Like Hughes encouraging black folk to look for new forms of art that are associated with them or else there will be this white version of an artist that will remain ideal, the speaker includes these lines as support to keep striving or else white people will remain the strong ones.

Almost every other stanza in this poem is composed of this one, and it reminds me a responsorial psalm at a Catholic mass. It's like how a follower of Christ would call back to God making some sort of request for assistance. I'm not sure how this relates to the modernist poetry we've read but I thought it was interesting enough to point out.

This is like the first stanza of "They Feed They Lion" in which it lists the poor quality sources that people were brought up on. Here it's being used to demonstrate how even though one can come from humble beginnings, they find strength in their determination to keep moving.

The idea of something being dead but still moving is a similar idea to the zombie-like imagery in "The Waste Land." It carries on while being mindless and numb.

Death should be the end of emotion. It's surprising to the reader that death went on to have an afterlife by setting off reactions from so many people.

Reminds me off Revelations 3:16, "So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth."

The verbs at the end of line 1-3 and 4-5 describe the transformation that occurs during the spring. These actions help give the reader the sense of new life that is taking place.

Who is to blame for this unfortunate event? Not knowing the root of this makes it even more sorrowful.

This part about love versus peace is more so about dreams versus contentment. The speaker doesn't say she is determined to sell your love, but she "might be driven." There's enough of a motivation for her to be drawn to the idea of accepting peace, however, she's not so sure.

By starting the poem with a warning that there is something that exists that doesn't want a wall is a foreshadow, and it's help the reader understand what is to come later in the poem after the speaker explains how he and his neighbor build a wall. The placement of this information is, of course, here for a reason.

The work of hunters is another thing from what? The "something" that doesn't love a wall? Here is the introduction of the something that does love a wall, contrasting the thing that was discussed in the first four lines.

It's important to take note of the word "pride." Pride means to be proud of the qualities or possessions that you or someone close to you has. "The picture pride of Hollywood" suggests that she was someone who represented all Hollywood, or whatever community is being strongly compared to Hollywood. Therefore, when she had her fall, she not only brought herself down but those who she stood for as well.

The speaker calls out reader what he or she is able to do in spite of all of one's visions and fears, pointing out how one cannot let themselves excel because of the intimidation of failing.

Eben Flood has two selves: the one he currently is and the one he addresses. Flood is lonely, so he creates another version of himself to keep himself company, which he feels forced to do by society, similarly to the texts we have read previously. In this poem, it's a coping mechanism used to come up with an idealized version of himself. Instead of Mr. Flood the lonely old man, he's Mr Flood the pal you have a drink with.

The speaker befriended the earth and found happiness in it's company. Not just with the earth, but with the variety of scenes they were surrounded by. They took refuge in the forest; they rejoiced in a grove.

The narrator being aware of her point of view and being aware of her husband's point of view is a sign of double consciousness.

An example of the "other" from Du Bois's text: the narrator has to experience life on terms from someone else and not her own.

Books are for inspiring, and though it is a journey that's rougher than the "highway of Emancipation and law," the results are more victorious because one has attained knowledge of life and how to win freedom, even when they don't have it yet. This is also connected to The Dynamo and the Virgin because there is a focus on the process, rather than the result.

The "Negro minister or doctor" - a black person who is in an authoritative position does not use his position to it's fullest potential because he is blinded by the views of the "other world" and practices what he is told by it. What he would practice and what he would speak is not from his own understanding of himself and what he believes to be correct, but is rather influenced by the unfavorable criticism thrown at him which, in turn, becomes the minister or the doctor speaking hateful discourse out of spite, in hopes to defeat the other world. Similar to The Dynamo and the Virgin, this point deals with being able to distinguish between what you are taught to do versus what you ought to do.

The celestial imagery continues to serve as a symbol that can lead humans to some all-knowing, correct path.

He looks up to some force that is bigger than life for guidance.

The contrast of something natural, fig leaves, with something manufactured, magazines, highlights the two different perspectives one could have on the Woman.

"Industrial barns" is an oxymoron. This space that is stereotyped as a place made of wood used to store livestock and where work is performed is perceived as more of a factory. A place that one could describe as wholesome is now used as a mechanism to pump out product.

