Harlem Renaissance
Sonnets
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Centuries old 14-line lyric poem
Italian/Petrarchan
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Shakespearean/English
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Line grouping into an octave (8 lines) and sestet (6 lines)
Rhyme scheme: abbaabba cdccde/cdccdc
Line grouping into three quatrains (4 lines) and a couplet
Rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg
Written in iambic pentameter – five pairs of
syllables- unstressed stressed (heartbeat)
James Weldon Johnson
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Lawyer, teacher, songwriter, diplomat, civil
rights activist (Renaissance Man)
“My City” p. 848
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Which sonnet traits are evident? How do they
support the meaning of the poem?
What will the speaker miss most when he
dies? Why?
What rhetorical devices are noticeable in the
poem?
Claude McKay
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“poet of rebellion” (Johnson)
Fierce critic of racism
“If We Must Die”
“If We Must Die” p. 850
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Which sonnet traits are evident? How do they
support the meaning of the poem?
What is the author’s purpose in writing this
poem?
What kind of death does he support?
Countee Cullen
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“Any Human to Another”
Addresses more universal themes like love
and faith – does not focus solely on the
African-American experience, but on the
human experience
“If I am going to be a poet at all, I am going to
be a poet and not a Negro poet.”
“Any Human to Another” p. 854
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Lines 1-12: Based on the title, what message
about sorrow is expressed in these lines?
Lines 20-24: What is indicated through the
use of personification in these lines?
Find other rhetorical devices
Jean Toomer
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“Storm Ending”
Racially mixed family – could “pass”
Later rejected “race”
Proclaimed himself the founder of a “united
human race”
Imagist poetry
“Storm Ending” p. 855
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To what is the thunderstorm being
compared?
What message is he trying to convey about
the storm using that comparison?
Find an example of personification – what
does it mean?
Imagery poetry – five senses
Arna Bontemps
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“A Black Man Talks of Reaping”
Loved Northern cities, but inspired by
Southern roots of African-American culture
Educator
“Black Man Talks of Reaping” p. 856
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How much has the speaker reaped from all
the seeds he has scattered?
What is the tone of this poem?
What is significant about the word “yet” at the
beginning of stanza three?
Why are the speaker’s children feeding “on
bitter fruit”?
Harlem quiz
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Langston Hughes Poetry (838 – 844)
Zora Neale Hurston “How It Feels To Be
Colored Me” (858 – 865)
Other Harlem Renaissance Poets (846 –
856)
845, 851, 857, and margin questions
Scan Tron – bring pencils