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Metaphors And Tone In Paul Laurence Dunbar's Poem 'Life'

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Metaphors and Tone
Why is life filled with so much strife? Many writers and poets have asked that same question writing about this topic in an attempt to understand or answer this question. Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem ‘Life” illustrates this. Various poems are written about the struggles of life and the human condition poems such as Hawthorn’s ‘Oh if I could raise the darkened veil’. Paul Laurence Dunbar procures that life has many struggles and he uses metaphor and tone to portray this in his poetry.
The poem ‘Life’ Paul Laurence Dunbar uses metaphor in his poem to show the many struggles of life. “A minute to smile and an hour to weep in.” For example, this quote written by Paul Dunbar shows how the happiness in life only lasts for a moment
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In “Sympathy,” Dunbar imbues metaphors into his poem, depicting an image of what African Americans longed and fought for which is liberty and equality. According to lines 2 & 3, “When the sun is bright on the upland slopes; When the river stirs soft through the springing grass.” The “sun”, “wind”, and “grass” shows what they are missing. “The caged bird” represents the African- Americans at that time because both of them are longing for freedom and equality. As stated in line 11, “When he fain would be on the bough a-swing;” “The caged bird” or the African Americans yearn to be among the other birds or other people and have the same rights.

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For instance, the following lines underscore the limitations of human understanding: "We cannot tell what comes or what may go, / We cannot say why joy or sorrow flows. " This tone creates a sense of existential pondering that permeates the poem. Moreover, Dunbar's utilization of alternative interpretations adds depth to the poem's meaning. The poem can be read as a reflection on the limitations of human knowledge and the inherent mysteries of existence.

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Paul got married to Alice Nelson put only a couple of years after that he got a divorce with his wife. He finally died on February 9, 1906 at the age 33.Themes“That gave me the roses of life, And gave me the roses of love, He gave me the roses of death, My neighbor lives on the hill,And I in the valley dwell,” Paul Laurence Dunbar seems to have a reoccuring theme of death, love, and inequality. The theme of differences is inequality. This is because in the poem it says,” My neighbor lives on the hill, And I in the valley dwell,” which shows that his neighbor is higher in superiority so he must look down on him which is what most white people did to him during his life. “My love goes surging like a river,” shows his love for someone.

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Maya Angelou and Paul Laurence Dunbar were two remarkable poets. Maya Angelou was born in Marguerite Johnson in St Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928. Writer and civil rights activist Maya Angelou is known for her 1969 memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which made literary history as the first nonfiction best-seller of an African-American woman. After experiencing health issues for a number of years, Maya Angelou died on May 28, 2014, at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Paul Laurence Dunbar was born on June 27, 1872.

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Slavery was, and still is one of humanity’s largest issues to date. Oppression is far from overcome, and discrimination because of one’s race is something that most believe will never truly disappear. The poem “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar is a piece of work that highlights the tactics which were used against slaves at the time, yet in a subtle manner. The poem itself is a conceit; one long, extended metaphor, comparing slaves with a caged bird that is unable to fly and be free. The poem utilizes many different literary devices and types of figurative language, such as symbolism, simile, alliteration, imagery, and other sound devices to convey to the readers the true horrors of slavery and what it did to the African Americans.

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A minute to smile and an hour to weep in" is exactly how Paul Lawrence Dunbar begins his poem, "life". In the poem " life" Paul Lawrence Dunbar discusses the sadness in life, but demonstrates how that sadness and emptiness can be overcome with by a bit of happiness you have in your life. Although this is a relatively short poem, it does a great job of portraying the good and the bad that comes with being alive. To get his point across Dunbar uses figurative language to convey the meaning of life.

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