“The best of humanity 's recorded history is a creative balance between horrors endured and victories achieved, and so it was during the Harlem Renaissance" (Aberjhani). "A Black Man Talks of Reaping" and "From the Dark Tower" are poems that tugged on the heart strings of African Americans everywhere. Both poems dealt with the harsh reality of racial prejudice in America and shared the hope of overcoming it. Although the two poems "A Black Man Talks of Reaping" and "From the Dark Tower" by Arna Bontemps and Countee Cullen are different in purpose, they are similar in theme, tone, and extended metaphor.
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
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Bontemps tone throughout his poem expresses frustration towards the oppression of the African American race by white society. The tone in line 7 and 8: "But for all my reaping only what the hand / Can hold at once is all that I can show" suggests that he has endured racial prejudice in his lifetime and that he is tired of living in an unjust system. Bontemps expresses in the lines 9 through 12 of his poem, sorrow that despite all his efforts today, his children will endure the same racial prejudices he has endured. Similar to Bontemps poem, Cullen expresses anger and a feeling of frustration that African Americans are being taken advantage of. Cullen 's tone throughout his poem also expresses pride in his people as seen in line 1: "We shall not always plant while others reap". This pride in his people expresses Cullen 's belief that change is inevitable and that one day African Americans will not have to live in fear of …show more content…
In the Bontemps poem, he uses the metaphor of reaping and harvesting to express the bitterness felt by African Americans in a racist America. The metaphor explains that no matter how hard African Americans work, their reward will always be less than that of a White American. Bontemps feels that African Americans have labored long and hard enough for White Americans, and that it is time for all Americans to receive equal reward for equal work. In lines 11 and 12 Bontemps says "Small wonder then my children glean in fields / They have not sown, and feed of bitter fruit." These lines are a great example of the extended metaphor used throughout Bontemps poem, and show that he believes that no matter how hard he works to bring change, his children have already tasted the "bitter fruit" (line 12) of racial prejudice. Cullen also uses the extended metaphor of reaping and harvesting as evident in lines 1 and 2: "We shall not always plant while others reap / The golden increment of bursting fruit". Cullen uses these lines to express his pride in his race and to promote equality. He also says "So in the dark we hide the heart that bleeds, / And wait, and tend our agonizing seeds" (lines 13 and 14) to say that change will not happen overnight and that the wait for equality will be painful and
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.
While discussing the slaves Berry says, “ I see them go in the bonds of my blood,”(31). This shows that blood signifies the bloodline to his ancestry, by using the word blood the author provides a powerful message of how close he is to his ancestors. The next use of the word blood is in the most powerful stanza of the poem. Berry concluded the poem with, “ I am owned by the blood of all of them/who ever were owned by my blood.”(39-40). This quote uses blood as the connection between the blood spilled by his ancestors, and the blood of his ancestors existing within him. Berry’s use of blood as a motif provides a strong statement about the speaker’s connection to his ancestors and their
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.
Black people held a very bitter perspective of the white people that lived in Medallion because of the way the white people treated them. From the very beginning of the story where the slave got the land from his master, the master had tricked the slave into picking the top of the hill because the farming conditions were worse. Over t...
In the second and last stanza of the poem we are reminded that he was but a child. The thought of losing the berries “always made him feel like crying” the thought of all that beauty gone so sour in the aftermath of lust. The lack of wisdom in younger years is emphasized by the common childish retort of “It wasn’t fair.” He kept up the childish hope that this time would be different, that this time the berries would keep and that the lust, work, and pain might not have been in vain, that others would not “glut” upon what he desired.
