Gwendolyn Brooks The Rites For Cousin Vit

Research Paper and Analysis on Gwendolyn Brooks’s “the mother” and “the rites for Cousin Vit”: An Annotated Bibliography
Bloom, Harold. Gwendolyn Brooks. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2000. Print.
In this book, Harold Bloom provides a critical analysis of the poem, “the mother.” Bloom explains how the poet, Brooks, allows the poem’s persona to embody abortion rather than allow it to be seen as a “quick outpatient operation” (Bloom 15). In addition, Bloom indicates that Brooks “simultaneously” addresses “both pro-choice and pro-life views” (Bloom 15). This allows the audience to perceive “the issue” from both perspectives (Bloom 15).
Brooks, Gwendolyn, and Gloria Jean Wade. Gayles. Conversations with Gwendolyn Brooks. Jackson: U of Mississippi,

It explores the issues that have helped to foster the development of the poet’s writings over the years. An important point that was made in the article is that Brooks adopted a “more open, free-verse style of writing” that was more relatable to the experiences of black persons (Brooks & Ray 88). However, initially, Brooks attempted to use “her artistry and technical skill” to mimic traditional forms of poetry writing, as demonstrated in the poem “the mother”, which was first printed in her collection entitled, A Street in Bronzeville and “the rites for Cousin Vit”, which was first printed in Annie Allen, which made her the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for a “book of poetry” in 1950 (Brooks & Ray

Hughes mentions the fact that modern poetry, such as those produced by Brooks, can be used as a tool to “protest oppressive practices” of sexism and racism, for instance (376). Furthermore, the writer explains how modern feminist poets, such as Brooks, use their poetry to “revise the mentalities” that influence forces of oppression (Hughes 376). In addition, it is important to note that Gwendolyn Brooks uses “high” level “modernist devices” and “anti-heroic perspectives” in her poems to challenge the “priority” given to males and to “explore women’s assigned alterity” (Hughes 376). This point is important when analyzing poems such as “the mother” and “the rites for Cousin Vit” that both have female personas.
Kent, George E. A Life of Gwendolyn Brooks. Lexington, KY: UKY, 1990. Print.
George Kent in his book, A Life of Gwendolyn Brooks, explains how the device of the “elliptical syntax” is used to create the “impact of hyperbole” (Kent 147). Kent mentions that in this poem, Brooks writes in a way that imitates the “pressures of colloquial speech” to further strengthen the “impact” (Kent 147). In doing so, Brooks stresses the point that Cousin Vit was “simply too big and vital”