Past Writing Genre’s in Modern Day Literature

By Rebecca Davis

When comparing modern literature with that of the past, I see more similarities than
differences. It feels as though the history of literature has all been funneled into most modern
day writings. In Audre Lorde’s poem, “Black Mother Woman”, which was published in 1972, I
see notes of realism, psychological realism, and high modernism, and religious imagery.

The poem begins with the speaker recalling her mother as ungentle. Immediately,
we learn that her mother was harsh and lacked softness. Lines 2-5 read, “I cannot recall you
gentle/ Through your heavy love/ I have become an image of your once delicate flesh/ split with
deceitful longings.” In this passage we begin to see religious imagery in the word “flesh”. This
refers to sin or our bodies which the spirit lives within. She says that the person she is now is
like how her mother used to be. Her essence was once “delicate.” At the same time, the speaker
separates herself from the “deceitful longings” which has been a part of her mother for a long
time. This could be referring to the struggles of being a black woman.

She says that her mother’s beauty shines through her. Lines 6-8 read, “when
strangers come and compliment me your aged spirit takes a bow jingling with pride but once
you hid that secret in the center of fury’s.” This tells me that the speaker looks like her mother,
who was beautiful, and when she is complimented her mother’s spirit should feel flattered and
proud. Her mother never had the capacity to appreciate her beauty because she was angry and
had a “center of fury” probably due to mainstream ideas of beauty which excluded black
woman. The anger she felt was deep within, so much so that it became a part of her identity.
Line 9 is only two words, “hanging me.” This is a deliberate placement to tell us that the
resentment which poured out of her mother began to affect the daughter so much that it was
taking away her joy of life.

We start to see the cause of the mother’s resentment in lines 13-14. “With your
own split flesh and longsuffering eyes, buried in myths of no worth.” The last statement in the
first stanza depicts more religious imagery. Longsuffering eyes represents generational sin. The
struggles the mom has, have been passed down from her mother and maybe the mother before
that. At this point the mother believes she is not worthy of anything. The sin which affects the
women in this family are feelings of inadequacy and anger from being a black woman in a
society that only appreciates white beauty.

The turn comes in the second stanza on line 15, “But I have peeled away your anger/
down to its core of love”. This indicates to me that the speaker is a born again Christian and is
using the teachings from the bible to break her generational sin. “Core of love” refers to the
love she receives from God. By loving God and believing you are made in the image of Christ,
you stop viewing yourself as the world would and start seeing yourself through the eyes and
Christ. In doing so she can “peel away” the anger gifted to her by her mother. She is excited
about her new revelations and wants her mom to know. “and look mother/ I am/ a dark temple
where your true spirit rises/ beautiful and tough as a chestnut.” More indications of being born
again when she refers to herself as a dark temple. She references her new strength to a
chestnut because they are dark and strong.

The final three lines of the poem reflect peace and understanding. “I learned from
you/ to define myself/ through your denials.” By addressing the root cause of her mother’s
anger she was able to forgive and let go, allowing herself to live an uncaged life full of love and
gratitude.

Realism/ Psychological realism (late 1800’s) can be seen throughout this poem
because it focuses on middle to lower class individuals in mundane, normal situations and
follows the internal thoughts of the character. The feelings of inadequacy are relatable and are
frequently seen in everyday life. I also see hints of high modernism (1950) because of the
philosophical influences that could be hard to interpret. The Religious imagery is the oldest
technique used in this poem which dates back to biblical times. Although I see different themes,
I think it comes together well to make a nice poem.