Analysis Of Power By Audre Lorde

This poem focuses on the lynching of a African American male. The speaker of the poem appears to console a woman who appears to be distressed due to the events taking place. In the first four lines of stanza 1, the speaker says:

A large portion of this poem is comparing the difference between black and white. In the poem it practically says “what if all the black is now white, and all the white is now black?”, then goes on to give some examples like “Black Presidents,

“I believe that the root of all evil is power,” (Patricia Cornwell). I think this quote says a lot about the power of power. Let’s think about some people who were incredibly evil. Hitler killed 11 million people (Schwartz), 49 million deaths were linked to Joseph Stalin (Ghosh), and Kim Jong-Un has executed 70 officials since coming into office in 2011 (Omara). That doesn’t even include all of the other people who have died because of him or who will die because of him in the future. What do all of these people have in common? Power. If none of these people had power, millions of lives could have been saved. But with all power comes evil, as proven by these three horrible people. Now, power may not be taken to this extent all the time. As

In conclusion, the poem was used as a key to unlock some of the thoughts the negro had concerning Africa. The negro in this poem was a representative of all negroes during this time; their thoughts and the their feelings toward Africa. Cullen’s usage of the literary devices allow for an effective expression of the meaning of this poem. Poems are intensified language of experience, so the devices assured the connection of the reader to the poem and the experience. This applies to many issues in society today because as beautiful as our country is there are still dark clouds that cover the very essence of what the states once stood

Power is earned, not given. There are many different types of power that people can earn. Power becomes a problem when it is not questioned or tested. Therefore, the one with the power would have total control over anything or anyone they wanted, or they would feel that way. People with power feel invincible when it is not questioned. Throughout history it has been proven that this creates a problem. For example, Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal is similar to the scandal with Father Flynn in Doubt. Doubt, by John Patrick Shanley, exemplifies an underlying message that unquestioned faith leads to abuse of power. Specifically, shown in Father Flynn’s reputation, cover up, and resignation, which all correlate to Richard Nixon’s

During the entirety of the poem the speaker uses the contrast of light and dark to illustrate the divide of Caucasian and Native American in her life and the specific wording she uses throughout shows that she is ends up moving away from her white heritage’s side. We first start to see that she is upset with her white roots when she states that her mother left her with “large white breasts” that weigh down her body. This statement is quite important. With the addition of the word “white” and the use of the words “weigh down” the narrator seems to be implying that it is a burden to carry the whiteness. Also, the narrator uses specific wording in this statement in order to disassociate herself from her own white leanings since she refers to her breasts as if they were her mothers and not her own. The next time she mentions the word white comes in the third stanza. The speaker devotes an entire line to the short phrase “and is white” almost as if to single out that word in the poem and signify that being white

In presenting herself as a child on the verge of adulthood, Lorde indicated to the reader that the things she learned at this time would be pivotal and important for the rest of her life. For example, at the beginning of her essay, Lorde wrote that her trip to Washington D.C. was “on the edge of the summer when I was supposed to stop being a child” (221). In this way, Lorde’s trip to the nation’s capital and her experiences of discrimination there provided an intellectual

However, the poem has fluidity despite its apparent scarcity of rhyme. After examining the alteration of syllables in each line, a pattern is revealed in this poem concerning darkness. The first nine lines alternate between 8 and 6 syllables. These lines are concerned, as any narrative is, with exposition. These lines set up darkness as an internal conflict to come. The conflict intensifies in lines 10 and 11 as we are bombarded by an explosion of 8 syllables in each line. These lines present the conflict within one's own mind at its most desperate. After this climax, the syllables in the last nine lines resolve the conflict presented. In these lines, Dickinson presents us with an archetypal figure that is faced with a conflict: the “bravest” hero. These lines present the resolution in lines that alternate between 6 and 7 syllables. Just as the syllables decrease, the falling action presents us with a final insight. This insight discusses how darkness is an insurmountable entity that, like the hero, we must face to continue “straight” through “Life” (line 20).

Cullen utilizes imagery throughout the poem, to illuminate the racism African Americans endured and impact racism carries. The speaker in the poem is an eight year old in Baltimore. In the first stanza, Cullen describes the child as “heart-filled, head-filled with glee.” This image portrays the speaker as innocent and joyful. Then the speaker notices a boy staring at him, the speaker believes there’s little difference between them, that the kid “was no whit bigger.” The speaker gets a rude awakening after the boy “poked out his tongue.” A seemingly playful meaningless gesture is met with the boy calling the speaker “N****r.” Cullen contrasts these two experiences because it depicts how racism comes out of nowhere and effects those you wouldn’t expect. The last stanza, the speaker “saw the whole Baltimore. The image of seeing is not just visual, but a metaphor for the loss of innocence where the speaker now is exposed to the hate. Cullen masterfully uses imagery so that readers understand the incredible impact that words have, especially when used for hate.

Audre Lorde article is about her near death experience to dying with breast cancer and how she was force to face her own mortality. During her journey with breast cancer surgery she discovered her voice, and during that time she reflexed and regretted all the times that she had remained silent. She stated that after finding her voice she was able to speak to other women and find strength and clarity of her own thoughts. Additionally, she found enough strength in her to fight like a warrior, in a way she also found her warrior poet’s voice.

In the second stanza, Lorde paints the streets of New York in a grim image. “I am trapped on a desert of raw gunshot wounds…” This line could also mean that Lorde feels trapped in a society ruled by white male supremacy (the desert) that is still ongoing with no end in sight (raw gunshot wounds). This meaning is more probable because Lorde emphasizes in lines 11 and 12 of the second stanza “as it [the blood] sinks into the whiteness of the desert…” Next, Lorde makes her call for revenge for the brutality of Clifford Glover. She says that Glover is “…a dead child dragging his shattered black face off the edge of my sleep…” and that “…blood from his punctured cheeks and shoulders is the only liquid for miles…” Her “stomach churns” at

In my opinion, I agree with the title that Audrey Hunt gave to her story. According to me, DELETE the word "power” has a connotation of duality: bad and good. Of course, it as also an impact on yourself. In this text, I could feel the "power” that has the words on Edward, his teacher and in general, on people. When Edward express himself, he destroyed his own personality with words. For example, he said that he is " a no-good-for-anything person”, that he has "no place on this earth”. Those words, were the result of the verbals injuries that he get from his brother. There is a reason why bad words can be seen as a delict. A man can kill with a gun but also with his words. Edward decided to make a suicide because of that. However, in the same

Audre Lorde’s poem, Coal, explores the idea of repression and the freedom of speech. On first reading of the text, the poem seems to be built around an idea of anger towards repressing one’s individual thoughts and not voicing personal opinion. However, through a deconstructive reading, there are inconsistencies within the text’s language that question whether the speaker is referring to the forceful repression of spoken words or other motifs like femininity, power and self worth within an individual’s voice. By examining the verbal, textual, and linguistic stages of Coal, one can see the contradictions, discontinuities, and unreliability in relation to one another within the poem.

The poet uses different techniques to bring the out the impacts of slavery on the affected individuals (the slaves). The “grave/slave(s)” rhymed couplet recurs at

The short stanzas containing powerful imagery overwhelm the readers forcing them to imagine the oppression that the speaker went through in