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The mother gwendolyn brooks poem essay
Analysis of gwendolyn brooks poems
Analysis of gwendolyn brooks poems
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Out of all these great poets I felt more connection with Mrs. Gwedolyn Brooks. Mrs. Brooks had overcome lots of obstacles in her time being growing up in the rough side of Chicago. She was the first African America poet to win the Pulitzer Prize. The poem’s she has says something to me because they speak of family and that’s something I huge on. Throughout her poems she talks about her mother, sisters that took different paths in life and loving older couples. Her writing style was for the common audience of all races and ages because that she quickly won and never lost. She also uses these powerful unforgettable black portraits to help you get a better understanding and visual. There not one poem that doesn’t speak to me in any ways from …show more content…
Able of capturing the experiences and pattern of black street life, she usually presents clear surfaces that give way suddenly to show doubtful deepness. Equally capable of manipulating traditional poetic forms such as the sonnet, rhyme royal, and heroic couplet, she bring to bear them to mirror the distrust of characters or personas who embrace current attitudes to defend themselves against internal and external chaos. Whatever form she chooses, Brooks consistently focuses on the struggle of people to find and express love, usually associated with the family, in the center of adverse surrounding. “Speech to the Young” this one spoke to me during this time in college because it your stress out and doubtful about the decision you have made or going to make no matter what it might be this poem was broken down to me saying everything is going to be ok, don’t rush it take your time it gets better before it gets worse. “Live not for the battles won” meaning to me Never give up fight through the end and you’ll have a better outcome then if you were not to finish out strong. “Live from the along” was another great line I took that as saying look forward never look back or live in the …show more content…
Brooks sent in her is that in a household where you are supposed to live up to these expectations, well your parents or grandparents were to be upheld by these two sisters. One dared to claim and live the life that was rightfully hers and disapprove what her family think is right for her, she was truly enjoying life. While her sister lived and went about her life more accordingly to what her parents want her to live and what to become in school but in the end was left in depression and what I would assume to be misery. While one sister lived happily by living her life how she wants to in her own way with self-standards and while the other took the good route finished school got a good education but ended up all alone just by living her life how others want you to live it. It struck me hard I feel as if I’m living the life now of the two sister and I’m the one in school and at a school I do want to be and also is far away from home just because I don’t want to let my parents down. Pretending to be happy on the phone when they call saying it’s not bad here and I love it , to put a smile on their face. But deep down this isn’t the place I want to be I want a better scenery move city like something I can function to. While my brothers and sister are back at home living a regular life but are happy with where there at makes me think that either I can get closer to home feel more uplifted spiritually by being 2 or 3 hours away from
Throughout Brooks’ life she received numerous of honors and awards. She was one great poet and her poems were well-known. Brooks carried a great influence and her legacy still lives in the life of many modern poets.
The Negro Speaks of Rivers and Mother to Son, explained the importance of the woman, light and darkness and strength in the African-American community. Hughes made a very clear and concise statement in focusing on women and the power they hold, light and darkness, and strength. Did his poems properly display the feelings of African-American’s in that time period? It is apparent that Hughes felt a sense of pride in his culture and what they had to endure. After all “Life ain’t been no crystal stair!”(Norton, Line 2, 2028)
The life and art of the black American poet, Gwendolyn Brooks, began on June 7, 1917 when she was born in Topeka, Kansas. She was the first child of Keziah Corine Wims and David Anderson Brooks. When she was four, her family moved to their permanent residence on Champlin Avenue in Chicago. Her deep interest in poetry consumed much of her early life. For instance, Brooks began rhyming at the age of seven. When she was thirteen, she had her first poem, 'Eventide', published in American Childhood Magazine. Her first experience of high school came from the primary white high school in the city, Hyde Park High School. Thereafter, she transferred to an all-black high school and then to the integrated Englewood High School. By 1934, Brooks had become a member of the staff of the Chicago Defender and had published almost one hundred of her poems in a weekly poetry column. In 1936, she graduated from Wilson Junior College.
One might wonder why Brooks produces poetry, especially the sonnet, if she also condemns it. I would suggest that by critically reckoning the costs of sonnet-making Brooks brings to her poetry a self-awareness that might justify it after all. She creates a poetry that, like the violin playing she invokes, sounds with "hurting love." This "hurting love" reminds us of those who may have been hurt in the name of the love for poetry. But in giving recognition to that hurt, it also fulfills a promise of poetry: to be more than a superficial social "grace," to teach us something we first did not, or did not wish to, see.
This piece of autobiographical works is one of the greatest pieces of literature and will continue to inspire young and old black Americans to this day be cause of her hard and racially tense background is what produced an eloquent piece of work that feels at times more fiction than non fiction
It is a way to crucially engage oneself in setting the stage for new interventions and connections. She also emphasized that she personally viewed poetry as the embodiment of one’s personal experiences, and she challenged what the white, European males have imbued in society, as she declared, “I speak here of poetry as the revelation or distillation of experience, not the sterile word play that, too often, the white fathers distorted the word poetry to mean — in order to cover their desperate wish for imagination without insight.”
