poem analysis The poem "Lines" written by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, published in the mid 19th century deals with the topic, how slavery has brought hate and destruction in the world. Interestingly enough, the poem was published in the time of slavery, so Harper kind of reflected back, how slavery has managed its way into the world. The author's aim is to illustrate lively, how hateful and destructive slavery is. Her goal is to stop slavery. First of alll, the poem is divided into nine stanzas, where each one has four lines. In addition to that, one can spot a few enjambements for instance (l.9-10). This stylistic device has the function to support the flow of the poem. Furthermore, it is crucial to take a look at the choice of words, when analysing the language. Due to the fact that the words being used are rather aggressive, violent, fearful and offensive, the author illustrates the cruel character of slavery and is creating a fearful atmosphere. Added to that, nowadays the words used can be seen as quite archaic. It goes without saying that the poem is written in the past tense, because the author tries to create a background story, why slavery exists and so she reports something from the past. …show more content…
One can take the word "character" quite literally, because in this poem there are three personifications, which leads me to the stylistic devices. Firstly, the hateful slavery is personficated as someone pledging the future to give her a chance to spread hate and to strike terror into people's hearts. Secondly, the future is oppossed to slavery personficated as someone very weak who cannot defend himself against the slavery and has to give in. Thirdly, the crisis stands next to the future and is asked what kind of crisis is now
It’s important to literature because if the reader didn’t have the perspective of an actual slave, nobody would know what slavery actually did. Literature is written in many ways and styles. During his time, Frederick Douglass’s works and speeches attracted many people’s attention. With the amount of works and speeches Douglass has given, it has influenced many other writers to express themselves more freely. Though Douglass lived a rigorous childhood, he still made it the best that he could, with the guidance and teaching of one of his slave owner’s wife he was able to read and write, thus allowing him to share his life stories and experiences.
The poem, “My Great-Grandfather’s Slaves” by Wendell Berry, illustrates the guilt felt for the sins of a man’s ancestors. The poem details the horror for the speaker’s ancestors involvement in slavery and transitions from sympathy for the slaves to feeling enslaved by his guilt. Berry uses anaphora, motif, and irony, to express the speaker’s guilt and provide a powerful atmosphere to the poem.
Because the poem is written in two different formats it causes readers to want to know more from both perspectives. If reading the poem from the slave owners perspective the mood of the poem, revolves around happier times. Slavery is showcased to be a time of possibility and better times for everyone involved. But when reading it from the slave’s perspective, it is told from the business element. Although it is clear, they do not enjoy their job, you also see that they are overly dedicated. In the beginning, they state that they work from sun-up to sun-down doing the same thing every day. And although, they are doing the same thing every day their determination and hard work is clearly shown. Furthermore, it is also shown that even at a young age they started working as slaves. From the slave owner’s perspective, we see that they are content with how things were during slavery. But from slave side they are fed up with being viewed as a profit. Therefore, the two separate moods are clearly shown. However, one thing that is interesting is that both poems end with the same word “slavery”. The fact that both poems ended using the same word, show how although they are living in two separate worlds somehow they still will collide. It also shows, that although they have two different moods it all ties back to the word
At the beginning of each chapter there is an 18th century letter, memoir, and/or other historical document to show irony. The author quotes a letter from Ben Franklin, a slave owner, complaining about the costs and downsides of owning a slave. For another chapter it is about Mr. Lockton beating his wife for insubordination. There is a letter, before the chapter, saying “Among all the species and degrees of slavery that have excited the attention of mankind…there is perhaps none more pitiable then that of the ill-sooted wife. She is bound by ties from which nothing but death can release her, and whatever her suffering and her wrong is compelled by delicacy and a regard for personal reputation…to submit them in silence, and conceal them from observation.”
The book Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass can be interpreted in many ways. It is an autobiography that details Douglass’s experiences while he was enslaved. However, it is evident that he has been forced to censor the content of his narrative. Douglass mentions more than once that he is not able to say everything he desires. Moreover, on the surface the book is about the harshness of his life as a slave, but on a deeper level Douglass uses irony to give a compelling criticism of the institution of slavery. In his account he gives sarcastic descriptions of the privileges the slaves receive and what it looks like for slaves to be treated well. Nevertheless, both techniques of writing are effective
In this narrative, Douglass describes his life as a slave in ways that is brutalizing and dehumanizing. He wants his readers to understand that concept. By doing this, Douglass writes, “I was seized with a violent aching of the head, attended with extreme dizziness; I trembled in every limb” (416). Douglass uses diction such as seized, aching, extreme dizziness, and trembled to help create a picture of the pain he had felt during his experiences of being a slave for Mr. Covey. Another example is when he writes, “I told him as well as I could, for I scarce had strength to speak. He then gave me a savage kick in the side, and told me to get up I tried to do so, but fell back in the attempt. He gave me another kick, and again told me to rise. I again tried, and succeeded in gaining my feet; but stooping to get the tub with which I was feeding the fan, I again staggered and fell” (416-17). Words like scarce, savage, and staggered place imagery into the reader’s minds of what he went through as a slave. One other way that Douglass shows how his words emphasize the message is when he writes, “The blood was yet oozing from the wound on my head. For a time I thought I should bleed to death; and think now that I should have done so, but that the blood so matted my hair as to stop the w...
