Once (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Alice Walker
- First Published: 1968
- Type of Work: Narrative
- Genres: Poetry, Narrative poetry
- Subjects: African Americans, Civil rights, Social action, 1960’s, Prisons, South or Southerners, Prejudices or antipathies, Captivity
The Poem
“Once” is a poem consisting of fourteen numbered sections in free verse. The sections range from fifteen to forty-one lines, each presenting one image or short narrative from Alice Walker’s work in the 1960’s with the American Civil Rights movement. Together, the sections add up, like the pieces in a stained-glass window, to a complete picture.
“Once” opens with Walker in a Southern jail. Her companion points out the irony of the pretty lawn and flowers outside the jail, while Walker dryly comments on the irony that “Someone in America/ is being/...
[The entire page is 1537 words long]
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