A poem that embodies the Harlem Renaissance is the poem “Noblesse Oblige” by Jessie Redmond Faucet. Reflecting the change in the culture of African Americans caused by the Great Migration. The poem itself is a first person reflection in regards to a woman who “attires my hair”(line 1). A woman who has lost her lover, either by the hands of death or her lover left her for another. Throughout the piece the author uses a rhyme scheme that contributes to the beat of the poem. With a natural progression and tone throughout the first half. However, the second half while maintaining a melancholy feel was even less upbeat. The speaker explains the ways that she hides her true emotions and how she in turn is downtrodden because Lolette hides her pain …show more content…
Although, n the outside looking in the poem appears long and drawn out. However, once the reader becomes invested it passes by in the blink of an eye. The narrative as touched upon earlier is melancholy with few tonal shifts. The story is in essence one of love and loss. The woman who attires the speaker’s hair has lost her love. The way in which she loses him is not specified but it has cut her deeply. Even going as far as to say in lines 9-10, “May you never know, Mam’selle,/ Love’s harsh cruelty.” Implying that she still holds a spark for her lost love and that the pain that causes her is something she would never wish upon anyone. Unfortunately, the speaker has already been pierced by love’s dart. She hides the pain with a smile and the ways she acts as if nothing is wrong. Once the moon and stars are above her the facade melts away. The speaker then brings up the difference between her and Lolette, the woman who attires the speaker’s hair, While the speaker hides her feelings of love deep inside her, Lolette on the other hand, lets her heart out to the world, although her agony and pain is still unknown in their full