who hiccuped endlessly trying to giggle but wound up with a sob
This line sounds like someone who is trying to be okay, but is not okay deep down. This appears to be wounds that run so deep that they cannot hide. This can also be a play on words with the word "wound" because they wound up with a sob because of a wound. This refers to those who are constantly marginalized because they receive wounds from those who oppress them, and the more they're oppressed, the deeper their wounds become.
dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn
This line sounds like it's talking about a negro neighborhood, but it could also be discussing the darkness/trouble in the neighborhood. Negro is not only a label for the people, but due to negro's skin pigmentation, negro can be defined as dark. It would also appear to be ironic because these people are roaming the darkness at dawn, the time where there is still light. It would be a negro neighborhood, considering stereotypical ideas tell of negro neighborhoods being trouble.
who balled in the morning in the evenings in rosegardens and the grass of public parks and cemeteries scattering their semen freely to whomever come who may,
All of the lines after the first line that says, "I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness.. etc." describes who the minds of this generation are. This line appeared particularly heartbreaking. This is a picture of someone in this generation weeping in public places. Due to the word semen, it would make sense for it to be directed to males. This line seems to point out to males giving themselves away "scattering their semen freely to whomever come who may." This is a flip in perspective because often times when it comes to sexual intimacy, it is more common that females would be the ones giving themselves away, but in this case it appears to be directed towards the males. This confirms a brokenness in males who are giving themselves away to whoever comes their way because of hopelessness, and finding satisfaction when it comes their way. On the flip side, it can also relate to the male's partner who can be male or female. Deep in the line "scattering semen freely to whomever come who may" lies people coming to males to also find satisfaction due to a feeling of hopelessness as well.
They broke you in like oxen, They scourged you, They branded you, They made your women breeders, They swelled your numbers with bastards. . . .
I looked at these lines and the words I thought of to sum up these lines were "used," "abused," and "devalued."African Americans were badly used, abused, and devalued. They were used as slaves, and as slaves they were abused and devalued. Slave owners dehumanized their slaves because they abused their power and had no mercy on their slaves. You could get the sense of selfishness that slave owners had for their slaves. I'm sure it's their job to abuse their slaves, but if you look at these lines, it is what slave owners did to their slaves and so much more.
“Harlem” (1951) What happens to a dream deferred?
Harlem is a black community in the city of New York City that is now known as black ghetto. In literal terms, a dream that is deferred is a dream that has been suspended or delayed. I personally love the fact that "dream deferred" is an alliteration because it makes it sound catchy, even though it isn't a very great statement. Based on the title and the question, it would appear that blacks have lost sight of dreams or a wedge has come in the middle of their dreams. Maybe the black community had dreams for a better future, to go to college, to get a good paying job, etc. But racism and oppression has intervened in the way of their dreams.
I bathe in the Euphrates when dawns were young
The Euphrates river was mentioned in Genesis as one of the rivers of Paradise. Rivers are usually associated to life and the span of life. People usually allude to the river's currents and waves as trials of life. In reference to the title, negros have endured hardship due to the discrimination of their race. This poem reminds me Du Bois, "Of Our Spiritual Strivings." Both poems resonate the same marginalization and same oppression for negros. Rivers as also used to represent mourning like how people cry rivers of tears when they mourn. I look to negros mourning the loss of their humanity because of the oppression they've endured for being dehumanized merely by being black.
Dry bones can harm no one.
In the Bible, there is a passage in the book of Ezekiel titled "The Valley of Dry Bones." It isn’t too often that you see “dry bones” in literature, and it was interesting that it was a biblical reference. Taking into consideration that the Bible discusses a lot about death and life, there was a lot of examples to go off of. For example, when creation was formed in the book of Genesis, God saw darkness and called forth called light. Or after Jesus was crucified, he resurrected from death to life. Or in the letters or books written by Paul, he constantly discussed death to flesh and life in the spirit. And even right in the midst of the passage in Ezekiel 17, God tells Ezekiel to prophesy the dry bones to life. The Bible appears to allude these paradoxes. And it just so happens that Langston Hughes touches on the motif of zombies that discuss mindless creatures don’t have any control of what they’re doing because they’re dead, but alive. The reference of the dry bones similarly refers to the zombies that Hughes alludes to. If you were to imagine the image of a dry bone, the bone would look dry, flaky, or discolored because there is no flesh to keep it from being dry. These dry bones don’t serve their purpose, they failed the body they were bones for and ended up getting put to waste – and this ironically alludes to the title, “The Waste Land.”
