ipl-logo

The Proletariat Speaks By Alice Dunbar-Nelson Summary

462 Words2 Pages

I chose the poem The Proletariat Speaks by Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson for my piece of Harlem Renaissance Art. There were several famous male black writers of this era and fewer known women. I had to dig to find more than a couple of poems by black women poets during this time. When I found this poem I was immediately awestruck by her ability. Her title choice, startling contrasts and theme spoke volumes about race and social class not only in the era she wrote but also today. Her title says the proletariat has something to say. The word proletariat is a term for the class of wage earners in a capitalist society, who’s only significant material value is their body, their power to labor and that of their offspring, also expected to toil for the benefit of the bourgeois. The title of her poem speaks to a class of people who are the “have-nots” who have something needing to be heard. She was speaking on behalf of the black people, in this case the wide difference between what one has and one desires. …show more content…

She spins amazing oil paintings in my mind with each carefully crafted word. Whether she is referring to the velvet lawn or the acrid smells of rotting garbage, we can feel each opposing life. Her poem speaks to the injustice of race and class inequality. The vast wealth of the upper class white people in contrast to the inferior standards of living the black commoners must endure are worlds apart, yet she can imagine every little detail of the life she would love. It is ironic that the bourgeois are not able to do the same and have no desire to try with rare exceptions. Their money is made on the backs of these very people who they consider nothings. Dunbar-Nelson speaks of loving the lavish sights, smells and surroundings of what she could have never

Show More
Related
246 Words | 1 Pages

These two worlds are brought together when Olds reveals their identities that paint different portraits. Furthermore, Olds writes:”And he is black and I am white, and without meaning or trying and I must profit from his darkness.” This point of the poem presents a shift because readers realize the relationship. This woman states that

Read More
1809 Words | 8 Pages

The different key features also plays an important role for example the tone that is being formed by the lyrical voice that can be seen as a nephew or niece. This specific poem is also seen as an exposition of what Judith Butler will call a ‘gender trouble’ and it consist of an ABBA rhyming pattern that makes the reading of the poem better to understand. The poem emphasizes feminist, gender and queer theories that explains the life of the past and modern women and how they are made to see the world they are supposed to live in. The main theories that will be discussed in this poem will be described while analyzing the poem and this will make the poem and the theories clear to the reader. Different principals of the Feminist Theory.

Read More
162 Words | 1 Pages

Sharon Olds describes the man across her in a way that the reader can imagine his physique and infer on his way of life. Lines in the poem like “his feet are huge” and the “cold look of the muger”. “I am white, and without meaning or trying to i must profit from his darkness”. These lines give the reader a

Read More
459 Words | 2 Pages

This becomes evident in a lack of information about the type of society, and the reader therefore lacks a complete understanding of how the women are oppressed. As a whole, this poem sets forth the idea that female gender is fluid, and asks its readers to questions what it means to be a woman in a male dominant

Read More
641 Words | 3 Pages

The poem is written about a black childhood experience, from a black perspective, specifically from the perspective of a black woman. The work has no notable structure or Eurocentric form, it is also devoid of punctuation, nor is there any capitalization, allowing the poem to flow in a way that makes it sound conversational. The poem begins with the line, “childhood remembrances are always a drag” (Giovanni, 1). The beginning of the poem foreshadows the struggle of a young black girls childhood. Essentially the poem focuses on what the outcome would be if a black woman, who grew up poor, were to have her biography written by a white person if she were to “become famous or something (5)”.

Read More
168 Words | 1 Pages

The poem I chose was “Note on Commercial Theater” by Langston Hughes. This addresses the issues of identity. Langston wrote about people taking away his “spirituals” and changing the music,plays, and other creations originating from african americans. In the poem Langston say one day somebody will talk and write about him and about his experience. I think this poem is about the hardship of working to create something meaningful then having a different person change it or adapt it.