Gwendolyn Brooks once said “I felt that I had to write. Even if I had never been published, I knew that I would go on writing, enjoying it, and experiencing the challenge”. For some, writing may not be enjoyable or easy, but for Brooks writing was her life. Gwendolyn Brooks not only won countless awards, but also influenced the lives of several African Americans.
There are countless times as one grows up when you just stop for a second and reminisce on random things. These memories serve for a very special purpose as the things you do in life shapes you into the person you will become. Today, many authors and poets make use of their memories and experiences in their work as a way to reflect back on their lives, raise awareness, or just simply to tell a story. As a prominent contributor to the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes was an inspirational poet who highlighted many aspects of the urban life of African-Americans through reflections of his own life and experiences.
During times when racial tensions were high, many African American authors and poets began to rise and give consciousness to racial inequality and injustice. Famous poets like Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes began to give a voice to African Americans. For example, in Maya Angelou’s, “Still, I Rise,” she speaks of overcoming her oppressors as a woman and expresses a great amount of self-love and self-worth. In Hughes’s poem, “I, Too,” he states that he is an equal and emphasizes that being black does not degrade your beauty which allows the readers to feel empowered. Angelou and Hughes used similar means to raise awareness and fight for their rights through literature, even though, Maya Angelou’s poem, “Still I Rise,” also states the issue of sexism and Hughes’s poem, “I, Too,” just focuses more on equality.
... a recurring theme of the dream of equality. Hughes composed many poems and plays during the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights Era, and his legacy continues to be evident throughout American culture. His words inspired many, and showcased the plight of African-Americans in that era. Hughes’ impact was memorable because he lead African-Americans into writing, much like other distinguished African-American authors of the Harlem Renaissance period. His voice was heard above most other authors of the 1920’s and 30’s, and he expressed his wishes for improved treatment of the black race and the eradication of segregation in the United States with lyrical, thought-provoking poetry and symbolic dramas. Hughes inspired many writers and social activists after him, and continues to be a prominent figure in the general and literary achievements in African-American history.
Margaret Walker was born on July 7, 1915 in Birmingham, Alabama to Reverend Sigismund C. Walker and Marion Dozier Walker (Gates and McKay 1619). Her father, a scholarly Methodist minister, passed onto her his passion for literature. Her mother, a music teacher, gifted her with an innate sense of rhythm through music and storytelling. Her parents not only provided a supportive environment throughout her childhood but also emphasized the values of education, religion, and black culture. Much of Walker’s ability to realistically write about African American life can be traced back to her early exposure to her black heritage. Born in Alabama, she was deeply influenced by the Harlem Renaissance and received personal encouragement from Langston Hughes. During the Depression, she worked for the WPA Federal Writers Project and assists Richard Wright, becoming his close friend and later, biographer. In 1942, she was the first African American to win the Yale Younger Poets award for her poem For My People (Gates and McKay 1619). Her publishing career halted for...
Leonard, K. D. (2009). African American women poets and the power of the word. The Cambridge Companion to African American Women's Literature, 168-187.
Even as a child, Thelma Lucille Sayles, or Lucille Clifton, realized how notable African Americans were. However, throughout her lifetime, Clifton has encountered discrimination against her race on multiple occasions, but her poetry, for both adults and children, show resilience against any racist remarks made. With a heavy influence from growing up in an African-American household and experiencing the Civil Rights Movement, Lucille Clifton’s writings focus on the importance of African Americans, especially women, in communities (Hine 1-3).
Due to the time period she wrote in, Angelou would be criticized for her ability to write, “without apology,” of the fearful life she lived. However, now that is the reason as to why her work is so highly praised. Yet, critics feel as if Angelou’s work is simply overused and not appreciated for what it truly is. Instead of looking at Angelou as a poet, people look at her as an, “inspirational public speaker,” and can often be found on the front of a, “Hallmark greeting card,” instead of the pages in a textbook. Angelou doesn’t really show this criticism in her work but she does represent the criticism she received as African American woman poet in her time period. She often would discuss how people would misuse her race and treat them like nothing, and, “may trod” them “in the very dirt.” But despite these harsh criticisms of her work, Angelou continued writing of her struggles, and brought to life the hardships she had to face whilst living in this time period, which in the end, become what she was most critically acclaimed for, and the reason that out of the, “huts of history’s shame,” she conquered the fears, not only of her past, but of saying the words she used to be afraid to say.
She says “writing can be an expression of one 's innermost feelings. It can allow the reader to tap into the deepest recesses of one 's heart and soul. It is indeed the gifted author that can cause the reader to cry at her words and feel hope within the same poem. Many authors as well, as ordinary people use writing as a way to release emotions.” She makes plenty points in her review that I completely agree with. After reading the poem I think that Elizabeth Barret Browning is not only the author of her famous poem, but also the speaker as well. She is a woman simply expressing her love for her husband in a passionate way through poetry. In the 1st Line it reads “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” A woman drunk in love she is, and next she begins to count the numerous ways she can love her significant