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Nikki rosa nikki giovanni poems analysis
Nikki giovanni woman poem summary
Nikki giovanni woman poem summary
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Nikki Giovanni was born in 1943. She has established herself as one of the leaders in poetry. She was part of the civil rights movement and black power movements. These helped inspire her to write poetry. Publishing her first book in 1968, Giovanni is an erudite poet, writer, activist and educator. She has received countless awards, and has written countless poems. One of her most mysterious poems was released in 2002. Poem For A Lady Whose Voice I Like is packed full of themes and writing styles unique to civil rights among African Americans. This poem also touches on problems with gender, depending on how this piece is analyzed by the reader. One solid fact about this poem is that it is about Lena Horne. This Paper will be analyzing this …show more content…
poem in context with addressing the corrupt american culture, tainted by the thoughts of interpersonal racism towards African Americans. Through the author's use of tone, repetition and diction readers learn that Nikki Giovanni is trying to address the problems in american society by pointing them out. Implying to us that americans can and should fix the problem. Through the author's use of an invective tone, we can further understand ourselves how power and privilege is present in our culture.
Presenting the poem's tone through dual speakers. A male speaker, “so he said” (line 1). As well as a female speaker “and she said” (9) Choosing two narrators elaborates on the overall somewhat serious tone, it paces along slowly so the reader becomes anxious to see how the female narrator will react to the harsh words of the male speaker. Giovanni portrays the males mood as littered with racism and hate. Making the reader feel as though there is a problem that needs to be addressed. The male speaker says “If you didn't have a face you wouldn't be nobody” (2-3). This gives us an idea on how African American minorities not only were, but are treated. The male has the hostile emotion that makes the poem become humorless. She envisions the male as the hate in american culture, being critical to her fame and popularity. She conveys the female narrator as a rather calm and patient person. She responds in biblical text from the old testament, giving this poem an undertone of religion. The female reader seems to take advantage from the comments made by the male, envisioning that he is a white male. Her comebacks are witty and smart, getting rid of the all solemn tone in the poem. Mood and tone are important in this poem, although repetition gives it a theme the tone could
not.
The poem is written in the style of free verse. The poet chooses not to separate the poem into stanzas, but only by punctuation. There is no rhyme scheme or individual rhyme present in the poem. The poems structure creates a personal feel for the reader. The reader can personally experience what the narrator is feeling while she experiences stereotyping.
One profound piece of African American literature is Ntozake Shange’s choreopoem, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf. This revolutionary text presents black women with poems that address the various aspects their life and challenges they face. To aid in the telling the stories of black woman, Ntozak Shange utilizes the feminine gaze. The feminine gaze is the viewing of a scenario from the prospective of a woman. While the masculine gaze often objectifies women, the feminine gaze views women as the complex people that they are. The female perspective is an essential part to the pieces of Shange’s work. One poem in the work that employs this viewpoint is the Lady in Yellow’s “Graduation Nite” poem. The feminine
Giovanni’s diction enhances the theme of the poem because it is informal and because it shows the reader that she adores them. Lines 18 and 19 of the poem “Kidnap Poem” states, “yeah if i were a poet i’d kid nap you”. These lines show that Giovanni is writing almost as if she is carrying on a conversation with someone. She purposely writes with lowercase letters throughout the poem to convey a more relaxed tone and style so that it is like a normal everyday discussion. Giovanni’s diction enhances the theme of the poem because it shows that she adores the reader.
The speaker’s rocky encounter with her ex-lover is captured through personification, diction, and tone. Overall, the poem recaps the inner conflicts that the speak endures while speaking to her ex-lover. She ponders through stages of the past and present. Memories of how they were together and the present and how she feels about him. Never once did she broadcast her emotions towards him, demonstrating the strong facade on the outside, but the crumbling structure on the inside.
... she is indeed angered and fed up at the fact that there is a stereotype. The way in which she contradicts herself makes it hard for readers to understand the true meaning or point to her poem, the voice was angry and ready for change, yet the actions that the individual was participating in raised questions of whether or not he actually fit the stereotype.
The tone Giovanni applies to talk about where she grows up is very laid back and from the language written shows how comfortable she feels with these people. Giovanni writes “folk in Chicago” to demonstrate how the people in Chicago are chill and a bit country and that they are casual with each other (8). Equally important, Giovanni utilizes the word choice bath in the sentence “when you got your bath” to indicate how they couldn’t waste water to take a shower, but have to fill up the tub with a certain amount to save water (7). Toward the end of the poem Giovanni claims “Black love is Black wealth” to express how, to black people the money, fame, or richness isn’t important, but the people you surround yourself with and in Giovanni’s point of view, considered wealthy (22). In the beginning of Nikki-Rosa, Giovanni states “always a drag if you’re black” to oppose that perhaps she wasn’t so happy all the time and that there are tough times to climb over in life (1/ 2). Giovanni could have begun the poem like that to make the times she is happy to the reader and herself not just a fluke, but a highlight in her life and something that she comes to cherish. All in all Giovanni’s poem
Though most of the poem is not dialogue, from what little speaking there is between the...
