Genre
Poetry
Setting and Context
America in the 20th and 21st Century.
Narrator and Point of View
Brown himself is often the speaker of his poems. However, sometimes he uses unique narrators; for example, in "The Virus," he writes from the perspective of a virus.
Tone and Mood
The tone of Brown's poems is often melancholy and angry.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Brown and the antagonist are external forces such as racism and physical illness.
Major Conflict
For many of Brown's speakers, the main conflict is dealing with illness, racism, and prejudice.
Climax
The climax of "Bullet Points" is:
"I promise if you hear
Of me dead anywhere near
A cop, then that cop killed me."
Foreshadowing
At the beginning of "Bullet Points," the speaker foreshadows the powerful statement at the end by depicting police officers as dangerous and untrustworthy.
Understatement
Brown suggests that the danger of the police in America is understated.
Allusions
In "Riddle," Brown alludes to Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American boy who was lynched in 1955.
Imagery
The speaker of Duplex uses imagery to describe his parents, as being like a "hailstorm" and "light rain."
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
In "Duplex," the description of the speaker's parents are paralleled and contrasted. His father is depicted as being violent, while the mother is depicted as being softer.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
In "The Virus, a virus is personified as the speaker of the poem.
