ipl-logo

The Harlem Dancer Poem Analysis

706 Words3 Pages

Poems can be analyzed in various ways ranging from their complexity to the emotions they convey to readers. The poems, “The Weary Blues” by Langston Hughes and “The Harlem Dancer” by Claude McKay will be analyzed based on their similarities and differences to name a few. The poems may describe different events; however the overall connection between the two can be identified by readers with deeper reading. Comparisons between the poems may easier to analyze and identify compared to the contrasts based on the reader’s perception. Overall, the concept and much more will reveal how the poems are connected and special in their own way.
“The Weary Blues” and “The Harlem Dancer” both have a musical setting placed in a bar where the narrators describe what’s taking place with the use of alliteration. “The Weary Blues” conveys how skilled the piano player is with the quote, “He made that poor piano moan with melody” (Hughes, line 10) compared to “The Harlem Dancer” when they describe the performer’s dancing skills, “She sang and danced on gracefully and calm” (McKay, line 5). The narrators each describe themselves as enjoying the performances taking place in their own poems. The narrator of Hughes’ poem enjoys the performance without the disturbance of others, whereas in McKay’s the narrator is surrounded by others watching the dancer, “Applauding youths …show more content…

The pianist in “The Weary Blues” sings about his pain out loud where anyone could hear him, “I ain’t happy no mo’/and I wish that I had died” (Hughes, lines 29-30). The dancer seems to hide the way she feels behind her dancing and appearance, “But, looking at her falsely smiling face” (McKay, line 13). The dancer may be younger and a woman compared to older pianist but it seems they share the same sadness. The narrators in both works however are able to see the pain and despair that the performers are going

Show More
Related

Claude Mckay's Poem In The Harlem Dancer, And I, Too

978 Words | 4 Pages

Some of the significant subjects were music, literature, poem, and art. The poets Langston Hughes and Claude McKay were some of the most influential poets from the renaissance. The poems “The Harlem Dancer” by Claude McKay and “I, Too” by Langston Hughes will be used to compare and show how two poems form the same era could be similar yet different based on their subject, purpose, style, tone, and rhythm. “I, Too” creates the world where people are treated equally. With so much discrimination and segregation occurring in the 20th century, it was a world that people wished for.

Read More

I Am A Cowboy In The Boat Of Ra Analysis

924 Words | 4 Pages

Comparing and contrasting poems Poetry often takes different forms mainly because different poets have different styles through which they communicate their intended messages. According to Kathy, it is this style that defines the different works by different composers (Kathy 7). This paper hereby seeks to compare and contrast Heaven and I am a cowboy in the boat Ra. The main objective herein is to identify the similarities as well as differences between the two pieces of work.

Read More

Douglass: Wordsworth Vs. Dunbar

430 Words | 2 Pages

In the poems "London, 1802" and "Douglass", although written 100 years apart, they described freedom fighters that fought for justice and equality. Although, the poems differ int he way they are structured and the style that they are written in, both poems were able to commemorate these politcical figures for their important contributions in unique and difficult situations. At first glance, the poems written by Wordworth and Dunbar have many similarities in structure and organization. Both of the poems start off with commemoration of important figures in the past, describe the source of trouble and the poems both end with highlights of the two freedom fighter 's characteristics. The similariteies between the two extend beyond stucture, it goes onto the imagery also.

Read More

Comparing Mckay's The Lynching And The Harlem Dancer

887 Words | 4 Pages

The Harlem Renaissance illustrated the explosion of a new intellectual and artistic vitality among the African American culture in the 1920s. This movement included the beginning of the gradual assimilation of African Americans into a polarized American society among whites. In The Lynching and The Harlem Dancer, Harlem Renaissance poet, Claude McKay, expresses the consequences of African Americans as they attempt to integrate into every day life (diverse syntax). McKay’s poems give two similar examples of discriminatory and obscene actions that a lynching victim and a club dancer must endure. Despite the encouraging atmosphere of the cultural movement, the poet presents the two sonnets in a similar matter to convey the degradation of human

Read More

The Road From Sema Analysis

85 Words | 1 Pages

Have you ever thought about how African Americans achieved ability to register and vote for their rights? That is explained by Selma, which was a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. After the historic demonstrations there were multiple poems about what occurred. A few examples of poems written about Selma include “The Road From Selma” written by June Brindel and “Selma 1965” written by Gloria Larry House. It is interesting to see the same event written by two different people, it led to better

Read More

History Lesson Poem Analysis

792 Words | 4 Pages

Poetry Analysis Once the poem “History Lesson” was written numerous poetry foundations celebrated it for many reasons. “History Lesson” not only makes an impact on literature today it has also impacted people also. This poem inspires people and moves them to the point to where they can find a personal connection to the poem itself and to the writer. Not only does it hold emotional value for those who were victimized and those whose family were victimized by the laws of segregation, but the poem is also celebrated for its complexity. The poem uses many techniques to appeal to the reader.

