. Personification is an element of literature in which an object or an animal is given human characteristics. Angelou uses personification to give the rock, the river, and the tree the ability to speak to the reader.
Maya Angelou’s poem "On the Pulse of Morning” is relevant towards challenges facing the American people during the 20th century. She speaks of a rock, a tree, and a river. These things in nature symbolize how people should treat each other, regardless of how they look. All rocks, trees, and rivers are different, yet humans treat them all as if they were the same. Because there was a problem with equality during this time, Angelou empowered the country by saying "the notion of an inclusive America in which all people, regardless of their race, creed, or ethnic origin, would be valued members of the society,”. A solution to this problem was within reach. ”History, despite its wrenching pain, Cannot be unlived, but if faced, With courage, need
“Dr. Angelou experienced the brutality of racial discrimination, but she also absorbed the unshakable faith and values of traditional African-American family, community, and culture”(www.mayaangelou.com, 2014).
In an expressive voice, Ms. Angelou paints a memorable picture of a small black community anticipating graduation day fifty-five years ago. She describes the children as trembling "visibly with anticipation" and the teachers being "respectful of the now quiet and aging seniors." Although it is autobiographical, an omniscient voice in the first six paragraphs describes how "they" - the black children in Stamps - felt and acted before the omniscient voice changes to a limited omniscient narration in the seventh paragraph. Her eloquent voice skillfully builds the tension as she demonstrates bigotry destroying innocence.
The evolution of the African American voice takes many turns through history while maintaining the same basic principles. The works of influential African American’s shape a movement that traverses centuries. Frederick Douglass’s “Learning to Read and Write” displays a respectful and curious voice. James Baldwin’s “Stranger in the Village” demonstrates a powerful urgency. Doctor Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech shows similar power and urgency. Lastly, Maya Angelou’s “Graduation” explains a feeling of respectful demand.
Maya Angelou’s poem is structured in a quatrain format. The first few paragraphs are set out in such a way that it explains to us why she is rising; the poem compromises of a stanza of four lines, each of the same length.
Craddock, Terence George. (2011). Maya Angelou: A Phenomenal Woman? Retrieved February 20, 2011 from http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/maya-angelou-a-phenomenal-woman/
This stanza is then repeated, word for word, two more times throughout the poem (23-25, 35-37). Angelou does this to emphasize her message in the poem. If someone reads something once, they may not realize how significant it really is. By repeating those two words and that phrase multiple times, Angelou showed the reader just how important it is to find somebody that cares about you, so you don't have to be alone and unhappy. Angelou uses multiple different kinds of figurative language to enhance the message of the story.
These articulations have been utilized as a part of a figurative way to encourage simple comprehension. Since on the strict level this appears a preposterous and unthinkable claim, one might say that the writer has semantically veered off. Reiteration and Parallelism Angelou influences utilization of parallelism in the accompanying verses so as to profoundly to teach a thought inside the perusers' psyches. For example the redundancy of "I'll Rise" in the ballad pronounces it just like a progressive lyric. A portion of the other parallel verses are as per the following: "You may record me in history
Hughes emphasizes his message consistently throughout this poem, weaving in the most important line in the middle and end of the poem. He is representing his people. African Americans have waited and been abused by society, and this deepened and weathered their souls over time, just as a river would become deepened and weathered. Hughes’ soul, the collective soul of African Americans, has become “deep like the rivers” (5). This simile speaks that the rivers are part of the body, and contribute to this immortality that Hughes is so desperate to achieve for his people. Rivers are the earthly symbols of eternity: deep, constant, mystifying.
In this poem, Maya Angelou was able to express one particular poetic device which i was able to identify throughout the poem. Her use of metaphor was mentioned quite often in the poem. When Angelou said
In “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”, the river stands as a symbol of endlessness, geographical awareness, and the epitome of the human soul. Hughes uses the literary elements of repetition and simile to paint the river as a symbol of timelessness. This is evident in the first two lines of the poem. Hughes introduces this timeless symbol, stating, “I've known rivers: I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins” (Hughes 1-2). These opening lines of the poem identifies that the rivers Hughes is speaking about are older than the existence of human life. This indicates the rivers’ qualities of knowledge, permanence, and the ability to endure all. Humans associate “age” with these traits and the longevity of a river makes it a force to be reckoned with. The use of a simile in the line of the poem is to prompt the audience that this is truly a contrast between that ancient wisdom, strength, and determination of the river and the same qualities that characterize a human being. The imagery portrayed in the poem of blood flowing through human veins like a river flows ...
Society creates the thought of what makes an ideal woman; however, Maya Angelou shows us what truly makes an authentic woman in her poem, “Phenomenal Woman.” The word “Phenomenal” is defined as something that is magnificent, remarkable, breathtaking, as well as extraordinary. This poem illustrates confidence and beauty from within, instead of the conventional view that society tends to have, which only focuses on the appearance. She shows how to acknowledge womanhood. One is able to appreciate the poem, even further, by analyzing many of the poetry elements that Maya Angelou illustrates, such as imagery, tone, and diction.
The tone can be confident, proud, complementary, cheerful and sassy. Confident because, in each stanza Maya states some type of criticism that has been said, then overpowers it using her voice to reveal what she thinks. She uses “I say” in every stanza is a cue that she is about to speak her mind. In stanza four she describes her confidence, saying “Now you understand just why my head 's not bowed. I don’t shout or jump about or have to talk real loud. When you see me passing, it ought to make you proud”. The message that she is trying to say is that when she is put down by others, she does not get down or have to attract attention, because of her confidence, she attracts attention when she walks by. Another example, proud because of the several times she uses phenomenal throughout the poem. When she explains why she is a phenomenal woman it sets the tone that she is proud of who he is. Complementary because if reading the poem aloud, it would sound like the reader is complimenting themselves. With Maya Angelou writing all the positive things of being a phenomenal woman, the readers are complimenting themselves of being phenomenal and should be proud of it. Although, the poem may come across as cheerful, when the reader deeply analyzes the poem a serious tone is displayed. Angelou wants the reader to actually feel what she is saying, not just read it as if it has no meaning. This poem shows her strength