The Poem Mr. T By Terrance Hayes

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What is the poem about? Describe the action of the poem. Terrance Hayes’ poem, Mr. T is about a 1980’s pop icon and it describes his place in African American history. The poem starts out describing Mr. T but it soon becomes stern when it asks serious questions and then answers mockingly about this pop icons absurdity. Who is the speaker of the poem? It is not the author necessarily. What can you tell about the speaker from the poem? The speaker of the poem doesn’t necessarily have to be the author, but the author has very straight forward views. He poses questions about the Hollywood hero being a valid pop icon or a crazy role model. Possibly he looked up to Mr. T when growing up, “What were we, the skinny B-boys, to learn from him?” But

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