Blog: Poems of the Harlem Renaissance

Poems of the Harlem Renaissance

1. Author Information: How are these poets similar? How are they different? What was each writer's view on race?
- Similar: They used the different styles of poetry to express their views on racial discrimination. They are part of the Harlem Renaissance.
-Differences:
~ Jean Toomer- used imagery to show his mixed background;influenced by Eastern Philosophy.
~ Countee Cullen- a tool to break down racial borders,made the poem sound the way he       speaks;influenced by romantic Poets.
~ Arna Bontemps: focuses on the theme of dignity and justice;influenced by oral traditions of African Americans.
- View on Race: Jean rejects the idea altogether. Countee thinks that poetry would break down racial barriers. Arna's view was that it would serve dignity and justice.

Guiding Questions:

"Song of the Son" by Jean Toomer

2. Lines 1-5: What aspects of the first stanza reflect the fact that this poem is called a "song" in its title?
- The stanza rhymes and in the 1st it says "Soul in Song". Also the flow and diction on the author makes it sound like a song.
3. Lines 9-10: How are lines 9 and 10 different? What is the impact on meaning of the author's choice?
- Line 9: says that he will return in time.
-Line 10: says that he returned on time.
-It lets the reader know/understand that the he is going and going to be there on time. It shows past and present.
4.Lines 16-23: what metaphor is in these lines? Explain its meaning. What is being compared to what?
- He is comparing the negro slaves to ripened plums, this shows how harsh they are being treated. Like the color of ripened plums when they are squished, I think these are compared to bruises and physical/emotional traits attained from slavery.

"From the Dark Tower" by Countee Cullen

5.Lines 1-8: Explain what problem is presented in this octave?
- It shows social injustice and being lesser than their "brothers". The octave of the poems represents the way the slaves were treated. "Abject and Mute" shows that the slaves were kept quiet and silently serving the brothers who are higher than them. Also the loss of human values are represented in lines 1-8.
6.Lines 9-14: How does the sestet resolve the problem introduced in the octave?
- It resolves this problem by saying that the dark is for hiding our scars and broken hearts but at the same times tend the seeds that are still growing (hope/justice).
7.Lines 1-14: Compare Cullen's poem to "Song of the Son" by Toomer.
-They both are talking about slavery and they both have end rhymes.

"A Black Man Talks of Reaping" by Arna Bontemps

8.Lines 1-8: What injustice is Bontemps discussing via the metaphor of sowing and reaping?
- The African American people would pant and build things but then the whites could just take it all away in a blink of an eye.
9.Lines 9-12: Compare what the speakers in "From the Dark Tower" and "A Black Man Talks of Reaping" say about who will reap the benefit of the seeds sown.
- Both of the poems state that even though the Blacks are tending the seeds, the Whites are the ones that take them away. this represents racial discrimination and inequality.

Comparing Text:

Analyzing Text:

1. Summarize. What is the speaker describing-both literally and figuratively-in "song of the Son"? How do the poem's ideas and images express one or more themes on the topic of African American history?

- The ripened plums. It speaks of the freedom being stripped away and the harsh ways of slavery. And the lost souls of slavery. 

2.Infer. Who is the speaker in "Song of the Son"? In the context of African American culture, what does he represent to the poet?

-It speaks in a third-person point of view. It is a culture that is everlasting and will on go racial discrimination. 

 3.Analyze. In "From the Dark Tower" what does the phrase "golden increment of bursting fruit suggests"?

- It suggests that the fruits that the Negros grow are not just fruits they are worth a lot to them, like the increasing price of gold. 

 4. Analyze. "From the Dark Tower" is written in the form of a Petrarchan sonnet, in which the octave, or first eight lines, presents a problem or challenge , and the final six lines, the sestet, resolves, or comments on the problem. How does Cullen apply this structure to express his message?

- The first eight lines introduce the problem or the bad side of the poem, then the it explains that the problem in a good side. This makes the author read the both sides and find a deeper meaning the poem.

5.Infer. In "A Black Man Talks of Reaping", what does the speaker mean when he says "My brother's sons are gathering stalk and root"? who is the brother? What is the "bitter fruit" at the end of the poem?

- The white are his brother's. They are talking all of the useful fruits and leaving the bitter fruit for the Negro. Meaning that even though the Negros are the ones farming everything, they still get nothing out of it. They are inferior to the whites. 

6.Identify. an extended metaphor is a metaphor that is developed over many lines. Identify an example of extended metaphor in each poem.

- Song of the Son: comparing the slaves to the color of objects (fruits, soil, etc.)

-From the Dark Tower: The slaves hardwork planting seeds

- A black man talks of reaping: The unfairness of making and others taking. 

7. Cite Evidence. How does Toomer's use of repetition-of both lines and important ideas-contribute to the aesthetic impact of "song of the Sun"?

- It shows the aesthetic of it being a song and the flow makes the poem much more meaningful and rhyming.

8.Compare. How do toomer and Cullen use the metaphor of night and darkness to support the themes and ideas they want to express?

- Night and Darkness represents the deepest feelings of the Negros/Slaves. It represents that there is still light in the dark (hope)

9.Synthesize.How would you describe the tone of each poem?

- Each poem has the sad,powerful, yet nostalgic kind of tone. It is like a voice of a person who has been broken a thousand times. 

10. Compare. In what ways might these poems represent different aspects or strains of the Harlem Renaissance? Consider formal, topical, and thematic elements in all three poems. 

- These poems shows the present people thinking back to the past and the ones that are still in the past. The themes are all the same: Equality and the true feelings of a Black person in the America today and before.