Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
¶ … Langston Hughes' Poem "Madam's Past History"
The poem "Madam's Past History" is about a black woman asserting herself, remaining strong, and forcing people to show some respect for her, despite how society places her. In the voice of Madam Alberta K., she is showing that she will appear strong to the world, no matter what she has to do. In the end, Madam Alberta K. only has her pride and she defends it fiercely.
The first major point in the poem is that she makes everyone refer to her as Madam. As she states in the first verse, "The Madam stands for business. / I'm smart that way." In these lines, she is showing her reasoning for making everyone call her Madam, which is that it makes her appear strong and business-like. This business-like approach also suggests that she does not want to allow anyone to see any sign of frailty in her. In this way, referring to herself as Madam is about her need to assert herself and be strong. This is also reinforced at the end of the poem, where she finishes with, "Alberta K. Johnson-- / Madam to you." It is important that she first gives her name, which represents that she knows who she is. This is quickly followed by "Madam to you." This has a similar message to the beginning of the poem where she referred to Madam as standing for business. In both cases, it is showing that she does not want herself to be seen by others for who she really is. The "Madam" is like a front that...
This shows that she is putting on a strong front and protecting herself from the world. The next point to consider is what she is protecting herself from.
This is suggesting in the verses of the poem, where she describes how she has tried and been forced to fail in many areas. Her need to express how she has worked is represented by putting them in capital letters. In the second verse she tells the reader, "I had a / HAIR-DRESSING PARLOR." In the third verse she tells the reader, "Then I had a / BARBECUE STAND." Putting these two forms of work on separate lines and in bold font suggests that she wants to make this obvious to the reader. This shows that she has a desire to please others and have them approve of her. In turn, this suggests that she does feel some shame for how things have turned out. The next statement in bold occurs after she reveals that she is not currently working, as she practically shouts at the reader "DON'T WORRY 'BOUT ME!" It is interesting to note that at one point she is trying to convince the reader to accept her, and at the next she is shouting at the reader to ignore her. This suggests that she is fighting something within herself. She seems to be fighting a need to please, while also being aware that she will be judged and rejected by the reader. In the end, it seems that she sees…
Vandover and the Brute is a book written by Frank Norris who was an admirable writer who used his characters in a way to show how they were influenced and affected by outside sources. The novel, which was written between 1894 and 1895, was first published in 1914 and has become an exceptional text in modern literature. The novel is about the main character, Vandover, who slowly leads his life
Unfair Robert Francis was an American poet whose work is reminiscent of Robert Francis, his mentor. Francis' writing has often compared to other writers such as Frost, Emily Dickinson, and Henry David Thoreau. Although Francis's work has frequently been neglected and is "often excluded from major anthologies of American poetry," those that have read his work have praised him and his writing. In "Fair and Unfair," Francis comments on balance
Dead Body in War Poetry Analysis of Poets War Poetry War is a brutal reality on the face of history. Thousands of lives have been wasted in the name of battles and millions of people were affected by it. Poet is a rather sensitive part of our society and feels the brutality of war more than a normal individual. During World War I, the world went through havoc during which millions of
Their inability to come to terms with the facts of their success and the actions they were required to take to achieve it becomes, in many ways, the focus of the film, and becomes the true heart of the story Polanski is trying to tell in this film. Character Changes The violence and psychological crumbling it causes is not only accentuated in Polanski's Macbeth by these added scenes, but also in
Reading Skills Motivation and Background Building: Pre-Reading Phase Appropriate activities may include the following: Vocabulary instruction Prior knowledge connection Skill Development (may be done throughout) Establish purpose for reading Predicting Teacher think-aloud Setting/location/context Development of time/historical context There were four vocabulary words that the students learned during this phase: imperious, treacherous, tenacity and betrothal. They were provided with contextual sentences (three sentences in length) to introduce them to the words, guessed what they meant, received dictionary definitions, and had to
Though the reader understands that this is impossible as the beauty of youth cannot last forever, Shakespeare makes a point to remedy this. The speaker in the poem notes that his love's timelessness will be ensured through his actions of writing about her. No matter what happens to either of them through the course of their own lives, the beauty of the woman being written about and love that