DEMOCRACY

BY LANGSTON HUGHES

PREPARED BY ; ALUDDIN BIN EKKIH MOHAMMAD LUTFI BIN MOHD ANOR MOHD ADIB AZFAR BIN MURI

THE POEM
Democracy will not come Today, this year Nor ever Through compromise and fear. I have as much right As the other fellow has To stand On my two feet And own the land. I tire so of hearing people say, Let things take their course. Tomorrow is another day. I do not need my freedom when I'm dead. I cannot live on tomorrow's bread. Freedom Is a strong seed Planted In a great need. I live here, too. I want freedom Just as you.

JAMES LANGSTON HUGHES (February 1, 1902 May 22, 1967

AUTHOR
Born in Joplin, Missouri His great-great-grandparents brother was the first Black American to be elected to public office. He is the member of abolitionist family, where he fight for his skin colour. Langston Hughes died of cancer on May 22, 1967. His father wants him to become a lawyer but he refused. He had works many part time job before discovered by poet Vachet Lindsay. His most famous poem is The Negro Speaks of Rivers.

ANALYSIS OF THE POEM

The first stanza This stanza shows the poet true feelings. He
tired of being compromise all the time yearning for democracy to come. He assumes maybe his people need to change their strategy to be heard by the authority. The second stanza He shows and asks for his right as American citizen to be the same as the white people. He also wants to walk around his own land without feeling no fear.

 The third stanza This stanza shows his character which is

so eager to fight for his right and he does not want to

wait and tired of hearing Let things take their course, Tomorrow is another day.

The fourth stanza planted by great need means that

everyone want freedom in their life and everyone deserve it. The fifth stanza Emphasizes what the poet want as a American citizen by saying it again

THEME
Democracy He asks for his right and freedom as an American regardless his colour. He wants equal treat in his own country.

Racial
How the black is isolated by the dominant white people. The society assumes black as the

second class people.

TONE

Serious - Since democracy is a serious topic to discuss, he uses serious tone to deliver it in his poem. He seriously emphasizes his point of wanting a democracy and wants the reader to get the message sharply and clearly.

RHYME
First stanza- ABBB Second stanza- ABCDC Third stanza- ABACC Fourth stanza- ABBB Fifth stanza- ABA
- Hence, the poem is free verse where the rhymes are not consistent.

LITERARY DEVICES
Rhyming couplets:
Today, this year Nor Ever Through comprise and fear To stand On my two feet And own the land Metaphor: - I cannot live on tomorrows bread he means he cannot live on unsure, tomorrow - Freedom is a strong seed The poet compare freedom with a seed

promises

SADIE AND MAUD

By Gwendolyn Brooks

GWENDOLYN BROOKS

GWENDOLYN BROOKS
Born in Topeka,Kansas. Her family moved to Chicago when she was young. Her father was janitor who had hope to become a doctor; her mother was a schoolteacher and classically trained pianist. Brookss activism and her interest in nurturing black literatureled her to leave major publisher Harper & Row in favor of fledgling black publishing company. She did not regret having supported small publishers dedicated to the needs of the black community.

STANZA 1

Maud went to college. Sadie stayed home Sadie scraped life

With a fine toothed comb.

Maud and Sadie are siblings. Maud is smarter because she went to college while Sadie just stay at home. Sadie scraped life means she lives in difficulties. fine toothed comb symbolises the way Sadie organises or manages her life satisfactory. Even though she stays at home, her life is happy.

STANZA 2
She didnt leave a tangle in Her comb found every strand Sadie was one of the livingest chicks In the land

Line 1 and 2 shows that Sadies life goes smoothly although she has to face some obstacles. So, she is the happiest woman in all the land because she enjoys her life very much.

STANZA 3
Sadie bore two babies

Under her maiden name

Maud and Ma and Papa Nearly died of shame

Line 1 and 2 shows that she is a single mother with two babies. maiden name means she is not married yet. Maud, Ma and Papa are her family. In our opinion, her family is very ashamed because she is having children without marriage.