The poem, “Nikki-rosa” written by Nikki Giovanni, an African American poet, who was born in 1943. During the sixties, she emerged as a black poet whose militancy during the civil rights movement made her immensely popular. In 1968, she published the poem “Nikki-rosa”. In the poem “Nikki-rosa”, she uses her childhood as the basis of this story. Nikki-rosa communicates through her childhood memories, the belief that white people and black people have fundamentally different ideas about wealth and happiness. That white people and black people see their personal life experiences differently. Wealth for black people is love, family, and togetherness; not tangible items. The sense of community and acceptance was more valuable than having even an private toilet. White people see “black wealth” as a hard life and focus on the things that she didn't have, i.e., toilet, bathtub., etc.
In Nikki Giovanni’s opinion she believes that women are often over looked by men because they have everything. Throughout history men have been given multiple opportunities to be successful compared to woman that had limited options. Giovanni understands that women’s strength is over shadowed by simple traits of a male. This is exactly why she felt the need to express African American woman worth through this poem. She wanted to give women something they could look forward to.
In this paper, I plan to explore and gain some insight on Audre Lorde’s personal background and what motivated her to compose a number of empowering and highly respected literary works such as “Poetry is Not a Luxury”. In “Poetry is Not a Luxury”, Lorde not only gives voice to people especially women who are underrepresented, but also strongly encourages one to step out of their comfort zone and utilize writing or poetry to express and free oneself of repressed emotions. I am greatly interested in broadening my knowledge and understanding of the themes that are most prominent in Lorde’s works such as feminism, sexism and racism. It is my hope that after knowing more about her that I would also be inspired to translate my thoughts and feelings
The contrast that develops in the poem On The Subway would be the race and the way both characters are dressed. From the poets tone a reader could infer that she was prejudice towards the boy.
“We write because believe the human spirit cannot be tamed and should not be trained,”—Nikki Giovanni a famous award winning poet, best known to write poems that range from love and friendship to the Civil Rights Movement. Nikki Giovanni has many well-known and famous poems. Nikki Giovanni’s life of a high spirited black woman living in the 1960s has influenced her poetry.
In Maya Angelou’s poem “Phenomenal Woman”, audiences are drawn to the bold confidence and power of the female speaker. In this poem, Maya Angelou creates the image of a woman whose confidence is not hindered or threatened by imperfections and flaws. In many analyses of this work, audiences connect this poem to the expression of Maya Angelou’s individualism and self-love after having faced many personal struggles throughout her life. In a review found in the Virginia Quarterly Review, a critic states “Its theme [“Phenomenal Woman”]- the power and depth of women- echos her own personal history […]”. This theme of power is one that transcends this poem and is seen throughout many of Angelou’s works. Additionally, Angelou’s reflection on her own life through this poem is evident in the way in which she defines this power. Rather than emphasizing perfection and ideali...
The speaker reflects on the teenage girl’s childhood as she recalls the girl played with “dolls that did pee-pee” (2). This childish description allows the speaker to explain the innocence of the little girl. As a result, the reader immediately feels connected to this cute and innocent young girl. However, the speaker’s diction evolves as the girl grew into a teenager as she proclaims: “She was healthy, tested intelligent, / possessed strong arms and back, / abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity” (7-9). The speaker applies polished language to illustrate the teen. This causes the reader not only to see the girl as an adult, but also to begin to grasp the importance of her situation. The speaker expresses what the bullies told this girl as she explains: “She was advised to play coy, / exhorted to come on hearty” (12-13). The sophisticated diction shifts towards the girl’s oppressors and their cruel demands of her. Because of this, the reader is aware of the extent of the girl’s abuse. The speaker utilizes an intriguing simile as she announces: “Her good nature wore out / like a fan belt” (15-16). The maturity of the speaker’s word choice becomes evident as she uses a simile a young reader would not understand. This keeps the mature reader focused and allows him to fully understand the somberness of this poem. The speaker concludes the poem as she depicts the teenage girl’s appearance at her funeral: “In the casket displayed on satin she lay / with the undertaker’s cosmetics painted on” (19-20). The speaker elects not to describe the dead girl in an unclear and ingenuous manner. Rather, she is very clear and
This poem is Maya Angelou speaking to the audience as she explains the problems she has overcome such as; racism, sexism, bullying and other problems in her life that she has managed to move on from.This poem is set in a first person narrative, Angelou explains to the audience about the good and bad times within her life, presented in a graceful way. By the poem being set in first person narrative, this allows the audience to connect to the poet on a deeper level because the tone of the poem is more intense throughout, making it more real for the audience. This genre of poetry is lyric poetry, relating to Angelou’s feelings and thoughts throughout the poem, addressing the audience directly.