BioNikki Giovanni is a female African American poet and
literary figure who became popular in the late 1960s and 1970s. Born on Born on
June 7, 1943 in Knoxville Tennessee but grew up in an Ohio suburb. She is known as an activist, social
commentator, and an educator. She graduated from Fisk which was her
grandfathers Alma mater and a historically known black college in 1967 and went
on to attend the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University. Her first
book of poetry titled Black Feel Black talk was published in 1968 and began her
writing career. She gave birth to her son Thomas In 1969 and also accepted a
teaching job at Rutgers University. Nikki became a highly sought after guest
speaker and lecturer through 1970s and 1980s. Among
an award winning autobiography, she also has an impressive body of work that
includes many published books for adults and children. She has won several
NAACP awards for her poetry, The Langston Hughes Medal for Poetry, the Rosa
Parks Woman of Courage award, and many other awards/recognition. Nikki Giovanni
is currently a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech in
Blacksburg, Virginia.
Nikki |
ANALYSISSimilar to the Diction tactics scene in Langston Hughes’s Cross, Giovanni also uses comparisons to draw the reader’s attention distinctions. "This comparison style is used for the audience to create a clear understanding of the poem and meaning. Using two subjects in each stanza is a simple way to prove your point." (Nachampassak,1) However, Langston used this method to stress the differences between blacks and whites and Giovanni puts two opposites together to emphasize the notion of balance. It brings to mind night and day, hot and cold, good and bad…opposites that cannot stand alone but together the balance each other out. However, it appears the balance is never quite even. “3 grains of salt to one ounce of truth” (lines 9-10). The metaphor here is grains of salt to lies. It would appear that there are more lie’s than there are truths which is usually the case in life. Things are never exactly equal and that is why one must balance. This poem takes a small window to make a racial jab. “Our sweet black essence or the funky honkies down the street.” Unlike Cross this tone is more playful and possible a comedic device. In the first few lines the poem seems upbeat. None of the comparisons are deadly serious. They are small everyday gestures but in line 13 the tone of the poem takes a turn towards the pensive side. The speaker goes from comparing silly little things to more complex ideas like love, loneliness and pain. This is structural significant because it strengthens the idea of balance in the poem. There is a time to play and a time not to play. The beginning is light hearted and airy but the end is heavy with thought. This is also a ploy to emphasize on what the poet really wants the reader to leave with. Lines 1-12 can be seen a beating around the bush but in lines 13-22 Giovanni gets to the point. The major theme is love, or loss of love verses the racial topics seen in both Langston and Soyinka.
Nikki Giovanni piques the reader’s senses with imagery terms like sweet and funky to depict scent. It also should be noted that in Hughes comparison the positive image was always paired with white but we see the reverse in Giovanni’s free verse. Imagery also is present in lines 15-22 “We used to talk all night and do things alone together and I’ve begun (as a reaction to a feeling) to balance the pleasure of loneliness against the pain of loving you”. A picture of the lovers is clear in the audiences mind. The terms reaction, feeling, pleasure, pain are all imagery devices in place to evoke that feeling from the reader and to allow one to experience the scene in the poem. In these final lines she also cunningly pairs opposites to balance them as well. Pleasure and loneliness are not commonly placed together nor is love and pain but realistically these experiences work hand to hand and indeed create balance. In love there will be pain and in loneliness you can find pleasure. If it felt good all the time it would not feel as good at all. |