“For My People”
“For My People” by Margaret Walker is an inspirational poem that was written during the Harlem Renaissance. The poem is known for its repetition and present verb tense. The present verb tense plays an important role in the poem by showing that these actions are presently happening at the time. These verbs like cooking, digging, scrubbing, etc. emphasize the labor that African Americans had to encounter during slavery and also after. Also, Walker is dedicating this poem to African Americans and shows the reader how much they have overcome and how they handled adversity. This poem was a testament to the strength of African Americans. The two stanzas that had stood out to me were the first and last stanza. In the first stanza, Walker recalls slaves singing and the forced labor they had to do. These were times of grief, confusion, and utter sadness. These people were kidnapped from their homeland and forced to do labor if they refused, they were beaten, sold, or even killed. There was rarely any joy for the slaves, but they were joyous when worshipping Christianity. In the last line, Walker describes slaves worshipping Christ and submitting to God. This shows how strong of a relationship the slaves had with Christ. Even in their horrendous conditions, they still believed that God would get them through slavery and lead them to freedom. In the last stanza, when Walker writes “Let a bloody peace be written in the sky” she wants people to come together and love each other. We as humans should be compassionate to each other and help when one is in need. Not tear a race down, and degrade them for being different. Also, Walker wants Caucasians and African Americans to possibly work together one day and take control. In this case, she predicts the future as of now. Today, most whites and blacks will work together and fight against social inequalities. They work together to create change just like Margaret Walker wanted. Margaret Walker poem is very powerful and can cause readers to create change. It is an inspirational piece and will move readers emotionally.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |