Poetry

"Pastoral Scene of the gallant south" in Lewis Allan's "Strange Fruit" is a deeply ironic phrase. Allan uses it to critique the South's self-perception of gallantry and pastoral beauty, contrasting...

"The British (serves 60 million)" by Benjamin Zephaniah is an ode to the cultural diversity and historical evolution of the British people. The poet uses a recipe metaphor to describe the various...

"Lesson" by Forrest Hamer explores themes of racism and a child's attachment to his father. Set during a family trip in the 1960s, it highlights the fear of traveling through Mississippi, symbolized...

The irony in Helene Johnson's "Sonnet to a Negro" is reflected through contrasting imagery that praises a black man's magnificence while simultaneously highlighting societal scorn. Although the...

Benjamin Zephaniah's poem "No Problem" addresses the racism he has faced and society's tendency to stereotype him. The poem highlights his Jamaican heritage through phonetic language, asserting his...

In "Nothing's Changed," Tatamkhulu Afrika uses tone, imagery, and symbolism to convey themes of racial inequality and enduring social injustice. The sympathetic tone towards the speaker highlights...

To analyze Canisia Lubrin’s “The Mongrel,” think about how the poem engages with racist tropes about Black people and how it demonstrates the fragmentation brought on by colonialism.

The stanzas and imagery in Lewis Allen's "Strange Fruit" powerfully depict the horror of racial violence. Each stanza contrasts the beauty of the South's natural landscape with the grotesque image of...

The first two stanzas of "The Cold Within" depict six people trapped in a cold, dark setting, each holding a stick of wood. They sit around a dying fire that needs more wood. The first man refuses to...