Primer+for+Blacks

=__Primer for Blacks by. Gwendolyn Brooks page #969.__=

1. The author is Gwend olyn Brooks. She was influenced by her parents that kept pushing her to be a better writer. Her mother sent her poems to two famous black writers James Weldon Johnson and Langston Hughes. She received a very encouraging letter in return from both of them. She wrote about the black struggle bec ause her grandmother was a runaway slave and because it was a time when blacks were trying to gain freedoms.  2.The poem is titled __Primer__ for Blacks. A primer is an elementary book for teaching children to read. The poems title acts as a guideline to blacks. The poem speaks of how blacks should be proud and be happy with their heritage instead of shunning the thought. Instead of disregarding who they are, African-Americans should cherish it.

3. The poem is lyrical. It expresses a tome of urgency. Urgency for blacks to respect who they are. It expresses sorrow. Sorrow that blacks are disregarding their own heritage because how they are being treated. The speaker is Gwendolyn Brooks. She is speaking to all African-Americans, trying to get them to rise together and end the hate.

4. The stanzas in the poem vary in length. Each stanza expresses a complete thought of how African-Americans should respect who they are and where they came from. Gwendolyn Brooks uses free verse throughout the poem. Free verse adds a sense of importances because she is more concerned about getting her point across then creating a rhythm to the poem.

5. Sensory details are scattered throughout the poem, esp. the use of colors to describe skin tones. Gwendolyn Brooks uses color schemes that allow you to picture the different cultures she is speaking of. On page 970 she says,"the milk and cream of it, the tan and yellow-tan of it." This describes different skin tones that she is speaking of. The author uses the sense of sight throughout the entire poem. The author also uses sound which allows the reader to hear and visualize the importance of the poem and the pride in the voices of the people.

6. Gwendolyn Brooks uses an abundance of figurative language throughout the poem. She uses symbols to explain black pride. An example of symbolism is on page 969 when she says "Oh mighty Drop." The word Drop represents that you are considered African if you have but only one drop of African blood in your body. Another example of symbolism is "The huge, the pungent object of our prime out-ride". This statements symbolizes how excited and direct blacks should be about their heritage. Also the allegory of the story is that blacks should be proud of who they are.  7. Gwendolyn Brooks uses many elements relating to devices of sound. She uses cacophon y throughout the tone of the poem. Giving it a harsh and unrelenting take to reading the piece. Repetition is also scattered throughout the poem. The word "black" is used in almost every line giving the poem substance, showing the reader  the topic over and over again.  8. The overall mood of this poem is pride. It expresses how African Americans should be proud to be black. The use of imagery, figurative language, and devices of sound portray the mood. This theme of this poem is be proud to black. The theme is revealed through the style the author writes in. She uses anaphora repetition as well as capitalizing some  words such as "Bla ckness" to show to draw your attention to that area. media type="file" key="Nico John Schaffner.swf" media type="file" key="Nico Keynote Poem.swf"