She was the first African American to win the prestigious Pulitzer Award. This poem was written in 1966 at the height of the civil rights movement and was geared towards young, disenfranchised African Americans. In the poem, Brooks uses a variety of poetic devices including symbolism, language, musical devices and patterned repetition to express the irony of a "cool" lifestyle leading to an early grave. ... With only a limited number of words in the poem Brooks makes brilliant use of language. ... Brooks also employs slang words that were used in the common language of the African American...

• Word Count: 732
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Paul Laurence Dunbar Paul Laurence Dunbar was an African American writer of sixteen collections of poetry, four collections of short stories, and four novels (Miller 393). ... Paul Laurence Dunbar is a well know African American, classical poet of the nineteenth century, who writes poems in standard English or black dialect, seeks to recreate the Negro, and cries out to freedom form slavery to all of the Negroes who read his work. ... It is said that Dunbar played an important role in the evolution of the African - American short stories along with his large collection of poetry. ... Just...

• Word Count: 1623
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Maya Angelou: Still I Rise Maya Angelo was quoted in an article in Essence: African American Politicians Interviews, as saying " The power that I have first comes directly from being a descendent of people whose powerful history makes me humble. ... She is also fluent in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and West African Fanti. ... The language is simple and easy to understand. It doesn't have any rhyme or rhythm, however it does use figurative language throughout the poem. ...

• Word Count: 694
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Amaris Baxter Langston Hughes; "Mother to Son" 1) 1930's; Realism 2) Biographical Theory of Criticism 3) Post-structural Theory of Criticism Through the literary works of Langston Hughes, it is clear to see that he uses his own style and language to portray realistic traits. ... At this time in history, many African Americans expressed their thoughts through music, art, poetry and other areas of the arts. ... Wrote during the Harlem Renaissance, the purpose of "Mother to Son" was mostly to inspire African American men and women to achieve their goals in life. ...

• Word Count: 532
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Many of his works used native dances and language. ... He was of mixed African and European descent. ... By the end of his life he was known as the most influential of the Latin-American poets who dealt with African themes....

• Word Count: 601
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Angelou began her career in drama and dance, and she married a South African freedom fighter and lived in Cairo. ... In the 1960's she said that being black, female, non-Muslim, non-Arab, six foot tall, and American made for some interesting experiences during her stay in Africa (Williams 1). ... She can speak English, French, Spanish, Italian, and West African Fanti. ... Yet it does use figurative language. ... This poem uses very simple language, but it is very complicated. ...

• Word Count: 1089
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Angelou began her career in drama and dance, and she married a South African freedom fighter and lived in Cairo. ... In the 1960's she said that being black, female, non-Muslim, non-Arab, six foot tall, and American made for some interesting experiences during her stay in Africa (Williams 1). ... She can speak English, French, Spanish, Italian, and West African Fanti. ... Yet it does use figurative language. ... This poem uses very simple language, but it is very complicated. ...

• Word Count: 1300
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The vernacular or native language that authors used in these two poems are kind of uneducated, in Miss Rosie author used the words of native language like (when I watch you wet brown bag of a women) {13}, and in poem of Mother to son author used the words of similar like educated (So boy, don't you turn back and don't you fall now__ ){14,17}. ... Both authors life time are in 1900 century, they have same tones they wrote Fiction and poetry, both of them are African American, they both had tensions in their life, both of them was anger, and sad { pg# 231, 233}. ...

• Word Count: 546
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

She married a South African freedom fighter and lived in Cairo. ... In the 1960's she said that being black, female, non-Muslim, non-Arab, six foot tall, and American made for some interesting experiences during her stay in Africa (Williams 1). ... She can speak English, French, Spanish, Italian, and West African Fanti. ... This poem uses very simple language, but it is very complicated. ...

• Word Count: 878
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Emerson is noted for his skill in presenting his ideas eloquently and in poetic language B. ... He taught modern languages at Bowdoin from 1829 to 1835. ... During Lowell's lifespan of 72 years, one of his many accomplishments was becoming the professor of modern languages at Harvard after Longfellow retired. ... Robert Frost (1874-1963) - American poet, who drew his images from the New England countryside and his language from New England speech. ... He is known for his innovative language and precise detail, as well as attention to line breaks. ...

• Word Count: 1931
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

Edward Kamau Brathwaite wrote the poem Ogun based on his personal memories of his great uncle, Robert O=Neil, a carpenter and wood carver. The poem can be divided into two basic sections. The first was a description of the workshop and the carpenter=s daily life. After a short transition, the seco...

• Word Count: 526
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Paul Laurence Dunbar The first African American poet to address Negro folk life was a man of many talents. ... He was a poet who wrote using the dialect of his people, and African American folk language. ... Paul Laurence Dunbar was a great African American poet who shaped many peoples lives. ...

• Word Count: 1139
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Poets use language to express and communicate an idea: to make it tangible in a form that can be shared. ... He helped shape the Harlem Renaissance, an eruption of African-American cultural expression in that section of New York City in the 1920s. ... Another thing that makes the poet different from other writers is not only the focus on mode, but on language. Poetry can be portrayed as the art of language. ... This is basically language that allows your mind to recall and combine images. ...

• Word Count: 1645
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

"Her compact, forceful language, characteried formally by long disruptive dashes, heavy iambic meters, and angular, imprecise rhymes, is one fo the singular literary achievements of of the nineteenth century. ... At the same time, she began building a body of creative work that, in 1993, would make her the first African-American woman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. ... Dickinson uses forceful language, heavy iambic meters, imprecise rhymes, long disruptive dashes. ...

• Word Count: 1665
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

During these years, he held odd jobs as an assistant cook, launderer, and a busboy, and traveled to Africa and Europe working as a seaman. ... He wanted to tell the stories of his people in ways that reflected their actual culture, including both their suffering and their love of music, laughter, and language itself. ...

• Word Count: 1896
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

During these years, he held odd jobs as an assistant cook, launderer, and a busboy, and traveled to Africa and Europe working as a seaman. ... He wanted to tell the stories of his people in ways that reflected their actual culture, including both their suffering and their love of music, laughter, and language itself. ...

• Word Count: 1930
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School