The mindlessness of zombies is a fair reminder of Henry Adams and the Dynamo. The Dynamo was explained as this machine, an advanced form of technology in its time. It runs on a mysterious energy on its own, like a zombie. The dynamo ultimately reminded me of a robot that is controlled, as though its master or creator was in control of its mind. The same goes for zombies, though they do not have a master. Zombies, on the other hand, will kill, destroy, and put people into fear because zombies have no idea what they’re doing. They kill, destroy, and make people scared of them without consciously doing so.
And the lack of consciousness reminds me of Du Bois and his idea of double-consciousness. Although zombies don’t have to worry about being marginalized for their race, zombies are the opposite of double consciousness. Rather than being conscious, out of their mindless actions, they aren’t conscious of the potential harm that they cause. All in all, the dry bones or zombies aren’t a threat to anyone. They may have no idea what they’re doing, their purpose may be defeated, and they may be dead, but they’re basically no harm.
A frequent phrase from the father is, “Look how well a white man does things.”
It's interesting how white people tend to set the bar for ideal living. It's almost disappointing because throughout time, the white lifestyle has become the standard for other races - rather than races embracing they way they would live ideally.
his urge within the race toward whiteness
I see a play on words in this text. "Race" like a population of common descent, and the "race" where people run. It is a very clever play on words because whiteness is a competition, like a race where people run. In a way, I see this as white people running past Negros and telling Negros to eat their dust. In this race, it's about selfishness. White people marginalize Negros in a box and make no effort to help them out of being marginalized.
A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many, I had not thought death had undone so many.
He who was living is now dead We who were living are now dying With a little patience
“That corpse you planted last year in your garden, “Has it begun to sprout? Will it bloom this year? “Or has the sudden frost disturbed its bed?
In the faint moonlight, the grass is singing Over the tumbled graves, about the chapel There is the empty chapel, only the wind’s home. It has no windows, and the door swings, Dry bones can harm no one.
Dry bones can harm no one
In the Bible, there is a passage in Ezekiel titled "The Valley of Dry Bones." Since they are bones alone, they are not covered in flesh, they appear dead. And in the Bible, God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones to live.
“That corpse you planted last year in your garden, “Has it begun to sprout? Will it bloom this year? “Or has the sudden frost disturbed its bed?
Interesting how a corpse is planted, which means it was buried - and is asked if it has sprouted. It's not too ordinary to expect to bury a corpse and expect it to sprout. It sounds like the corpse is a seed and its sprout is a flower. It's like sowing death and reaping life.
Speak, and my eyes failed, I was neither Living nor dead, and I knew nothing,
Sounds like the description of a zombie.
And the dead tree gives no shelter
It's interesting. It sounds as if the narrator is anticipating a dead tree to give shelter, but the dead tree has no shelter because it's dead and has no leaves to give shelter.
I see crowds of people, walking round in a ring.
It's not normal to see crowds of people walking around in a circle. Definitely appear to be zombie-like.
dead tree gives no shelter
A dead tree loses its purpose of giving shelter due to lack of life. Just as how zombies lose their purpose of living because they're dead.
Dull roots with spring rain.
Dull is nearly dead, dead roots mean a plant is dying. But rain is also a sign of abundance.
Like a zombie, it is a dead body but has life.
Son of man
Does this refer to a son of a man or does it have a biblical significance pointing to Jesus?
Summer surprised us, coming over the Starnbergersee With a shower of rain; we stopped in the colonnade, And went on in sunlight, into the Hofgarten,
What is the significance of the Starnbergersee and Hofgarten?
Left again left again. Exceptional considerations.
Is this a potential play on words? Left is the opposite of right. And right also means the opposite of wrong. Is this left trying to say "wrong again, wrong again" and the many "considerations" of direction?
The fact that left is a direction, it reminds me of a road and its "many considerations." There are many directions on where to go and there may be a struggling on which one to take.
Or this left could mean "abandoned." Like "Abandoned again, abandoned again." This would mean that a narrator is talking about loneliness and the vast majority of considerations on how to handle feeling constantly abandoned.
Who is a permit.
A permit reminds me of a person who has a driver's permit. Someone who has a drivers permit is permitted to drive with the supervision of an experienced driver who is over a certain age.
To personify a permit would be like that that piece of paper that is given to drivers who need assistance on the road while they drive.
This person is limited because they are that key/access/piece of paper that allow them to do something, but they aren't allowed without supervision.
This reminds me of the poem Lucinda Matlock. This personified permit potentially has an illness that needs tending to by a professional.
.
Why is there a period and space after every line? Does this set a peace like what we discussed on Thursday? Or it could be to be dramatic. The period and spaces set what seem to be unnecessary pauses, and it could be to be dramatic.
sell your love for peace
Pinned down by pain
He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake.
