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Gwendolyn Bennett

Gwendolyn Bennett. By: Erin Hofkin.

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Gwendolyn Bennett

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  1. Gwendolyn Bennett By: Erin Hofkin

  2. I want to see the slim palm-trees,Pulling at the cloudsWith little pointed fingers....I want to see little Negro girls,Etched dark against the skyWhile sunset lingers.I want to hear the silent sands,Singing to the moonBefore the Sphinx-still face....I want to hear the chantingAround a heathen fireOf a strange black race.I want to breathe the Lotus flow'r,Sighing to the starsWith tendrils drinking at the Nile....I want to feel the surgingOf my sad people's soulHidden by a minsrel-smile. Heritage By: Gwendolyn Bennett Published by: Opportunity in 1923

  3. Poetic Devices Personification • The author portrays the palm trees to have ‘pointed fingers’. • In the third verse the author says the ‘sand is singing to the moon’. • The ‘Lotus Flow’r is sighing to stars’. Figurative Language • She uses the words ‘clouds’, ‘sky’, ‘moon’, ‘stars’, and ‘soul’ to exemplify that there is no boundary to her hope for equality. These words are considered something that is too far away to touch, when her suggestion is that it is only as far away as we make it seem. She suggests that the only thing limiting them, is themselves.

  4. Rhyme: • From verse one ‘fingers’ rhymes with ‘lingers’ from verse two. • From verse three the word ‘face’ rhymes with ‘race’ in verse four. • From verse five, the word ‘Nile’ rhymes with ‘Smile’ in verse six. Speaker/Tone • The speaker of the poem is Gwendolyn herself. She is the one pleading for equality and a difference. • The tone of this poem is upset. There is a feeling of pleading, or wanting.

  5. The Meaning I interpreted the poem as a plead for equality. She uses many different examples of other cultures throughout her poem, and states her want for equality for each culture. She mentions a small cultural difference in each one. At the end of the poem she states that she wants, “…to feel the surging, of my sad people’s soul, hidden by a minsrel-smile.” This portrays that her culture has hidden their sadness, anger, and disbelief behind a small smile for years. She wants to see equality, and does not want her, or anyone's race, to hide anymore.

  6. About The Author • Gwendolyn Bennett was a poet, artist, and teacher during the Harlem Renaissance. • She was born in Texas and settled down in New York. • By the early 20’s, her art and writings had been in many different magazines and journals. • She was known as one of the most influential of the Harlem Renaissance poets. • She wants equality and longs for the day that it is so.

  7. Works Cited • http://harlemrenaissancepoets.wikispaces.com/Gwendolyn+Bennett+2 • http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/bennett/life.htm

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