Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View
“Childhood” is told from the perspective of a first person subjective point of view narrator.
Form and Meter
“For My People” is written in free verse and as such it does not have a form or meter.
Metaphors and Similes
In the second stanza of the poem “For My People” the narrator describes how the slaves used to bend the knee, forced by an unseen force. The bended knee is used in this context as a metaphor which represents the way in which the slaves were forced to listen to the white masters around them.
Alliteration and Assonance
We have an alliteration in the lines “where sentiment and hatred still held sway / and only bitter land was washed away” in the poem “Childhood”.
Irony
We have an ironic element in “Love Song for Alex” where the narrator claims that even though the man she loves will continue to hurt her, she will never give up on him and the hope of one day having a happy relationship.
Genre
The poem “For My People” is a negative poem on slavery and how it can affect a person.
Setting
Because “For Malcolm X” is a meditative poem, there is no fixed setting.
Tone
The tone used in “Lineage” is one full of wonder and respect.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonists in “For Malcolm X” are those who are trying to fight against racism and the antagonists are those who try to maintain slavery.
Major Conflict
The major conflict in “For Malcolm X” is between racism and egalitarians.
Climax
The poem “Love Song for Alex” reaches its climax when the narrator expresses her undying love for her lover.
Foreshadowing
In the first stanza of the poem “Childhood” the narrator describes a large group of miners, covered in coal dust and looking miserable going home after a long day of work. The image described here is all covered in red and the color which appears here is used to foreshadow the latter suffering described in the second stanza of the poem.
Understatement
One of the main understatement in “For Malcolm X” is the idea that racism will never be eradicated because white society will always want to feel superior.
Allusions
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The term “grandmother” is used in the poem “Lineage” to make reference to a person’s ancestry.
Personification
We have a personification in the line “With veins rolling roughly over quick hands” in the poem “Lineage”.
Hyperbole
We have a hyperbole in the poem “For My People” in the line “for my playmates in the clay and dust and sand of Alabama”.
Onomatopoeia
We have an onomatopoeia in the line “and grumbling undermining all their words” in the poem “Childhood”.