Read More
878 Words | 4 Pages

The poet “grew and matured” as she became older who had experience such tragedy in her past. She was inspired by her grandmother to fight for their rights of freedom, to “scream” at the

Read More
442 Words | 2 Pages

The poem that I found most interesting was “Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes. This poem is written in a narrative style. The narrator is a young 22 year old black male college student in Harlem whose white instructor has given the assignment to go home and write something that is from himself and true. I identify with this poem because I was also once a 22 year old black male in Harlem. Although the time period between the two of us is more than a decade I am still able to identify with being in situations where I am the only black male in the room.

Read More
794 Words | 4 Pages

It’s detailed like a memory and provides the audience of just one incidence the narrator was able to recollect. The poem’s main focus is to take a little look into the disparity between traditional feminine

Read More
158 Words | 1 Pages

My favorite poem reading was "Negro" by Langston Hughes. As an African-American, this poem reflects the plight of the struggle of African-Americans from the past to the present. This poem resonated with me because I can remember my grandfather sitting back in his rocking chair saying before we were called African-Americans we were said to be a negro. This poem should be read not only by individuals with African roots but all nationalities because prejudice is still a part of American society. There is a sense in the poem of black people having an ear for music.

Read More
496 Words | 2 Pages

There are similes in this poem like “dumb as dog he listened” and “ hair like moldy hay”. There are also metaphors such as “the wind was a torrent of darkness” and “the road was a ribbon of moonlight”. Another reason I feel it is a masterpiece poem is because it has a lot of imagery such as “the landlord’s black-eyed daughter, bess, the landlord’s daughter, Plaiting a dark red love knot into her long black hair.” This stanza causes me to imagine what she looked like. It also has a lot of descriptive words.

Read More
1225 Words | 5 Pages

In Phillis Wheatley’s To S.M., a Young African Painter, the reader can easily assume that Wheatley is expressing her opinion on the beauty of Scipio Moorhead’s paintings. The poem seems to discuss Wheatley’s appreciation for another African-American artist like herself. However, after looking closely at word choice, visual imagery, and deviation from the rhyme scheme one can see that there is much more going on in this poem. Wheatley addresses not only her thoughts on S.M.’s works, but also religion, immortality, race, and freedom. Looking at this poem more in-depth is important because it will allow the reader to better understand the poem’s meaning.

Read More
1215 Words | 5 Pages

The poem begins with the speaker looking at a photograph of herself on a beach where the “sun cuts the rippling Gulf in flashes with each tidal rush” (Trethewey l. 5-7). The beach is an area where two separate elements meet, earth and water, which can represent the separation of the different races that is described during the time that her grandmother was alive and it can also represent the two races that are able to live in harmony in the present day. The clothing that the two women wear not only represent how people dressed during the different time periods, but in both the photographs of the speaker and her grandmother, they are seen standing in a superman-like pose with their hands on “flowered hips” (Trethewey l. 3,16). The flowers on the “bright bikini” (Trethewey l. 4) are used to represent the death of segregation, similar to how one would put flowers on a loved one’s grave, and on the “cotton meal sack dress” (Trethewey l. 17) it is used to symbolize love and peace in a troubled society.

Read More
1131 Words | 5 Pages

It is an acrostic poem in which the first letter or syllable of each line or stanza spells out a word, message or alphabet. She uses this to brazenly proclaim her adulation for Jamaica as she does not seek to conceal the message but make it seen. The poem encapsulates the natural, untouched magnificence of Jamaica in a way that is sprightlier and brighter than the blues and whites of “Cameo.” As an alternative of a peaceful haven, Jamaica is depicted as a tropical utopia populated by colours that makes a visitor or home body never want to leave its comforting

Read More
486 Words | 2 Pages

I think that this was her main goal with this poem as well. It is stating about how when they finally do get equal rights, will they jump at the opportunity, or shy away in fear of change? I think that it is really interesting how she could relate this to her own life along with ours, even though it would be many years into the future. Personification is a main literary device used in this poem. She often refers to the sun as a person.

Read More

More about The Proletariat Speaks By Alice Dunbar-Nelson Summary

Related Topics

Open Document