The Revolution Will Not Be Televised Summary

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The Civil rights movement in the 60’s faced many challenges, one of them being the lack of media coverage. However, the coverage failed to shine a substantial amount of light on the issues at hand. Advertisements and tv-shows did not change, and they did not show any support. Even though the revolution was taking place, the messages of the movement were not adequately conveyed to the public. In 1971, Gil Scott-Heron wrote a poem regarding this issue. His poem “ The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” seeks to convey the literal meaning of the title; that the revolution will simply not be televised and even though it is very real and affecting a massive amount of people, it will not garner the attention in media that it deserves. Scott-Heron …show more content…

The whole song is built on a repeating title “ The Revolution Will not be Televised” and constant reminder of what the revolution will not be. Due to the substantial amount of repetition throughout the poem, one cannot avoid the feeling that every word uttered it true. In addition, coupled with the usage of repetition, allusion is present within the poem. For instance, an example of this can be found towards the end of the poem where he states, “ The revolution will not go better with Coke. The revolution will not fight the germs that may cause bad breath”. With every repetition, a new element that the revolution does not represent, is brought into the light and perpetually emphasizes the message of the poem. Similar, to the previous poem discussed, the poem Let America Be America Again, written by Langston Hughes in 1935, is an account of the American Dream, that, according to Hughes, never occurred. It also delves into issues of equality and freedom. The poem not only focuses on minorities and their struggles, but also the economically disadvantaged and immigrants who suffer from social bias and unfair treatment. As well, touches upon various issues and events that were prominent at the time, and American society …show more content…

Rhyme is used in lines 2 and 4 with words 'be' and 'free'; in lines 6 and 8 with words 'dreamed' and 'schemed'; so on and so forth. Strong metaphors, like in the line 'I am the worker sold to the machine', produces a strong effect and imagery of the struggles the worker undergoes.The most powerful and hopeful proclamation comes towards the end of the poem, where the narrator cries to all sufferers and asks them to rise up against the current circumstances, and strive to build the America of their dreams. He believes that America can be improved, ending the poem on a high and optimistic

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