Presentation is loading. Please wait.

Presentation is loading. Please wait.

born on February 1, 1902. born in Joplin, Missouri. He had divorced parents raised by his grandmother He went to college for one year at Columbia University.

Similar presentations


Presentation on theme: "born on February 1, 1902. born in Joplin, Missouri. He had divorced parents raised by his grandmother He went to college for one year at Columbia University."— Presentation transcript:

1

2 born on February 1, 1902. born in Joplin, Missouri. He had divorced parents raised by his grandmother He went to college for one year at Columbia University in Mexico His first poetry book “The Weary Blues” was published in 1926. He then finished college at Lincoln in Pennsylvania In 1930 he wrote his first novel Not Without Laughter. He wrote novels, short stories, plays, and poetry. died from prostate cancer on May 22, 1967

3 To fling my arms wide In some place of the sun, To whirl and to dance Till the white day is done. Then rest at cool evening Beneath a tall tree While night comes on gently, Dark like me— That is my dream! To fling my arms wide In the face of the sun, Dance! Whirl! Whirl! Till the quick day is done. Rest at pale evening... A tall, slim tree... Night coming tenderly Black like me.

4 The person who is in the poem wants to dance in the sun all day. They then want to lay under a tree at night and rest. Then in the second part it basically repeats the first part. How the person wants to dance in the sun and rest under the tree in the night, that is black like the person.

5 Metaphor: o The first metaphor encountered in this poem is in these lines, "To whirl and to dance / Till the white day is done" Symbols: o Sun- Symbolizes life in the person o Dancing- symbolizes the persons desire to be free and do as he/she pleases. o White Day- Symbolizes he white mans day, saying the the African American doesn’t have control. o Night- Symbolizes that it is an African American in the poem, and that the dark sky is like him/her Themes: o Dreams- It symbolizes the dream of an African American to dance in the sun and rest under a tree at night. o “Place of the sun”- refers to Africa.

6 The person in the poem is being oppressed by the white society and wants to be at peace in a more African American equal society The person is defying the whites and doing what he wants to do and he finds peace through defiance by standing up for himself

7 Born in Jamaica, West Indies, 1889 Educated by brother Published his first book at the age of 20 Attended the Tuskegee Institute and later Kansas State University Interest in communism and moved to Russia Moved to France where he met Edna St. Vincent Millay and Lewis Sinclair Later moved back to U.S. and converted to Catholicism Set tone for Harlem Renaissance Died in 1948

8 Bananas ripe and green, and ginger root, Cocoa in pods and alligator pears, And tangerines and mangoes and grape fruit, Fit for the highest prize at parish fairs, Set on the window, bringing memories Of fruit-trees laden by low-singing rills, And dewy dawns, and mystical blue skies In benediction over nun-like hills

9 My eyes grew dim, and I could no more gaze A wave of longing through my body swept, And, hungry for the old, familiar ways I turned aside and bowed my head and wept.

10 The author sees bright and colorful fruits that remind him of his home and saddens him

11 Rhymes occur throughout the poem Rhyme Scheme – ABAB CDCD EFEF

12 Having come to New York from Jamaica, Mckay seems to have been strolling through a local market where the sights and smells of the tropical fruits of his homeland take him back to Jamaica. The tangible reality of fruits allows his memory to grow. There he finds the positive beauty of his homeland because of how vivid the memories are he becomes incredibly sad. He knows he’s no longer home.

13 I've known rivers: I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it. I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset. I've known rivers: Ancient, dusky rivers. My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

14 Free Verse o "I’ve known rivers" and "my soul has grown deep like the rivers” Symbols o Rivers o Darkness Themes o Perseverance

15 The person go around to all the longest rivers in the world to show his appreciation for all they have done for the human race and how they have helped him personally.

16 In the Poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” the person has a special place for rivers in his heart because the human race has depended on rivers throughout the ages. Also the persons he went around to the biggest rivers in the world to appreciate what they have done for us like how they help us build the pyramids.


Download ppt "born on February 1, 1902. born in Joplin, Missouri. He had divorced parents raised by his grandmother He went to college for one year at Columbia University."

Similar presentations


Ads by Google