Read More

The Paradox By Paul Laurence Dunbar Essay

1375 Words | 6 Pages

Paul Laurence Dunbar was an African American poet in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He became one of the first influential Black poets in American literature, showing much representation for this community. Being born to formerly enslaved parents provided him with first-hand knowledge of the treatment of slaves and African Americans during this time. Much of Dunbar’s work depicts the difficulties of life for African Americans, along with the efforts that were made towards equality. Paul Laurence Dunbar uses symbolism, extended metaphors, and imagery to tell a deeper story throughout his poems “Sympathy”, “The Paradox”, and “In Summer Time.”

Read More

Poem Analysis: Sympathy By Paul Laurence Dunbar

435 Words | 2 Pages

Today, we might take our freedom for granted, but those who do not have freedom, long and pray for it, even if they know it is not possible. In “Sympathy”, poet Paul Laurence Dunbar discusses and sympathizes with the treatment and the feelings of the racial inequality at the time, through the use of symbolism, tone/mood, and rhyme to convey his theme of racism and its effects on the human soul.

Read More

What Is The Mood Of The Poem The White House By Claude Mckay

641 Words | 3 Pages

The Harlem Renaissance, Segregation, and discrimination were all harsh things that were happening towards the African-American race. In this era there was a person who it affected him so much that he had to create inspirational poems about it, that person was Claude McKay. McKay had to suffer from many of harsh and racial things in his life. While writing his poems McKay uses imagery in it while he is describing America. Most of his poems were sonnets.

Read More

What Is The Tone Of My Papa's Waltz

531 Words | 3 Pages

In this poem all the son sees is battered knuckles on his father with “palms caked hard by dirt.” This paints a description of an abusive father that does not love his son because if he did love his son he would not hurt him. The father is first introduced with “whiskey on his breath” (line 1) which can be inferred that he is an alcoholic and this creates a negative image that the reader can see and even smell. The son though seems to notice all this, but still seems to love his father and admire him. The waltz represents a repetitive step and in the poem the waltz is his father’s constant abuse and interrupts the sweet idealistic dance.

Read More

The Negro Speaks Of Rivers Analysis

1409 Words | 6 Pages

Langston Hughes poems “Harlem” and “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” are two poems that have a deeper meaning than a reader may notice. Hughes 's poem “Harlem” incorporates the use of similes to make a reader focus on the point Hughes is trying to make. In “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” Hughes shows how close he was to the rivers on a personal level. With those two main focuses highlighted throughout each poem, it creates an intriguing idea for a reader to comprehend. In these particular poems, Hughes’s use of an allusion, imagery, and symbolism in each poem paints a clear picture of what Hughes wants a reader to realize.

Read More

Discrimination In Harlem Renaissance Poetry

817 Words | 4 Pages

Langston Hughes was a poet well known for his Harlem Renaissance poetry. "I, Too" by Langston Hughes is a wonderful example of a piece of poetry from this time period. Hughes speaks of a Negro who is not equal to the whites of the household, and when company comes calling, he is not allowed to sit at the table as their equal but instead has to eat in the kitchen. The powerful tone of the poem shows how much the narrator dislikes this form of discrimination, but is not going to throw too big of a fuss. Instead, he patiently waits for the day when he, too, can sit at the table with whites when company comes calling.

Read More

Jazzonia Poem Analysis

948 Words | 4 Pages

The first of these two lines is a quatrain that highlights the bold eyes of a dancing girl. Additionally, the rhyme scheme is CCDD. A couplet comes after this quatrain and is followed by a quintet. The lines within the quintet include names like “Eve”, who serves as a biblical allusion, and Cleopatra, who serves as a historical allusion. Hughes purposely juxtaposes the “dancing girl” in the quatrain with two prominent women figures to illustrate the transformative effects of jazz.

Read More

Rhetorical Devices In The Negro Speaks Of Rivers By Langston Hughes

1413 Words | 6 Pages

Throughout much of his poetry, Langston Hughes wrestles with complex notations of African American dreams, racism, and discrimination during the Harlem Renaissance. Through various poems, Hughes uses rhetorical devices to state his point of view. He tends to use metaphors, similes, imagery, and connotation abundantly to illustrate in what he strongly believes. Discrimination and racism were very popular during the time when Langston Hughes began to develop and publish his poems, so therefore his poems are mostly based on racism and discrimination, and the desire of an African American to live the American dream. Langston Hughes poems served as a voice for all African Americans greatly throughout his living life, and even after his death.

Read More

Analysis Of Refugee Blues

1115 Words | 5 Pages

The poem Refugee Blues was written by Wilfred. H .Auden in 1939 during World War Two. “Refugees Blues” is in reference to the abuse of human rights and the suffering, despair and isolation that all refugees experience during their journey of survival. The poet uses a range of techniques such as contrast, emotive language and personification to convey the hardship refugees had to endure.

Read More

More about The Harlem Dancer Poem Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document