Again, the theme of celebration rather than misery is brought up again in Bennett's poetry. The author writes about "tendrils drinking at the Nile" giving me a sense of life growing and branching out and thriving. The life does not have a set place to grow, but instead it expands to where is available; this theme of free growth is very optimistic from Bennett.

The songs of pain have their place, but the speaker claims that songs of joy can also push the movement along also. The happiness is be celebrated rather than purely wallowing in the pain of the past.

The speaker is open to new ideas like how Modernism is used to introduce new ideas and challenge the status quo and stagnant thoughts. The fear of not allowing a new "song to sing // That's different from the rest," is that the general population's opinions will not change if the progressive ideas that were introduced in the past do not continue to be developed.

I feels like the speaker is trying to convey that the blues, or the speaker's sadness, can only be conveyed through these white pieces. I have heard commentary in queer literature where people pose the question of who queer media is for. Is it for the people within the community or is it for people outside of the community as a way to educate? This can be related to this line as if the blues will only be heard by a primarily white audience through a white filter.

The speaker is shunned, but grows strong because of the struggles they have been forced to endure. The speaker is confident that they will be recognized soon because of how beautiful they have become. They will no longer become the black sheep of America.

The constant reference to history and water is the speaker's way of saying that Black lives/history runs deep as far as history can document. Not only is Black history important to American history, but I interpret this as the speaker telling the reader that Black history is important throughout world history.

I sense a connection between this line and "The Yellow Wallpaper." The truth is being fed to people so much that the captives starts to believe their captures. Or even the captives want to believe their captures so much because of the manipulation that has occured.

Reminds me of when people say the "winners write history." Is Locke saying that the ones in power are dictating the narrative of who "The Old Negro" is"?

The same movement can be seen these days. People complain that society is becoming "too sensitive," but it seems like the younger generation coming in with "vibrant [. . .] new psychology" is nothing new. If this is the case, is the younger generation that Locke is speaking of the ones calling our current society "too sensitive"?

Funny how the common, aka the majority, is looked down on. The common people are made to feel bad about themselves for being the working class. Classism is mixed with racism.

Though Black Americans are the backbone of America that built it, the lack of power deemed them to be weaker and less important that seeped into the 20th century.

I think the speaker is going through the struggle of identity where they do not want to sound "white" that I heard within my Asian-American community. The idea of needing to sound distinctly of your ethnicity can be hurtful also because that disregards the fact that Asian-American culture is Asian culture also. Sounding "white" can still be within the Asian identity.

The relationship between the Physician and the poor parent is somewhat of a parasitic relationship that people talk about when they speak of gentrification. The poor people give the upper class business and keeps the upper class rich. The citizens of a city make the city desirable by giving it character, but they become phased out as the housing becomes expensive and the upper class moves in. The same idea can be seen in the painting with nature and civilization living in tandem. Nature is beautiful because it is untamed, but that makes it so desirable that civilization moves and in turn takes away that beauty. http://wayback.archive-it.org/5005/20141108011504/http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MUSEUM/Armory/galleryF/f_29_841.jpg

The speaker makes a half-hearted apology of taking fruit that were in the icebox. The fact that the fruit were in the icebox makes the speaker's actions very deliberate and it is clear that it was not a mistake. The style, compared to the other pieces in the collection, is very deliberate and much less abstract. http://wayback.archive-it.org/5005/20141108044329/http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MUSEUM/Armory/galleryQ/q_41_214.b.jpg

The singing of Ma Rainey can be so captivating that she can leave her audience speechless, but she also is the speaker for the ones down on their luck. Those who can't find much happiness in their lives can find solace within her music.

Maybe the universal language that brings everyone together that Ma Rainey sings is the blues (delta blues). She may be able to convey her blues with the accompanying minor keys in a way that everyone gets.

Ma Rainey brings in everyone. Cape Girardeau is a richer city in Missouri than Poplar Bluff and people drive or ride their mules to see her. Rich or poor, Ma Rainey sings in a common language that is relatable to everyone.