In relation to the novel, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass’s disobedience ultimately sparked his freedom. Being introduced to the “heart-rending shrieks” from his aunt at such a young age, slavery implanted a long-lasting effect on his life. Often times, when one experiences a painful memory in the manner such as watching a family member hit until they are covered with blood, sparks a fire to stand up for what is right in the back of their mind. Douglass carried those visions of his aunt along with him his whole life, as well as his own repulsive
“He would whip her to make her scream, and whip her to make her hush.” (5) From the following quote, we can see how Douglass made use of a paradox to show how the slave owners used more brutal force to subjugate and hush the slave. It shows an irony as well to the fact that the slave owners used a more brutal force to silence the slave from further moanings or complaints. Douglass uses this to show how the slave owners had a sense of pleasurement from the punishment they gave to the slaves, as the slave owners viewed the slaves as tools, not even considered to be a human being. Colonel Llyod Douglass’s slave owner is shown in this example for the punishments the conditions he treated his slaves with. Colonel Llyod is shown to have no sympathy in which shows how the minds corrupted by slavery could influence the human mind to believe the slaves as nothing more than just dispensable tools to only work for the benefits. Douglass then uses his past experience to depict the harshness of slavery “Their songs revealing the highest joy and the deepest sadness.” (13) Douglass uses a sadistic diction, to further persuade the reader to show how the slaves were trapped in their illusion without education. During this time, slaves only knew a common language to use singing as a form of entertainment. Without education, it prevented several great people and thinkers to develop and arise, but Frederick Douglass being the special case has given the reader a first-hand viewpoint on his experience and opinion on
After reading Frederick Douglass’s narrative of slavery, I couldn’t help but stop and try to gather my thoughts in any way possible. It was not the first time I had read the narrative, but this time around Douglass’s words hit me much harder. Perhaps, it was that I read the narrative in a more critical lens, or possibly it was just that I am older and more mature now from the last time I read it, but whatever the reason, I can confidently say reading the narrative has changed my heart and opened my eyes in many ways. I have always been aware of the injustices that slavery encompassed and of course like many other people, I have been taught about slavery in a historical narrative my entire life. But, Frederick Douglass’s narrative does more than just provide a historical perspective in seeing the injustices in slavery. His narrative asks the reader to look directly into the eyes of actual slaves and realize their very heart beat and existence as humans. Douglass humanizes the people of whom the terrible acts we acted upon that we learn about as early as elementary school. It is because of this that I decided to write this poem. Reading the narrative made me really think about Douglass’s journey and the story he tells on his road to freedom. I felt as if he was really speaking to me and, and in turn I wanted to give Douglass a voice in my own writing.
Frederick Douglass had moved into a new mistresses home who had never known of slavery. While she had initially taught him to read, fed him well, and looked upon him like an equal human being, she eventually forbade him from reading and whipped him at her husband’s request. The kind woman he had known became inhumane and degrading because that was required to maintain the unwarranted power over slaves.
The selection of detail and diction after the shift become more harsh and resentful. Through the use of words like “staggered”, “relief”, and “immense”(39, 40) he shifts his tone from hopeful to one of tiredness. Douglass’ use of worn diction here shows how even though people may have hope they will still have to deal with the great amount of oppression they are put through until freedom. The selection of detail changes to contain more graphic images of harm. The inclusion of the “...blow upon the head...” creating a wound in which “...blood ran freely...”(40) builds upon the tired diction to create an image of the horrors the slaves are put through. This images evokes an emotional appeal which saddens the audience provoking them to put an end to these atrocities. The tired diction and harsh selection of details connect in another way through the idea that the more tired a slave is the less work they will be able to do, with less work leading to more suffering caused by their master. This idea allows this connection between the diction and selection of details to be meaningful and to emphasize the flaws of slavery. Both the change in diction and change in detail create a change in tone which shifts to one of fatigued suffering. This new tone illustrates the hardships oppressed people go through on their journey to freedom. This contrast in tone created in this passage allows the ideas
To those songs I trace my first glimmering conception of the dehumanizing character of slavery. [Ch. 2, p. 47.] Douglass is speaking here of the songs he used to hear on Colonel Lloyd’s plantation. When he was a slave he was more sensitive to this music than any other parts of slavery. They had always filled him with sadness even after he became free. He starts to realize as a young boy after hearing these songs, just how bitter and depressed slavery makes a person. It is at this point where he can first recall slavery as inhumane. (2nd) The slaveholders have been known to send in spies among their slaves, to ascertain their views and feelings in regard to their condition. (1st) The frequency of this has had the effect to establish among the slaves the maxim, that a still tongue makes a wise head. [Ch. 3, p. 50.] Frederick as well as the other slaves learned some of the horrible tricks the masters could play on them. One example is the way the slaves spend holidays. The masters like to ...
In relation to structure and style, the poem contains six stanzas of varying lengths. The first, second, and fourth stanzas
The most significant and analyzed lines of the poem are the last two, the lines
The poem consists of 33 lines, which are divided into seven stanzas. Six of seven stanzas have four lines, whereas the last stanza has nine lines. Moreover, the poem has an alternate rhyme, although there are some exceptions to it. The metre used in the poem is trochee.