Tracy K. Smith is one of the renowned contemporary poets in the United States of America. Currently, Smith is a literature professor at Princeton University. Before writing the poem "Declaration," Smith's famous poems included Wade in Water, 2018, and Life on Mars, 2011. In 2012, Smith won Pulitzer Prize, among the awards that brought her into the limelight. The "Declaration" is an erasure poem because the words used are not Smith's but copied from the US Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson. However, she deletes several words to fit her narrative and intention to readers. The primary themes in "Declaration" by Smith include insincerity, editorial prowess, and erasure.
When readers come across the Declaration of Independence, they understand that it stands for equality, respect for human rights, and liberty. Consequently, all people are created equal before God and have the right and freedom to live in the United States of America. However, Smith's poem "Declaration" deconstructs the insincerity of the Declaration of Independence because racism is rampant in the United States of America. People of color do not have access to opportunities like their white counterparts. Therefore, hypocrisy emerges as a key theme because the intentions of the Declaration of Independence have not been fully implemented. Some people, especially black Americans, feel neglected and mistreated because they do not fully enjoy their liberty and access to opportunities.
In "Declaration," Smith uses erasure poetry in literature where she intentionally removes some words from the existing text to create a new meaning. The intended purpose of the "Declaration of Independence" is to show that America is a state that acknowledges equality and values human dignity. However, Smith removes some parts of this existing literature to exhibit her prowess in editorial power and paint a clear picture of the reality of modern America. Smith does not add any words of her own in the poem, but she manages to alter the meaning of the text, despite it being originally written by Thomas Jefferson.
Smith's tactical erasure approach to her poem "Declaration" depicts modern America in which over three-quarters of the population has a right to exercise their right to vote. Throughout the poem, gaps indicate that Smith has removed several sections which symbolize the atrocities against minority groups to empower them to feel like part of the larger American society. The major conflict in the poem shows the enslavement of people by the pirates, which forms the basis of racial discrimination. However, the poem does not have a noticeable climax, but Smith drives her point by focusing on African American oppression and the slave trade.
