By Megan Grams
Background
 Born September 10, 1877 in Atlanta, Georgia. Died May 14, 1966

Maiden name was Georgia Blanche Camp
 Parents were George and Laura Jackson Camp
 Graduated from Atlanta University Normal College in 1896.
 Studied music at Oberlin Conservatory
 married Henry Lincoln Johnson, an attorney in Atlanta active in the Republican
Party. They had two kids.
 She worked as a substitute teacher and a file clerk for the civil service. After she
lost the Department of Labor job in 1934, in the depths of the Great Depression,
Georgia Douglas Johnson worked as a teacher, librarian, and file clerk.
 She wrote more than 200 poems, 40 plays, 30 songs, and edited 100 books by
1930.

In 1965 Atlanta University awarded Georgia Douglas Johnson an honorary
doctorate in literature.
 She also wrote several plays.
 During World War II she published poems and read some on radio shows.
I Want To Die While You Love Me
I want to die while you love me,
While yet you hold me fair,
While laughter lies upon my lips
And lights are in my hair.
I want to die while you love me,
And bear to that still bed,
Your kisses turbulent, unspent,
To warm me when I'm dead.
I want to die while you love me,
Oh, who would care to live
Till love has nothing more to ask
And nothing more to give!
I want to die while you love me
And never, never see
The glory of this perfect day
Grow dim or cease to be.
Paraphrase
This poem is basically about Georgia
talking to her husband. She is saying exactly what
the title says; She wants to die while her husband
still loves her. There is nothing more she wants
than to die happily in love with this man. She feels
as if his love is the most powerful thing in the world
and without it she is nothing. If his love still remains
for her when she dies then she will die satisfaction.
Speaker & Tone
The speaker is the author. She is speaking in first
person about herself. Her attitude is very determined,
depressing, and she is very idealistic.
Poetic Devices
Personification
Ex: “While laughter lies upon my lips”
Ex: “til love has nothing more to ask and nothing more to give”
Allusion (to living)
Ex: “ And lights are in my hair”
Repetition
Ex: “I want to die while you love me”
Metaphor
Ex: “Your kisses turbulant, unspent”
Rhyme Scheme
The rhyme scheme is ABCB.
Each stanza is a repetitive rhyme
scheme.
ABCB, ADED, AFGF, AHIH
Work Cited
• http://womenshistory.about.com/od/harlemrenaissance/p/georgia_j
ohnson.htm
• http://www.poetry-archive.com/j/i_want_to_die.html