Analysis Of The Harlem Renaissance, African American Poets

Analysis Of The Harlem Renaissance, African American Poets

During the introduction of the Harlem Renaissance, African American poets started to gain popularity for their works. The works of African American poets were seen to be uninfluential to the genre of poetry due to the difference of addressed issues. Poets of African American decent did not only address issues of the sex, but also race, colorism, and class. Though fighting for some of the same issues, black poets had issues on a different spectrum from white poets. The emergence of Womanist derived from the different attitudes and issues between black poets and their white counterparts. Colorism amongst black was mentioned commonly amongst the works of African American poets. Colorism, which is discrimination based the color of skin, was ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...Clifton describes what she would look like as a white person, "hair a flutter of / fall leaves / circling my perfect / line of a nose / no lips / no behind" (Gilbert, 1121). At the end of the poem, Clifton wakes up from a dream and her dream confirmed that she does not need to be white to feel accepted and beautiful. Her race gives her that satisfaction,

"and i'm wearing white history but there's no future in those clothes so i take them off and wake up dancing. (Gilbert, 1121).



The works of Gwendolyn Brooks addresses issues in the African American community. Brooks mentions issues including racial identity, political consciousness, and feminism. In her poem, The Mother, Brooks discusses her experience with abortion. Abortions were viewed as one of the most horrific things a woman can do. Society viewed women who had abortions as monsters, which resulted into shaming. Women had to keep abortions secret or to lie if they were to remain with a good reputation,

"Is faulty: oh, what shall I say, how is the truth to be said?

You were born, you had body, you died.

It is just that you never giggled or planned or cried". (Gilbert, 781) Brook's uses various poetic techniques to get her poems across to people. Poetic techniques are used to keep readers engaged and interested in the poem. In the poem, We Real Cool, she uses alliteration, rhyme, rhythm, consonance, and assonance,

"We real cool. We

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