On “Hatred” and “Advice”
I was on a random website reading about Gwendolyn Bennett when I came across an article that describes her poems as “word paintings.” I really liked that phrase, especially when I remembered that in addition to being a writer, she was also actually a painter. With that in mind…
- What are some examples from “Hatred” and “Advice” that you think (that is, if you agree!) demonstrate Bennett’s ability to create these “words paintings”?
- If we had to speculate, who might these two poems be aimed at?
On “Lines Written…”
- Why might she be at the grave of Alexandre Dumas, invoking his “great spirit”?
- What might Gwendolyn Bennett mean when she writes, “Oh, stir the lucid waters of thy sleep/And coin for me a tale/Of happy loves and gems and joyous limbs/And hearts where love is sweet!” ?
General Q’s
- In addition to “word paintings,” what are some additional ways we could describe her style of poetry (writing mechanics, use of language, descriptive phrases, etc)?
- What do you make of the rhythms and the repetitions throughout her works?
- How do her poems succeed at representing who she is as an African American woman abroad in the mid 1920s?
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