...is presented in a way that “blacks or whites can draw admonition from the subject” (1) . Another perspective from Revell is that the poem presents itself in terms of passionate personal regret. Revell believes that Dunbar felt guilty because he allowed himself to be bound to the “ plantation lifestyle” (1). The plantation life style internal anguish and agony the blacks went through as slaves. Some blacks have moved on from it, but some continue to use slavery as an excuse to not progress in life. It should be noted that Revell draws the most attention to the middle of the poem. The poem itself is masked because it never specifically says who its linked too, even though most would infer that it is linked to the black race. Revell concludes that Dunbar left aside the preconceived image of what it meant to be black in America, and spoke “only from his heart” (1) .
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:
Harper begins the poem by detailing the start of the speaker’s relationship with a man, developing it through the use of metaphor and concrete diction. From the first few lines of the poem, the reader learns that the relationship was destined to be futile through Harper’s use of metaphor: “If when standing all alone/ I cried for bread a careless world/ pressed
...t like hopes springing high’ this suggests the simile of nature which is used to describe oppression which also tells us that oppression will not last forever. Benjamin Zephaniah on the other hand uses a strange west indies accent, he uses patois (Jamaican slang) combined with phonetic spellings to tell us about his experiences “I am not de problem but I bear de brunt” he is showing us that he is not the problem but he has to bear the burden of being called the problem. Benjamin Zephaniah is creating this image where he is being put down, he is showing us that racism is still an on -going issue.
As Carter opens the poem, he tells how at this point in his life, he still has this essential want for things his own father presented him growing up. In the beginning, he expresses he has this “…pain [he] mostly hide[s], / but [that] ties of blood, or seed, endure” (lines 1-2). These lines voice how he longs for his father and just how painful it is without him at his side. In addition, he still feels “the hunger for his outstretched hand” (4) and a man’s embrace to take [him] in” (5). Furthermore, Carter explains how this “pain” he “feel[s] inside” (3) are also due to his “need for just a word of pr...
Overall, this poem is used to compare an African American to a cypress tree in a positive manner, which is evergreen and always pointing upwards. The time frame in which Angelina Weld Grimke wrote this in was a difficult time to live in. Only recently had African Americans received their rights, and even then, other races, more prominently, caucasians were hateful towards them. Although not lengthy, this poem manages to successfully capture the enduring strength that African Americans held during this difficult time period by simply comparing them to a strong cypress
During this era African Americans were facing the challenges of accepting their heritage or ignoring outright to claim a different lifestyle for their day to day lives. Hughes and Cullen wrote poems that seemed to describe themselves, or African Americans, who had accepted their African Heritage and who also wanted to be a part of American heritage as well. These are some of the things they have in common, as well as what is different about them based on appearance, now I shall focus on each author individually and talk about how they are different afterwards.
Lyric poetry has always expressed both personal and emotional feelings. In the poem “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” we find a woman who is caught in the customs and culture of her time, an abused wife who knows that there is no way out of her situation. Rich uses the symbolism of the colorful tigers in the tapestry as the antithesis of who Aunt Jennifer is: they are strong, confident, and self assured; things she might dream of but will never be. In the second stanza we see Aunt Jennifer struggling to pull an ivory needle through the fabric as she works on the tapestry. The pull of the needle symbolizes the oppression Aunt Jennifer feels in her daily life as she is weighed down by / “The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band / Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand.” Even in death, Aunt Jennifer cannot be free of the subjugation she has faced during her life time. However, her unspoken hopes and dreams will live on in the tapestry she has created / “The tigers in the panel that she made / Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.
The poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” symbolically connects the fate of the speaker of the poem and his African American community to the indestructible and powerful force on Earth- the river. The river embodies both power and dominance but also a sense of comfort. The poem is a prime example of the message of hope and perseverance to anyone who has suffered or is currently suffering oppression and inequality in their lives and in society. The speaker in the poem pledges to the reader that with hard-work, determination, and willpower to succeed, he will get where he is going regardless of the obstacles and challenges he may face on his path of reaching his goals in life.
In conclusion, the three poems share the same theme throughout them. The theme of strength and unity can be seen as a commonality between three different poems. Written by prominent black writers, these poems can be seen as a message for garnering a unification through the strength of black