STANZA 4
When Sadie said her last so-long Her girls struck out from home (Sadie left as heritage Her fine-toothed comb.)

This stanza tell us that Sadie said her last goodbye meaning that she is going to die. Her children will go out from their house to persuade their dream. Then, her traits will still continue their life to the fullest as she did.

STANZA 5
Maud, who went to college. Is a thin brown mouse. She is living all alone In this old house.

Maud the one who has gone to college. thin shows that she is not enjoying her life. As we know, brown mouse is always hiding in the hidden place in a house. This shows, although Maud went to college, she still do not know how to socialize with others. So, she ends up her life living alone without company. old house means her parent house.

ANALYSIS

 From the name Sadie itself portrays sadness. However, the poet express Sadies character whom undergoes a happy life which is contradict to her name. Both of them lead different lifestyles. Sadies life is full of joy while Mauds life is in sorrow and loneliness. Actually, the way they manage their life

THEME

 In our opinion the theme is generally about life. The way Sadie and Maud lead their life are different. Maud lead a life that is common as others in the society. On the other hand, Sadie is living against the society norm. The line Sadie bore two babies Under her maiden name is the evidence. Despite that, she still manage to attain a happy life.

LIFE

ISSUES RAISED

 How one character manages life that is against the society norm.
Sadie able to manage her life well and lead a happy life compared to Maud who lives in loneliness.

How a different character reacts towards the society.

Sadie socialise well enough in the society while Maud failed to do so. Actually has lots of opportunity to mix with people and socialise as she goes to college.

RHYME SCHEME

Maud went to college. Sadie stayed home

Sadie scraped life

With a fine toothed comb.

ABCB

She didnt leave a tangle in

Her comb found every strand

Sadie was one of the livingest chicks In the land

ABCB

Sadie bore two babies Under her maiden name

Maud and Ma and Papa

Nearly died of shame

ABCB

When Sadie said her last so-long

Her girls struck out from home

(Sadie left as heritage Her fine-toothed comb.)

ABCB

Maud, who went to college.

Is a thin brown mouse. She is living all alone In this old house.

ABCB

POETIC DEVICES

 Assonance: Repetition of vowel sound.

Maud went to college, Sadie stayed at home,

Alliteration: Repetition of the initial consonant sound.

Sadie stayed at home, Sadie scraped life,

Hyperbole: A figure of speech involving exaggeration.

Nearly died of shame.

Metaphor: Comparison of unlike things(made without using like or as)

Maud, who went to college,

Is a thin brown mouse.

TONE
Serious:

-the poem talks about someones life

-someone who made a decision against the norm -decision that will lead to our future

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

William Wordsworth

Type of Work, Year of Composition, and Year of Publication.

William Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud " also known as The daffodils is a lyric poem focusing on the poet's response to the beauty of nature. { A lyric poem presents the deep feelings and emotions of the poet rather than telling a story or presenting a witty observation.} The final version of the poem was first published in Collected Poems in 1815. An earlier version was published in Poems in Two Volumes in 1807 as a three-stanza poem. The final version has four stanzas. Wordsworth wrote the earlier version in 1804, two years after seeing the lakeside daffodils that inspired the poem .

Setting and Background Information

The poem recaptures a moment on April 15, 1802. whenWordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, were walking near Lake Ullswater in Grasmere, Cambria County, England, and came across a "long belt" of golden daffodils.

Wordsworth sister Dorothy, played an important part in his life and she also influenced him with her love of nature.

I wandered lonely as a Cloud (Daffodils): Rhyme, Form & Meter

"I wandered lonely as a Cloud" has a fairly simple form that fits its simple and folksy theme and language. It consists of four stanzas with six lines each, for a total of 24 lines. The rhyme scheme is also simple: ABABCC. (Rhymed Stanzas in Iambic Tetrameter ) . The last two lines of each stanza rhyme like the end of a Shakespearean sonnet, so each stanza feels independent and self-sufficient. This is called a "rhyming couplet."

