Shadows On The Skin : A Study Of Dually Randall And Paul Laurence Dunbar

Langston Hughes' The Weary Blues      Jazz music is often associated with long, lazy melodies and ornate rhythmical patterns. The Blues, a type of jazz, also follows this similar style. Langston Hughes' poem, "The Weary Blues," is no exception. The sound qualities that make up Hughes' work are intricate, yet quite apparent.

Paul Laurence Dunbar is African-American poet who lived from in the late 1880s to the early 1900s. During his life, Dunbar wrote many poems, in both dialect and standard english. However, many of his poems are considered controversial now, due to negative racial stereotypes and dialect. Currently, some believe that Dunbar’s poetry perpetuates harmful stereotypes such as use of dialect; while others believe that it helps break racial stereotypes through the portrayed emotions. Dunbar’s dialect poetry is helpful for African-Americans, because it accurately depicts the experience of African Americans and humanizes them.

The use of imagery in this poem creates a vivid image of each description that leaves the reader feeling connected to the author in unprecedented way. Even if you’re not a middle aged woman waiting for her daughter to come from from college, you still understand. This is because the author has used

Transitioning Of A Silhouette During the years of the 1920 's through the early 1930 's, African Americans established themselves artistically, culturally and socially. This intellectual period was known as the Harlem Renaissance. The period of the Harlem Renaissance brought together black authors, musicians, and poets. One of the most notable poets of this era was Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes is considered one of leaders of this period. He 's famously known for his controversial bodies of work. One of the most controversial poems created by Hughes is his poem called "Silhouette". Silhouette was written in 1936, where racial segregation and prejudice was emphasized. What makes this piece of work so controversial is how the tone within the poem takes a drastic turn when the speaker and gender are changed. This paper will analyze the ambiguous meanings of the poem once the speakers identity is transitioned.

The author uses imagery in the poem to enable the reader to see what the speaker sees. For example, in lines 4-11 the speaker describes to us the

Paul Laurence Dunbar, dispatches the cold troubles of African Americans in the lyrical poem, "We Wear the Mask." In this poem, Dunbar links imagery, rhythm, rhyme, and word choice to in order to institute a connection to the reader. From reading the poem, one can infer that Mr. Dunbar is

The Harlem Renaissance was a period that started in the early 1920’s in which the concept of “the Negro” was intended to be changed (History.com). This period witnessed the thrive of African American art. White stereotypes had influenced not only the way African Americans were perceived in society but also their relationship between themselves and others. Participants like Gwendolyn Bennett, Langston Hughes, Paul Lawrence Dunbar and W.E.B. Du Bois were some of many authors of creative pieces that reflected their points of views. Like George Hutchinson writes in his article, The Harlem Renaissance brought many African Americans from South to North which helped the rise of literacy and the creation of organizations dedicated to promoting African American civil rights that resulted in the uplift of the race and the availability of socioeconomic opportunities (1). The distinctive expression through things like poetry and music during the Harlem Renaissance reflected the reality and experiences black people were going through. This essay is going to focus on the relationship between poetry, politics and representation while relying on the poem “We Wear the Mark” by Paul Lawrence Dunbar. At the same time, this paper will be supported with works from Langston Hughes, Alain Locke and W.E.B. Dubois.

By: Paul Laurence Dunbar Paul Dunbar was born in Dayton, Ohio, on June 27, 1872. Both of his parents, Joshua and Matilda Dunbar, were slaves. Shortly after Paul was born his parents separated. Paul was driven by his parent’s life story to write poetry. In school Paul would edit the newspaper for the school along with being a member of the literary and debate societies. As Paul grew older he began writing and was a very intelligent student in school, he and his family did not have much money; therefore he had to put his college career on hold. Paul took a job as an elevator operator, which gave him opportunities to write. He was invited to read his poems at a meeting one evening and from that night he was repeatedly asked to events to read. In 1893, at age 21, Paul self-published a series called Oak and Ivy. To cover the cost of the publication, Dunbar sold copies to the people who rode the elevator for one dollar. Dunbar moved to Chicago later that year. By 1895, Dunbar had poems published in popular newspapers and magazines. Frederick Douglass, a fan of Dunbar’s work, called him “the most promising colored man in America” (Project MUSE). While in Chicago, Dunbar had written many poems and stories. He wrote eleven poems, four short stories, five novels, and a play before his death at thirty-three. He had several unpublished short stories and poems that brought him a lot of attention at his readings. A few years later, Dunbar went on a 6 month tour of England to read his

Amber Davis Professor Quirk Literature 101 February 28, 2013 We Wear the Mask The lyric poem “We wear the mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar is a poem about the African American race, and how they had to conceal their unhappiness and anger from whites. This poem was written in 1895, which is around the era when slavery was abolished. Dunbar, living in this time period, was able to experience the gruesome effects of racism, hatred and prejudice against blacks at its worst. Using literary techniques such as: alliteration, metaphor, persona, cacophony, apostrophe and paradox, Paul Dunbar’s poem suggests blacks of his time wore masks of smiling faces to hide their true feelings.

Tuning into the poet’s biography, Dudley Randall, an African American poet from Detroit, Michigan, was “the leading exponent of the new black poetry movement of the 1960s” (Dudley). His mother and father were both educated people, his mother being a teacher and father being a minister. Because his father knew about politics, Randall and his father attended many events featuring black leaders. Through this, he was able to witness the tension behind the racial conflict. His

Explication Ballad of Birmingham In the poem “Ballad of Birmingham”, by Dudley Randall, many different things can be analyzed. The difference in the two translations; one being a literal translation, telling the true meaning of the poem, and the other being a thematic translation, which tells the author’s theme and symbolism used in his/her work. Another thing that all poets have in common is the usage of poetic devices; such as similes, metaphors, and personification.

Poetry has always been a way of expressing emotions about life experiences. Poetry allows us to use symbolism to express ideas without the use of proper language. Things like our feelings about local scenery and culture can be expressed in symbols and imagery. One example of this, Ron Rash’s poem “Local Color”, explores the concepts of place and identity and suggests they are intertwined. Examples of how place and identity are intertwined are shown in the grandfather’s identity as a regular at the local bar, the grandmother’s identity as a homemaker and wife at home, and the idea that by going to the church the grandfather was going to change his identity.

We Wear The Mask was written in 1886 with post slavery America being the significant historical backdrop. In this poem, Dunbar explores the duality of experience of African American's at this time. The outward experience presented to the world at large - “We wear the mask that grins and lies” - versus the inward truth of suffering and turmoil - “With torn and bleeding hearts we smile”.

Poetry is comprised of many forms and within each form, poets have created; stanzas, rhythm, images, symbolism, meter and meanings. Readers must read each poem and begin inductive reasoning to understand what is written. In using this reasoning, only then can the poem be explained. There are many different types of forms and a ballad is one of these poetic forms. It is usually made up of a basic construction of quatrain stanzas. The lines contain rhyme, and generally tell a story that can be compared to a song. In analyzing, Peter and John by Elinor Wylie, We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks, Riverbanks Blues by Sterling A. Brown and The Cherry-tree Carol, author unknown, meanings are conveyed through their use of form, rhyme and the story

Sometimes poets use different conventions to give the poem a better "flow." "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird", by Wallace Stevens uses assonance to make the poem have a