This feels like the speaker is trying to reason with themselves on how love is not as strong as they feel it is. It sounds like the speaker is in the honeymoon phase of a relationship and trying to stay grounded. The speaker is trying to be a sensible and logical person, but they cannot help it and succumbs to the fact that they would also be in pain for the sake of love.

The phrase "Here lies..." is usually followed by the name of someone. The speaker leaves out the name of the one no one mourns for. It shows how overlooked or unremarkable this person was.

If love is this strong, is the speaker's statement of love not being all really true? The speaker compares how unnecessary love is compared to these tangible things such as food and shelter, but if people die from a lack of love isn't that the same as the other basic needs previously listed?

This poem and this line twists traditional advice. The speaker is telling its reader to take control of their life any way they can. This specific line is telling the reader to do what they want and I think that is kind of the message throughout the poem. Do what you want to take control.

The scenic route that the speaker takes through the snowy woods is puzzling to the horse. Maybe this is some comment towards romanticism of how the enjoyment of nature is taken away from the obligations of a society (his promises to keep)?

It seems that this is the big difference between the speaker and the neighbor. The speaker thinks of things as being either black or white. The neighbor has more insight and thinks that space allows room for closeness.

I interpreted this as the speaker saying he does not consider himself to be all-knowing and virtuous. Instead, the author is saying how can anyone know what is right and wrong when their scope is so narrow? The speaker has tried to enlighten his town with this village, but the good deed has been wasted.

I wonder if this is an observation of romanticism like Wordsworth. Is the speaker saying that they have missed out on the teachings of nature because they were too focused with traditional learnings?

This speaker really pleads to the reader to read this poem aloud. The onomatopoeias that have double meanings and the references to sounds reinforce the auditory aspect of poetry.

The sight of this shape, that the speaker later calls a woman creeping, reminds me of the ghosts or spectres Du Bois and Adams have talked about. Unlike Du Bois, this spectre is a bit more tangible in a sense that the protagonist sees, or at least believes to see, it.

The theme of irony from our previous texts is repeated here. The most educated in the field of health are unable to believe and see the illness within the protagonist. The protagonist's worries are brushed off by the physicians and her troubles are lightheartedly called "nervousness."

The tone of the text begins with the idea that marriage is a lopsided power dynamic. Men know better and women are seen as ignorant. This reminds me of Mary Astell's A Serious Proposal to the Ladies and Adams' point that education and ignorance grow alongside each other . Astell argues that men inhibit women from learning which forces women to rely on men while still asking the question 'why are women not smart?' This act of contradiction is seen in this story with John forcing the protagonist to stay in a room, which is liken to a prison, and the husband is surprised by the end of the story that his wife has gone insane.

I felt this could be an instance of irony that Adams' text touched upon. The idea of all Americans having it better than other citizens of developing countries is a common one. Du Bois argues against this and says that being a poor race in this wealthy country is truly the "bottom of hardships."

This connection to Adams, who describes himself as a ghost, is a bit more confusing to me. Du Bois observes this spectre which is related to the Nation in relation to the liberty of African Americans, but it is lost on me what the spectre represents exactly. I think this swarthy spectre represents the Emancipation Proclamation and its representation as a spectre could mean that it has no power. It is seen and acknowledged, but it cannot physically alter anything.

In line with Adams' observation of ignorance and education growing alongside each other.

It is surprising reading this thought between American culture and sex because I feel that to this day, America's stance on sex is a prudish one in comparison to other country's.

The symbol of the cross in relation to religion is constantly being brought up throughout this text. The writer links the advancement of knowledge in spite of previous "facts" to be a part of human nature; the earliest example of this intrinsic behavior is shown with Constantine setting up the Cross.

The quote, "Nothing in education is so astonishing as the amount of ignorance it accumulates in the form of inert facts," from the second paragraph and its theme of ignorance is shown here.

I am curious about what the "Lion" is. I associate lions with anger and ferociousness, maybe this is what the speaker means when they say "They Lion grow."

The speaker describes the requirements to acclimate to the city. The citizens need to be tough inside and strong outside to cope with their living conditions.