I wandered lonely as a Cloud (Daffodils) Summary

In this poem the poet describes his experience of the sight of "a host of daffodils" during a lonely walk, the daffodils delight him with her beauty and "their sprightly dance". He says "they seem as numerous as the stars that shine in the sky"; He also remarks on the beauty of the lake nearby, but adds that even its sparkling waves are not so exuberant as the yellow daffodils "dancing in the breeze". Moreover, when he is sad, he thinks of daffodils "and then my heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils", that is to say, when his feelings are depressed, thinking of daffodils cheers him up.

I wandered lonely as a Cloud (Daffodils) Analysis

William Wordsworth's "I wandered lonely as a cloud" epitomizes the Romanticism that flourished in nineteenth century Europe. The lyric movingly exemplifies Wordsworth's abstract definition of poetry as "emotion recollected in tranquility." Imagination is the key that unlocks the innermost depths of the human spirit, and imagination is best awakened by contemplation and celebration of the wonders of nature.

First stanza.
The poem is rich with imagery. In the first stanza ,The poet compares himself to a cloud. He is walking lonely as the cloud is moving lonely in the sky over vales and hills. So, the poet from the very beginning represents the idea of loneliness. Suddenly, in his solitude while the poet was walking lonely, he saw unlimited number of golden daffodils. They were beside the lake and under the trees. These daffodils were moving so rapidly as if they were dancing. The poet saw them fluttering and dancing together happily. They were dancing only in his eyes and imagination. In fact, the poet colors what he sees by his imagination. The physical movement of dancing reflects the psychological state of the daffodils' happiness. The first stanza a contrast between the loneliness of the poet and the crowd of the daffodils.

Second stanza.
The poet compares these daffodils to the stars on the milky way in the sky. Both of them are numerous in number and are shining or twinkling. So, the daffodils are shining because they have yellow color at their top. So, when they are grouped together, the yellow color at their top shines like stars in the sky. Daffodils are continuing in their movement. The poet describes their movement (dancing) saying that they were stretching along the edge of the lake as if they were human being tossing their heads. So, the poet, in this stanza, describes the happy movement of the daffodils. These daffodils were situated in a line that never ends to the degree that he imagines himself seeing ten thousand of them. In fact, this is an exaggeration because the poet cannot see ten thousand daffodils just in one glance. But, he makes this exaggeration because he is influenced by the shiny appearance of the daffodils.

Third stanza.
In the third stanza ,the poet starts to talk about the waves which are in the lake. The waves, like the daffodils, are dancing. They are happy, therefore, they are moving as if they were dancing in the lake besides the daffodils. The joy of the waves exceeds the joy of the daffodils. The waves and the daffodils are humanized as they feel joy. But, the daffodils are happier than the waves. This scene affects the poet and makes him happy. So, in the company of happy daffodils and waves, the poet should be happy like them. In this contemplation, everything in nature affects him, and makes him happy.

Last stanza.
In the last stanza, the poet describes his state when he remembers the dancing of the daffodils and waves in his solitude. He says that from time to time when he has nothing to do, when his mind is vacant, or when he his mind in contemplating something, he sees by his inward eye and imagination something which gives him pleasure. He remembers the happy dancing of the daffodils and waves while he is lying on his couch. As result, he becomes happy and his heart is filled with pleasure and happiness. This can be done only in his solitude which gives him a chance to contemplate nature. Contemplation of nature is the main source of happiness to all the romantic poets. So, his contemplation of nature (the dancing of the daffodils and waves) is the source of his happiness even he starts to dance with the daffodils after his heart is filled with pleasure. This explains the effect of nature on the poet. So, this poem represents the beauty of nature and its effect on human beings.

Main Theme of the poem

Nature' s beauty uplifts the human spirit .

Theme of { Happiness } : Fluttering and dancing in the breeze the poem just makes you feel good about life by using the power of imagination .
Man and the Natural World : They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay Wordsworths nature is full of life and vitality. He appreciates its wildness and unpredictability, but he humanizes the landscape and fits it to his own mind.

the theme of loneliness : 'I wandered lonely as a cloud.' that could by affected by daily routines .
theme of rejecting city life and going back to the Mother Nature .

