I have chosen to write about the poem, AMartin Luther King Jr.,@ by Gwendolyn Brooks for essay number three. This poem stood out to me because it is about a man whose name I learned at a very young age and who I have been taught about since my very early years in school. Martin Luther King Jr. was a very inspiring leader and I immediately saw a theme relating to that when I read this poem. This work is also written about a time period that I am somewhat familiar with, which should help me with the historical aspect of my paper.
I have discovered the historical connection that when the poem was written, Martin Luther King Jr. had actually already been killed. I found this to be very relevant to the theme I found relating to an inspiration that can last over time. I thought it was very important that Brooks had written such strong words about a man two years after his prominence had passed. Two years prior to the writing of this piece also marked the end of the true Civil Rights Movement. This historical information can also be used to connect my idea about the theme of the poem to when it was written and what was occurring during that time period.
I hope to reveal that the fact that Brooks wrote this poem two years following King=s death is what actually enhances the poem and the theme of the poem. I think it makes the theme, of an inspiration that can endure time, much stronger than if the poem had been written while King was still alive and preaching, because this reveals so much more clearly exactly how much of an inspiration King was that he could continue to be so respected and his words could be heeded even after his tragic death.
I do still need to find more specific information about Martin Luther King Jr. and his actions. I will look further into the Civil Rights Movement that was occurring while he was alive as well as what was happening two years after his death, when this poem was written. I think it might be hard to find as much information during these following years, but anything I can find I think will help my argument, because just having a piece written about King, that displays such respect for him and his beliefs as Brooks=s poem, shows in itself how important he was considered to be.
The thesis for my paper will probably go something as follows: The time that Brooks wrote AMartin Luther King Jr.,@ in 1970, creates more depth to the theme of timeless inspiration that can be found in this poem, because King was dead when this poem was written and the Civil Rights Movement had come to a halt, but his words and memory were still living on.
2 comments:
Melanie,
You have chosen a good poem for the analysis and you have rightfully related the poem’s theme to the historical context. How exactly does this poem define King’s legacy and the essence of the Civil Rights movement? What type of persona of Dr. King does it create? You might want to only focus on the details from your historical research that serve as evidence that the persona created by Brooks after King’s death matches the persona created by the documentary accounts. Since you are arguing that this poem gains from having been written after his death, you can find accounts of how his legacy has been carrying on for decades and look at our contemporary accounts too.
I think this is a good choice of a writing to analyze. There is much historical and cultural information behind Martin Luther King Jr. and what he did for our culture. He represents a lot in America.
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