Ntozake Shange's For Colored Girls who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow is Enuf

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Recommended: Excerpt from "for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf" (1976) by ntozake shange (b. 1948)

For Colored Girls who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow is Enuf: Style

and Theme

For Colored Girls who Have Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow is Enuf

is a piece of work written by Ntozake Shange. It is written in an unusual style

that is called a choreopoem. This style is very effective when done by a

skilled poet such as Shange. She uses a combination of rhyming lyrics and a

play like format to captivate the reader. The subject matter of her work is very

powerful as well. The entire collection revolves around how black women are

oppressed and their courage throughout many trials. Using the combination of a

unique style and riveting content Ntozake Shange sends a message of hope and

pride to her fellow black women in her work For Colored Girls who Have

Considered Suicide/ When the Rainbow is Enuf.

First of all, Shange writes in the form a choreopoem. A choreopoem is a

piece of work that is written as a poem but is intended to be acted out on stage

sort of like an opera. It is constructed in such a way that it flows just as

well on paper as it does on stage. She either writes in all capital letters or

all lower case letters and never mixes them. This creates a style that she is

personally known for. It sets her apart from other writers and makes her work

original. None of the characters have names or any type of identity except for

the color of their clothes. When the piece is done o...

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