Oil and dirt are similar in color, therefore "all is hidden" because it's difficult to distinguish between the two. The earth, which is natural and free to all, becomes marked by oil, demonstrating the upper class declaring the land as their own.

Ruth is uncomfortable by her thoughts about Martin. In all of her life, she has never desired someone in a romantic or physical way until now. Her interest in him is “unmaidenly” because having this appetite is barbarous; submitting to the body is a quality of the working class. We see that when Martin isn't writing and is working strenuously, Martin’s work makes him more inclined to drink. When he talks about drinking, Ruth is appalled -- to her, drinking is succumbing to an unclean life. To be middle class, you must curb your desires that are considered animal-like. For this reason, when Ruth feels this urge to want to get married and be involved with Martin, Ruth scolds herself because she fears crossing into the working class. She fears discovering herself, continuing to be an automaton.

Ruth’s dissatisfaction of Martin’s writing comes from the distress in the story. It leaves her disgusted because she would rather it have a happy ending. However, Martin prides himself with the story because he finds that having the theme strike his reader is where the beauty lies. He bases these stories off the roughness of the middle class, which Ruth dislikes because she prefers things to be “clean.” This preference comes from being taught simple and widely accepted views at her university. Despite how Ruth should be knowledgeable because she is formally educated, she isn’t truly intelligent because she isn’t able to make her own judgments, but regurgitates these opinions she has learned. This is notable because, when Martin shares his story to his sister, she also doesn’t like it because it doesn’t have a happy ending. Though Gertrude is working class and should not be on the same intellectual level as Ruth, in a sense they are because they both don’t have the capability to investigate meaning or create interpretations. They both reject reality, but for different reasons. For Ruth, she wants to continue being in world where blissful world because it’s all she knows, and why would anyone want that taken away. Gertrude, on the other hand, doesn’t face the truth because she lives it everyday. Her working class life is already undesired, therefore she rather hear a story about happiness to distract her from reality. Martin realizes that observing the struggle --- to examine “saints in slime” --- is far more interesting than a happy ending because it is the stories about rising to a new where you can learn something, and they are relatable to him. Thus, Martin showcases his intellect by providing meaning that wasn't currently cultivated, all in a story inspired by bestial experience.

Ruth’s consolation to Martin on what he should do with future reflects what a parent tends to say to his or her child when they disagree with their creative endeavors. We do see that Ruth, more often than not, takes on the role of a mother for Martin than a romantic partner; she took up Martin as a student and taught him how to behave. In Chapter 7, Ruth critiques Martin on his speech and corrects him on his language by teaching him to not use double negatives and to not use ‘you’ when using the impersonal.. When there is an authoritative dynamic between two people in which one person is not only a teacher but a caretaker, then that person is their mentor. Ruth fills the role of mother for Martin, who doesn’t have a maternal figure in his life. Also, Ruth acts like a disagreeable parent who doesn’t approve of her child’s actions. Though still able to love someone when they disagree on this subject, she cannot be in love because, if she were, she would encourage to write (but also make writing and working not exclusive of each other).

Martin’s struggle “in the dark” reflects Martin’s inability to escape the working class; to enter the light would mean to enter the middle class. At the beginning of the novel, Ruth thinks of Martin as a “man from outer darkness” who is “from evil.” This outer darkness that she refers means that Martin is man from somewhere unfamiliar, and because he is unfamiliar with low, beasitial qualities, that makes him “evil,” or not someone who is good for her. therefore associating darkness with unfamiliarity and The motif of dark vs. light is similar to the one of marked vs. clean, or calloused vs. smooth because it also involves contrasting a less desired state of being to against one that people prefer. This also occurs earlier in the novel in the scene where Martin meets Lizzie after the show and is talking to her and her friend. He spots Ruth from across the way, “And then he saw her, under the lights,” (86). The distance between highlights the two opposite ends: Ruth in the light and Martin stuck socializing with people in his class --- meaning he is in the dark. The darkness is distant from light, making them two complete opposites where mingling can’t occur. Therefore, even though Martin might be rejected by the people he knows because they don’t find his writing valuable, Martin still remains out of the light, continuing to struggle.