Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View
The poem is narrated in first-person perspective by an unnamed speaker.
Form and Meter
It is written in free verse.
Metaphors and Similes
Metaphor: "To fling my arms wide"
This metaphor suggests the speaker's desire to embrace freedom and escape from confinement.
Simile: "Night coming tenderly / Black like me"
This simile compares the night to the speaker's identity.
Alliteration and Assonance
Alliteration: “Beneath a tall tree”
The repeated "t" sound creates a rhythmic and musical effect.
Irony
The line "Night coming tenderly” is ironic due to the association of tenderness with the night.
Genre
Lyric poetry
Setting
It is set during the Harlem Renaissance. It was a period of significant social and cultural change for African Americans in the United States.
Tone
The tone is hopeful, contemplative, and celebratory.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist: The speaker of the poem. Antagonist: The societal constraints and racial discrimination.
Major Conflict
The major conflict is the internal struggle within the speaker between their dreams of freedom and acceptance and the societal limitations and racial discrimination. The poem conveys the tension between the speaker's aspirations for a better life and the reality of their circumstances.
Climax
The climax is the final two lines "Night coming tenderly / Black like me," which encapsulate the celebration of blackness.
Foreshadowing
The first line foreshadows the idea of attaining freedom and acceptance. The speaker's aspirations are fulfilled in the final lines.
Understatement
The phrase "Rest at pale evening" underplays the emotional depth of the speaker's desire for freedom.
Allusions
The poem alludes to racial segregation, discrimination, and the fight for civil rights during the Harlem Renaissance.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
“Night coming tenderly / Black like me”
The night is given the human quality of tenderness.
Hyperbole
The phrase "Dance! Whirl! Whirl! / Till the quick day is done" is hyperbolic. It exaggerates the speaker's desire.
Onomatopoeia
The repetition of the word "Whirl" mimics the sound of the action it describes.