Why is shaking a harness bell a signal to ask if there is a mistake?
My little horse must think it queer
Why are they riding a horse? And where are they going?
His house is in the village though
Whose house is this referring to?
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by,
How was the road that was chosen, the road less traveled by?
Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy
Why would the narrator pick the road with grass? What makes the grass so significant to pick it as a road to travel on?
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
Why is the wood yellow?
At ninety–six I had lived enough, that is all, And passed to a sweet repose.
She appears to be very content with her life, as if she lived it to the fullest. She doesn't seem to have any bitterness or complaints. And even throughout the text, there was not hint of her disliking her life. And for her to say "passed to a sweet repose" sounds as though she passed away peacefully.
It takes life to love Life.
This short texts seems to be a play on words on the word "life." There is the first life, where the 'l' is lowercase. And there is the second Life, where the 'L' is uppercase. This distinguishes that the writer is using this one word for two different meanings.
Lowercase life, in its context, appears to be used as the opposite of death. Life is like light, and death is darkness. This kind life is similar to lively, optimistic, and vibrant.
Uppercase Life, in its context, appears to be used as the existence of an individual - this "Life" is the one we live and the one we are given at birth.
When a woman gives birth, some say that they birth life because out of that birth, a new being/a baby has life. The infant is automatically gifted with "Life."
"life" on the other hand is not a gift we are automatically gifted with. Out of bitterness of Life's many circumstances - not every individual has "life" (liveliness or optimism).
"Life" is not easy to love, which is why the narrator says that "life" is needed to love "Life."
And then I found Davis. We were married and lived together for seventy years, Enjoying, working, raising the twelve children, Eight of whom we lost
The structure of a family around this period of time sounds very different from today. A household of twelve is not too common today, nor does losing eight of those twelve kids. Did the family not have enough income? Was there an epidemic/disease? What happened that wiped out those eight children?
It dwells in my mind so!
This text, though short and sweet, speaks volumes to where she is. She is not only confined externally in a building, a room, or the wallpaper. She is also confined in her thoughts. When someone dwells on something, they take up all their time and energy soaking themselves in their thoughts or troubles. Dwelling tends to be uncontrollable. The fact that she seems to have nervous depression is something to consider. To anyone that is enduring any type of depression, they aren't in control of how they feel. That is why people with depression tend to be trapped an involuntary state of endless thoughts of depression that happen without their will.
Emancipation was the key to a promised land of sweeter beauty than ever stretched before the eyes of wearied Israelites.
Emancipation is to be free of restraint and bondage.
In this text, when I initially saw "promised land" and I immediately thought of the biblical story of Moses and the Israelites and their journey into the promised land. The context of the biblical story are the Israelites grumbling and complaining about wandering in the desert/wilderness for so long. They were thirsty, hungry, and tired of traveling. They felt like prisoners in a geographic area they couldn't get out of. It was either keep going or die.
This is just like people of color. They've been overworked, overlooked, misunderstood, and exhausted due to how society treats them. People of color cannot change how society looks at them. They're trapped in the desert and wilderness of their opinions and stares.
doubtful striving has often made his very strength to lose effectiveness, to seem like absence of power, like weakness. And yet it is not weakness,—it is the contradiction of double aims. The double-aimed struggle of the black artisan—on the one hand to escape white contempt for a nation of mere hewers of wood and drawers of water, and on the other hand to plough and nail and dig for a poverty-stricken horde—could only result in making him a poor craftsman, for he had but half a heart in either cause.
The doubtful striving and weakness masked the true reason of losing his strength. Underneath the mask was actually the contradiction of "double aims."
The double aims seems to be what the black artisan uses to "fight." Which is why the term is aim - like a weapon like a gun or bow and arrow, etc.
The weapon of the "double aim" doesn't seem to help the black artisan. On one end he is escaping the white contempt and on the other end he is digging through poverty in hopes to find riches, and still comes out empty handed - as a poor craftsman.
The end result also had him at half a heart for both causes. His heart sounds divided, almost as if he had to put his full heart into one or half a heart into both. His heart couldn't be full for both.
It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity.
W.E.B. Du Bois refers to to double-consciousness as one being consciously aware of two parts of them - who they are and who others look at them as.
This is in reference to people of color. People of color are often separated in society. They live up to a standard based on how others look at them. People of color cannot escape how others think of them, look at them, or treat them.
People of color have no hope of escaping society's opinions. They're forced to live with being conscious of who they are and who people think they are.
