With Close Reference to a Maximum of 40 Lines of Verse, Discuss the Idea That Angelou Explores the Ideas of Freedom and Equality.
- Submitted by: mikemesmerized
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- Category: English: Poetic Works
- Date Submitted: 05/09/2011 02:53 PM
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For the purpose of this essay I am going to analyse how Maya Angelou explores the ideas of freedom and equality in the poem ‘Equality’. ‘Equality’ is a poem about discrimination and injustice in society, unfair treatment and suffering. In the poem Maya Angelou talks about the need for equal opportunity, fairness and justice in society-freedom and equality. This poem was written in the time where in America blacks and whites were segregated, so this was a big ethical issue at the time. Maya Angelou felt the need to express her feelings in her poems and ‘Equality’ is one of those poems.
In ‘Equality’ Maya Angelou explores ideas of freedom and equality as she talks about an oppressor and suppressors inflicting pain on to her and her people as she uses “We” a plural to show that she is not alone in this situation. Angelou talks about a need for change and she is shouting out the message in the oppressors face, but still he claims not to hear her and chooses to ignore her message. Angelou explores freedom and equality in ‘Equality’ by the repetition of ‘Equality, and I will be free’, showing her message loud and clear to the reader and who she is addressing the poem to; the oppressor.
Maya Angelou addresses the reader as “You” in the poem using second person to engage the reader, so you feel like she is talking to you and make you feel the importance of her message behind the poem, so a conversational tone is what the poem is written in. She describes herself being seen as virtually invisible by the oppressor as she says “see me dimly”, “hear me faintly”, even though she “stands before you boldly” and her “drums beat out the message”. This shows the level of respect the oppressor has for her is virtually none and he feels they are not equal that he claims he doesn’t hear or see her. The “drums” and beating symbolises the message she is giving out to the reader and the message is “Equality, and I will be free” and this is repeated in the last two lines in three...
In ‘Equality’ Maya Angelou explores ideas of freedom and equality as she talks about an oppressor and suppressors inflicting pain on to her and her people as she uses “We” a plural to show that she is not alone in this situation. Angelou talks about a need for change and she is shouting out the message in the oppressors face, but still he claims not to hear her and chooses to ignore her message. Angelou explores freedom and equality in ‘Equality’ by the repetition of ‘Equality, and I will be free’, showing her message loud and clear to the reader and who she is addressing the poem to; the oppressor.
Maya Angelou addresses the reader as “You” in the poem using second person to engage the reader, so you feel like she is talking to you and make you feel the importance of her message behind the poem, so a conversational tone is what the poem is written in. She describes herself being seen as virtually invisible by the oppressor as she says “see me dimly”, “hear me faintly”, even though she “stands before you boldly” and her “drums beat out the message”. This shows the level of respect the oppressor has for her is virtually none and he feels they are not equal that he claims he doesn’t hear or see her. The “drums” and beating symbolises the message she is giving out to the reader and the message is “Equality, and I will be free” and this is repeated in the last two lines in three...