http://sbacari.tripod.com/poetry/whenidie.htm
In the poem When I Die by Nikki Giovanni, one can comprehend that this is a poem of remembrance. The audience in this case does not target one specific group but it targets all groups that have looked down upon her. Although the speaker is Nikki Giovanni, she is actually speaking for those who are just like her who have been hurt by their own people. She opens up her poem with stating that when she dies she hopes people of fake stature don’t try to show “respect” being that there was none when she was alive. In this poem the speaker speaks in first person to represent her opinion as well as that of many others, however; the “I” is not capitalized. I feel as though this is so because she feels as though the way people have treated her that she does not deserve such emphasis. This poem has a standard poem format, however; there are indents inserted in weird places. This could symbolize the way people hide their negative emotions towards her while she is still living. The speaker continues on to speak about how she hopes black people who make differences in life get the appreciation that they deserve instead of working so hard without being acknowledged. She ends this thought with stating “but it always seems to be that way” as though to show exhaustion as if it would never change. One motif that stood out to me the most was “lack of love”. This motif was represented the most in the third stanza where the speaker goes into depth of her OWN people degrading her before and after her death. The speaker concludes the poem with the message that fighting each other is not the answer. She wants the world to remember her has touching lives and guiding them to peace after the war but first she has to help them understand what it is that they’re fighting for (this can be inferred from the last line of the poem ending in “revolution”).
In the poem When I Die by Nikki Giovanni, one can comprehend that this is a poem of remembrance. The audience in this case does not target one specific group but it targets all groups that have looked down upon her. Although the speaker is Nikki Giovanni, she is actually speaking for those who are just like her who have been hurt by their own people. She opens up her poem with stating that when she dies she hopes people of fake stature don’t try to show “respect” being that there was none when she was alive. In this poem the speaker speaks in first person to represent her opinion as well as that of many others, however; the “I” is not capitalized. I feel as though this is so because she feels as though the way people have treated her that she does not deserve such emphasis. This poem has a standard poem format, however; there are indents inserted in weird places. This could symbolize the way people hide their negative emotions towards her while she is still living. The speaker continues on to speak about how she hopes black people who make differences in life get the appreciation that they deserve instead of working so hard without being acknowledged. She ends this thought with stating “but it always seems to be that way” as though to show exhaustion as if it would never change. One motif that stood out to me the most was “lack of love”. This motif was represented the most in the third stanza where the speaker goes into depth of her OWN people degrading her before and after her death. The speaker concludes the poem with the message that fighting each other is not the answer. She wants the world to remember her has touching lives and guiding them to peace after the war but first she has to help them understand what it is that they’re fighting for (this can be inferred from the last line of the poem ending in “revolution”).
I like how you address the message of the first stanza and attach your own interpretation. Which lines from the poem could you include to help support your argument?
ReplyDeleteWhat does "fake stature" mean? What is a standard poem format?
What is the tone of the poem? Do you notice a tone shift when she mentions her son?