Indeed, Langley seemed to be worried by the same trouble, for he constantly repeated that the new forces were anarchical,
An anarchy has no government. When there is no government, therefore, there is no kind of order or organization. Langley CONSTANTLY repeated that the forces were anarchical. To constantly repeat, possibly out of frustration? He did say it was a "trouble." And when there is no order, no one can predict what happens. Things that are unpredictable are usually out of our own control, and when we don't feel like we're in control, we don't like it. As people, we like an order/organization/control.
He led his pupil directly to the forces
It could have simply said, "He looked directly at the forces." But he LED his PUPIL DIRECTLY to the forces. The character wanted to look at something. Those pupils were on search for something to focus on. It is no coincidence that pupils are where light pass through. It is almost as if the character was searching for a specific "light" or something of interest.
They feed they Lion and he comes.
Lion of Judah = Jesus
In Christianity, Christians believe in that Jesus is coming back.
Possible Christian reference?
From “Bow Down” come “Rise Up,” Come they Lion from the reeds of shovels, The grained arm that pulls the hands,
There's a bit of encouragement here. From "Bow Down" = slave status. Come "Rise Up" = master status. It's like an encouragement to rise out of imprisonment/slavery.
Reeds are tall stalks of grass, like an area that can make you unseen (like God) - and out of those reeds come the "Lion."
It seems that the grained arm refers to the "Lion?" Grains are SEEDS. Grained is bearing grain. Maybe the "Lion" is the grain bearer - the "Lion's" arm bears grain. And the "Lion" pulls the slaves out of imprisonment/slavery - like saving them.
In the same way a gardener sows seeds/grains and nurtures his crops.
From the furred ear and the full jowl come The repose of the hung belly, from the purpose They Lion grow.
Furred ear - furry/coated ear.
A ear that's furry/coated may not hear as well because the sound will be blocked by fur. Almost like a "covering." Blocked ears from something that needs to be heard? Maybe a voice that needs to be heard? God's voice?
A full jowl is a full jaw - possibly a mouth full
Hung belly sounds like a full belly - a full belly from a possibly full mouth.
Out of these descriptions of covering ears and a full mouth and belly - this "Lion" grows.
From pig balls, From the ferocity of pig driven to holiness
Pigs just eat and consume as long as there's food or something there for them to have - like gluttonous - eating excessively.
"Ferocity of pig" - savage/ferocious pig (gluttony)
Pig = gluttony = sin
Sin to holiness
Earth is eating trees, fence posts, Gutted cars, earth is calling in her little ones, “Come home, Come home!”
This depicts an image of what seems to be creation devouring itself - like a hole appearing at a certain place on earth and everything falling inside of it.
Out of the gray hills Of industrial barns, out of rain, out of bus ride, West Virginia to Kiss My Ass, out of buried aunties, Mothers hardening like pounded stumps, out of stumps, Out of the bones’ need to sharpen and the muscles’ to stretch, They Lion grow.
In this text, there is still a picture of a struggle and a loss of hope, but in a different image.
-Gray hills - hills must be gray in a dark/gloomy/rainy atmosphere.
-West Virginia to Kiss My Ass - a set destination from point A to point B - a routine, like home to work.
-Buried aunties sound like dead aunties that could represent a graveyard that depicts loneliness or loss.
-Mothers hardening like pounded stumps - such a paradox because females are usually the ones who nurture and take care - and are NOT usually hardened as stumps - it is very dark and unusual.
Sharpen is the opposite of dull. Dull is not lively. Sharpening a picture makes a picture vibrant. Bones needed to be sharpened are bones that need life. Biblically in Ezekiel 37 - there was a prophesy of dry bones coming to life.
Muscles' to stretch - muscle stretching can be painful.
Out of a dark atmosphere, a routine, darkness, a need for life, and pain - this "Lion" grows.
Out of burlap sacks, out of bearing butter, Out of black bean and wet slate bread, Out of the acids of rage, the candor of tar, Out of creosote, gasoline, drive shafts, wooden dollies, They Lion grow.
The text has heavy words with powerful objectives that create an image of an industrial environment. An industrial place creates an image of weariness where people are working hard and doing their jobs - whether to provide for their families or make a living. And an industrial environment can be dark and smog-like due to chemicals in the area or the vehicles, etc. This environment is a sense of negativity and loss of hope. And for whatever reason, this "Lion" grows off this negativity and loss of hope.
"Lion" is capitalized. When something is capitalized it is either a name or pertaining to a god. In a biblical perspective, this reminds me of the "Lion of Judah," who in the Holy Bible in Revelation 5:5, is described as Jesus Christ.