Memory and the Past : the poet can always draw on his imagination to reproduce the joy of the event and to remember the spiritual wisdom that it provided powers of imagination .

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Primary and the Secondary Imagination

The primary imagination is essentially the sublime aspect of human consciousness: raw creativity, or the spontaneous overflow of emotion .The primary imagination was vital to Romantic poets for them to be able to create moving images as we going to in the Daffodils The secondary imagination, on the other hand, is creativity tempered by the conscious will.

Primary and the Secondary Imagination

The persona ( poet) uses the primary and the secondary imagination, which was fundamental in the romantic poetry. In "The Daffodils", the primary imagination occurs when the persona imagines himself as a cloud that saw a group of dancing daffodils. Then, the secondary imagination happens when he remembers these daffodils while he was sitting on his couch and this memory, of things that never happened, fills his heart with happiness. Therefore, the secondary imagination is a sequence of the primary imagination .

Figures of speech:
Simile : as in I wandered lonely as a cloud and Continuous as the stars that shine .

Metaphor: as in" What wealth the show to me had brought

Personification : as in Fluttering and dancing in the breeze

The word "dance" is repeated 3 times in this poem. In the 1st stanza, it denotes the happiness and liveliness of the flowers. In the 2nd stanza, it creates a sense of harmonious relationship between the daffodils and the waves. In the last stanza, it refers that this harmony is advanced to include the poet himself.

Figures of speech:
Apostrophe: I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; .The poet apostrophizes the daffodils and describes them in their large number as a crowd of people. Also , In such a jocund company The poets addresses the flowers as human beings and describes them as a happy company of good friends .

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Musical devices:
Alliteration: Beside and beneath / high and hills Consonance: wandered and cloud / that and floats Assonance :fluttering, dancing / such and jocund

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City life

vs Nature

Through the lines, the shift of the poet feelings is very clear. Firstly, he complains about the corrupted world, which lacks cooperation and harmony, so he wanders lonely and hopeless. He prefers to get away from other people as if being with them brings him nothing but more sadness and loneliness. However, seeing the golden daffodils cheered him up because they welcomed him. "A host, of golden daffodils" shows that the poet ran away from city life and took nature as a shelter to protect him from the world's corruption. The fact that the daffodils are dancing with each others proves the harmonious relationships, which exists even with other natural elements like the trees and the waves. This scene changes the poet feelings from loneliness and sadness because of the corrupted world to company and joy because of the beauty and purity of the nature.

characteristics of the romantic literature shown in the daffodils

Firstly, the romantic poetry was based on the theme of rejecting city life and going back to Mother Nature. Actually, some critics accused these poets of being escapists because they left their lives behind their backs instead of solving them. Secondly, the romantic poets thought that they could see more and better than ordinary people did because they had deeper emotions. This was proven when the persona said, "Ten thousand saw I at a glance". Thirdly, the poets uses the primary and the secondary imagination, which was fundamental in the romantic poetry.

In addition, the poem shows another romantic characteristic, which is recollecting the ideas in tranquility. It occurs when a poet has a poetic experience, he shall calm down. Later, he can collect his ideas and feelings by his imagination when he has a vacant mood because if he writes after having the poetic experience immediately, his poem will be as recording historical events since it hasn't been colored by the poet's imagination. In "The Daffodils", the persona's poetic experience was seeing the dancing daffodils, so he wrote his poem after recollecting his ideas in tranquility because he says "when on my couch I lie / in vacant or pensive mood".

Finally,
The general atmosphere of the poem begins with sadness and agony, but changes into happiness and joy. This atmosphere is emphasized through the choice of words. Firstly, the words were negative and unpleasant such as "wandered" and "lonely". They point out the sense of isolation. However, these words change to be more positive and cheerful as in "dancing", "stars that shine", "gay", etc