These lines are an interesting mixture of the Bible's "Thou shalt not. . ." and the infamous Jim Crow laws.

This reminds me of the infamous "They're taking out jobs" excuse when in reality those who use this phrase do Not want said jobs that are being "taken."

This refers to the sense of pride and accomplishment Americans have felt for the progress that has resulted in this country however they refuse to acknowledge Exactly who's hard work has made such progress possible.

It seems Locke is claiming that "the intelligent Negro" should not use that fact that they are discriminated against to suggests why he or she has not been able to be successful.

Perhaps letting go of past burdens they have held onto for so many generations?

Is Locke saying that "The Negro" is partly to blame for how they are treated and why they have been dehumanized?

I feel like with all these examples the "original" dream is altered some way, whether it's been deformed or destroyed completely.

There's a sense of despair and hopelessness in this line. However with the use of "had", a past tense, perhaps the man doesn't harbor that same wish to die anymore?

Hughes is referring to the struggle of African Americans to be seen as "equal" to whites and ultimately be viewed as much of an American as anyone else

In this text Hughes is referring to the lack of appreciation the country has for the accomplishments of people of color IF their accomplishments do not coincide with "Caucasian patters." They are forced to conform to what's socially acceptable than stepping outside the box.

Hughes is referring to the subconscious racial messages that generations pass one from one another. Here one can see that everything good and successful are associated with "whiteness."

Hughes is referring his race as an obstacle. He feels forced to give up that part of his identity.

References lack of life and the wet/dry theme.

Typically the lack of water is associated with the lack of life.

Another example of polyglossia. Google translation " And O these children's voices, singing in the cupola!" original language was French.

Another reference to a zombie like state? Her brain is not able to form a complete thought, she's there but not "there" at the same time.

There's a sense of urgency here. The pressure to constantly be moving, thinking, planning it always present.

Another instance of the uncertainty and reference to zombies.

The use of the word climate is also strange and confused me. The line "Humming is" prior to the use of "climate" didn't give me much to work off of in terms of figuring out what's going on.

I was confused with the use of the word "compose" here in regards to beds. We often think of "make the bed" but compose is usually associated with "composing" music. However now that I think of it perhaps it does make sense. One "makes" the bed and one also "composes" (makes) music. I guess they could be interchangeable?

The use of the word "measure" is strange. When I first read this line I had to go through it slowly a few more times in order to try and understand it.

This is an interesting image and I initially thought the "profound change" as a plant finally beginning to grow. However, when I reread it, it reminded me of the free spirited Flapper, breaking free from the Victorian "Angel in the house" image.

This beginning struck me as a bit unusual. It's not what i picture when I think of spring. The words "contagious", "molted", "muddy" and "dried" give off a darker tone to the poem.

These lines refer to young men who work from Monday to Saturday, specifically hard labor due to the description "bathed in filth" and "railroading" in the previous line. However what stood out to me the most was the phrase "sheer lust of adventure". I interpreted it in a more historical perspective, thinking of the first groups of "young" men traveling to the west of the U.S. before it was heavily settled.

I found these lines pretty interesting. From my interpretation, I think the speaker is commenting on the ridiculousness of putting so much emphasis on love and being loved even though it is not essential for staying alive. Furthermore, man brings himself/herself closer to death due to the stress of finding love.

I'm not exactly sure what this is supposed to mean. However what am interpreting is that the narrator's neighbor likes boundaries and his own space.

When I read this I interpreted the "gaps" as a type of separation in society. We're not usually aware of their creation and it becomes something ingrained in our society, even if for a short period before people come to their senses. For example historically speaking we had segregation, a "gap" which divided whites from African Americans.

The repetition of these two lines stood out to me in this poem. I particularly interpreted "sleep" as maybe death, as strange that may sound to some people. In the previous lines it says "the woods are lovely, dark and deep. / But I have promises to keep," I think this represents a "push" for the narrator to simply keep on moving despite wanting to admire the woods. Or on a more, for a lack of a better word, extreme level, the narrator is feeling hopeless but he knows he still has more of his life to live, hence the "miles to go before i sleep" repetition.

I was a bit confused by this line. I'm interpreting it as the narrator saying at the age of 96 she has lived enough, in the sense that she's done with the monotony of her life as a housewife.

These few lines strangely remind me of the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. These lines make you take a step back because you're confused by what you just read. However when you reread it, it's not as complicated as you thought. Essentially like another person already said in their annotation, you can't know one thing without the other. Unfortunately this is where is becomes complicated once more because everyone interprets what's good, evil, true or false differently.

Throughout the poem I couldn't help but assume that Mr. Flood is dead. Or does this "party" translate to Mr. Flood's funeral? I also thought that perhaps the narrator was visiting Mr. Flood's grave.

It is odd how the narrator treats his jug with so much care. When I had read this far into the poem initially all I could conclude is that the narrator is drunk. However despite this strange action one can see that the narrator is aware of life's fragility in the same way material things can be.

Despite the use of "careful" and "loving" the word "controlling" best describes the narrator's husband. Throughout the text it seems the narrator always thinks back to her husband, what he thinks or what he's instructed her not to do.

This reminds me of the stereotypical and outdated idea that women were too emotional and unfit for anything concerning logic.

Here Du Bois comments on the difference between him and other African American boys. For example Du Bois says he strives to be successful like his white counterparts by "reading [the] law, by healing the sick, [and] by telling the wonderful tales in [his] head." On the other hand he claims that other African American boys react more violently towards the whites while others did nothing, wondering why God made them an "outcast." One can see that Du Bois thinks about this imbalance at a far deeper level as opposed to just sitting in despair and questioning why they are treated like second rate humans compared to the whites.

There is an interesting choice of words here, writhed, cursed, smothered, devoured, starved, and blighted. To me they stand out from the rest of the sentence and when I was reading the text I felt like I had to add extra emphasis to them. Additionally these words seem to "crush" others like curiosity and instinct, giving off a dark tone to this small portion of the text.

I assume this is some type of commentary on the lack of women's rights in America in the late 1800's and early 1900's while women were still fighting for the right to vote, among other things.

This specifically remind me of this sense of "mindlessness" that seems comes with education. For example you may take a class focusing on Shakespeare's sonnets, studying each one closely and get an "A" in the course. However two or three semesters later you might not be able to name the title of just one of Shakespeare's sonnets. In other words as students there has to be one time or another where we've crammed information into our brains only to "spill" it out completely on our assignment, midterm, final exam or whatever it may be, only to forget it all.

This specific image stood out to me the most in this poem. I think it's a powerful yet disturbing image at the same time. I think that rage crates this "acid" or in other words consequences that will harm everyone. For example globally speaking acid attacks have become more prevalent. Acid harms everyone just the same, regardless of gender, race etc.

Initially I was a bit confused on who "he" is referring to. However now I think "he" is perhaps the aggressor or a person in power or control.