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essence of African American literature
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A Comparison Between the Poetic Techniques Of Ferlinghetti & Afrika Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Tatamkhulu Afrika both have very effective poems. Both of which are written to state some form of inequality or discrimination. There are distinct and hidden similarities and differences between the two. These are going to be highlighted in this report. As mentioned before, both are talking about certain inequality or discrimination; however there are two main differences: 1. One poet is talking about racial issues (Afrika), the other about democratic issues (Ferlinghetti) 2. Afrika has a clear view point as he has been subject to the discrimination mentioned whereas Ferlinghetti is just stating what is happening Both of the issues written about were (and still are) key problems all over the world, which contributes to the poems' success, as everybody can identify with it. These poems are technically fictional, but the truth behind the moral of them adds a genuine realism. In "Nothing's Changed" (Afrika's poem), the tone as a general rule is very accusative and extremely opinionated. This is because the author is writing from his own experiences (he is black), almost in an autobiographical sense, and hence it is written in first-person form. He is in a way a spokesman, a representative for all black people that are discriminated against, which is shown in the poem by using "we" in line 26, "we" referring to black cultures. In contrast, "Two Scavengers in a Truck. Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes" (Ferlinghetti's poem) is written in third-person, as if he is an observer of the scenario described in the poem. Also, Ferlinghetti is writing a lot more factually, and isn't blatantly opinionated, however there may be something hidden within it. Those are the main differences. However, there are other differences that are present: Ferlinghetti's poem is taken from a freeze-frame, basically meaning that a moment in time is taken, like a snapshot with a camera. Afrika's poem, in a way; describes a journey, and is continually moving on, explaining the frames as they come and go.
One of the more apparent themes seen in both texts is that of discrimination against marginalised groups. Both texts send a clear message, that regardless of the circumstances,
Each viewer’s interpretation of these two different pieces would be based on their own inner feelings. The reason I chose these two pieces is that I see them as total opposites. Each of these artists chooses to portray an image of a human like object in two different ways. In one side you have Fred Tomaselli using different items to express openness while you have Bettye Saar using her artistic skills to express a struggle of freedom. Since these images defined how Blacks were often perceived by Whites and were often times the source of how Blacks saw themselves.
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.
Both Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes were great writers but their attitudes towards their personal experience as an African American differed in many ways. These differences can be attributed to various reasons that range from gender to life experience but even though they had different perceptions regarding the African American experience, they both shared one common goal, racial equality through art. To accurately delve into the minds of the writers’ one must first consider authors background such as their childhood experience, education, as well their early adulthood to truly understand how it affected their writing in terms the similarities and differences of the voice and themes used with the works “How it Feels to be Colored Me” by Hurston and Hughes’ “The Negro Mother”. The importance of these factors directly correlate to how each author came to find their literary inspiration and voice that attributed to their works.
The writings of the two authors, Langston Hughes and John Steinbeck address examples of how literature reflects society. Furthermore, the main idea is how the stated essential question related to modern day writers and how it reflected upon tragic events such as the great depression & racism toward Africans. For example in “Cora Unashamed” by Langston Hughes. He mentions how Africans had to go through hardships and were looked down upon, relating back to how literature was shaped. In the story, there is an African girl named Cora lived in an amoral time period where poverty was commonly encountered countless hardships. Near the end, Cora becomes pregnant and is looked down upon due to the fact she was uneducated and black when it is quoted
Jane Smiley’s novel, A Thousand Acres, is a contemporary interpretation of William Shakespeare’s classical tragedy King Lear. Comparisons are clearly visible in the very beginning of A Thousand Acres when Smiley begins with a vivid description of the landscape. Even the characters are similar and having read King Lear, I already had an impression of them before reading A Thousand Acres. But they are not completely similar as there are some differences due to the perspectives through which the stories are told.
The Little Black Boy and The Sorrows of Yamba are both anti-slavery poems. Both Blake and More were against the political and social structure of slavery, but the way in which they choose to address the issue through their poetry is quite different. Differences in tonality, gender of main characters, implications for the future of these characters, and the audiences these pieces were addressed to make for a good contrast to the similarities they inevitably share in being both anti-slavery.
During the time period of the emancipation proclamation multiple black authors were becoming educated enough to write works of poetry. Such works have influenced and persuaded the minds of white people all over America to this very day. It also gave their own people a work of art to turn to for their own history. The poets have ventured into modern day eras also, and still have the same topics at hand. The main idea of these poetry pieces was on their ancestors in Africa but also of course of the modern problem of slavery. Langston Hughes was the first influential black poet. Lucille Clifton and Colleen McElroy are modern poets but is a black woman who has other views on slavery but also very similar looks on their historical past. All of the poets all mentioned their historical background in Africa. Langston Hughes, Lucille Clifton, and Colleen McElroy all wrote about their ancestors and of slavery, and some of the same references were of the rivers, and the connection between the people even though they are literally worlds apart; a difference between the poems was the desire for freedom and the freedom that was already existing in the modern day poetry of Lucille Clifton and Colleen McElroy.
I attended the poetry reading on Monday night October the 17th and listened to Jamaal May and Tarfia Faizullah’s excerpts from their poetry. Firstly, I noticed the style of the performance that Jamaal May had throughout his reading. Jamaal read with extreme conviction and confidence. His voice filled the room and forced the audience into a trance because of the beautiful tone that his voice held. His style was performative, but it was not over the top. It was controlled in a performance value. It seemed as though Jamaal really knew his poetry by heart because he had good eye contact throughout his reading; even though he often looked down to confirm his place within his poems. Throughout his reading, I felt as though I was in a trance because
...ites a short 33-line poem that simply shows the barriers between races in the time period when racism was still openly practiced through segregation and discrimination. The poem captures the African American tenant’s frustrations towards the landlord as well as the racism shown by the landlord. The poem is a great illustration of the time period, and it shows how relevant discrimination was in everyday life in the nineteen-forties. It is important for the author to use the selected literary devices to help better illustrate his point. Each literary device in the poem helps exemplify the author’s intent: to increase awareness of the racism in the society in the time period.
This poem is written from the perspective of an African-American from a foreign country, who has come to America for the promise of equality, only to find out that at this time equality for blacks does not exist. It is written for fellow black men, in an effort to make them understand that the American dream is not something to abandon hope in, but something to fight for. The struggle of putting up with the racist mistreatment is evident even in the first four lines:
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.
African music and culture of the 17th through the 19th centuries, The art form of highly evolved. It have contributed fundamentally to American popular music ,profoundly impacting styles as diverse as the blues, jazz, rock, r& b, Latin, and country music. Music life events ranging from the mundane to the spiritual. It was used for ceremonial functions. The integration of African music into everyday life. In west African musicians ,the most important master musicians was griot.The aesthetics of African music also affected American popular music. One important feature is that composer Olly Wilson ——“‘The heterogeneous sound Ideal in African - American music ’( In new perspectives on Music: Essays in honor of Eileen southern)” . Another important
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.
Many women including myself like to claim that the male segment of our population knows nothing about love and romance. African men in particular get a lot of criticism for been un-romantic and incapable of expressing their emotions. From personal experience I would say that this is not true, some of the most romantic men I have dated are African. However, what is romance really? I like to define it as the expression of love. In this article I define romance through the use of some of my favorite African love quotes. These African quotes give us a glimpse into African culture and views on life. They are a part of African history and show us that love and the expression of love are universal. So in defense of my romantic African brothers here are some African love sayings, enjoy them and