This reveals that Ma Rainey is a musician herself, and that is why she is so highly revered by the community... because music is so cherished in the community.

This shows how the community is celebrating Ma Rainey and her appearance, like a musical introduction for someone when they appear onstage.

this first stanza makes me curious about why everyone wants to come in to see Ma Rainey when she comes to town--is she a symbol for something?

describes the essence of conflicts (in general as well as racial) beautifully

Pace and rhythm mimics that of music, jazz

love it. in public, practicing etiquette, that is plain rude.

can't a household have both???

if hughes is talking about white "artists" then this would be fetishization. if he means the "low-down" Negro artist, then his logic dictates that these poorer blacks are the truer to themselves and their culture, without the pressure that wealth inflicts (people known to have money are expected to embody the ideal version of themselves, and to exert influence over those within their community in order to render a--usually--more positive image), and disregard American "standardizations" i.e. stereotypes

I have to disagree with Hughes here, at least, I think he's slightly misinterpreting what his friend meant. I think his friend meant he wanted to be known as a poet, not a specifically "black" poet because, after all, why include a modifier for only one group of people. White poets aren't known as "white poets."

second time he mentions rain with sunlight. is he implying that seasons are dichotomies? "winter keeps us warm" and April is the "cruelest month" yet most love April because it is spring heading on to summer.

interesting "mix" of words... does he imply nostalgia, or a desire to be the way things once were? I believe it is the latter.

the chanting here is almost religious in lyrical quality. with the use of "mass," i thought of church.

like the purring of a cat? (didn't Stein have a cat?)

Again, the use of "them"/"they" creates tension and a sense of mystery because the reader isn't sure who "they" are. My guess is it's the parents of the children, but by not simply stating this, or using the word "parent," Williams keeps the reader on their toes. In a way, the poem is about the identity of "them." (The title gives a broad reference.)

I am fascinated by the non-second-person use of "you" in both poetry and fiction. It is not second-person, as the poem is told from the "I" perspective, but it adds an effect of addressing someone unknown. Since the reader certainly didn't save any plums for breakfast, Williams is talking to/about someone whose identity remains a mystery, and is thus very interesting, partially by building tension.

Williams' lack of certain punctuation (namely, commas and periods) results in a very fast-paced yet lyrical quality, relying on line breaks and the occasional dash to regulate pace.

This poems highly cryptic, and I hate that. It doesn't make rational sense, which is okay in poetry, but here it doesn't work. Not only does "spills the upper boulder in the sun" make no sense, it provides no useful imagery (in my opinion). It doesn't add to the poems overall meaning, or add to tone or voice, it is useless because it has no function for the reader.

"Where it is we do not need a wall" meaning this is a place they do need a wall. Why is the wall "needed"? This is an important word because it puts the poem into perspective... a wall is necessary for some reason.

Robert Frost's poem is highly cryptic, but here is a reference to a game. "Another kind of outdoor game," meaning this is an outdoor game, which makes sense because a wall is being built.

Sentences become quite short and stand alone as their own paragraphs; this results in an increased pace. Also, the narrator is becoming increasingly uneasy about the wall paper as well as her husband (and the maid).

repetition of the word "nervous" really drives the fact that narrator is so neurotic, even bordering on delusional (depending on whether you believe the wall paper is really supernatural, or if everything's in the narrator's head)

Du Bois avoids use of specifics in certain areas of the essay; he resorts to using pronouns which keep the subject matter vague yet also with the sense that the problem is everywhere and in everyone. The motif of anonymity works successfully if one is to consider the fact that this essay was primarily written for a white audience. It begs the question: Am I part of the problem?

Here Du Bois makes an important point. Being silent is one of the deadliest and most harmful things we as society can do in the context of important and controversial issues such as racism. And why are so many of us silent? Mostly because of what Du Bois says so elegantly here: people don't know how to put their thoughts into words, or are afraid to say anything because they fear a slip up will result in people thinking they're bigots, so they keep quiet. And that's a problem because it perpetuates the cycle of no one doing anything about the issue.

i.e., the idea was so extreme it could only be conceptualized as something ambitious and man-made; something existing only in the imagination or rendered superficially

Repetition of words like "occult" and "supersensual" drive them into the front of your mind, and mimic the repetitive actions of the whirring dynamo itself. By "occult" he means mystical; by "supersensual" he means beyond the senses. Comparisons to religious paraphernalia such as the Cross indicate that the narrator is a nonbeliever, because he cannot grasp the "mysterious energy" of either phenomenon.

Reminds me of the phrase "ignorance is bliss"; when we are so exhausted either mentally or emotionally, we tend to shut our brains down, resulting in a flood of relief that can very much feel like a "Paradise" in contrast.

More references to racism/slavery. Here the author is less cryptic; the line is easier to connect with clear meaning (subservience/oppression to self-advocacy/social action).

This poem feels like it's bubbling with resentment. Something(s) is (are) causing the lion to grow, and makes me think that they are injustices that eventually cause the lion to "[come]." This resentment is exemplified by this selected line, where I interpret "Kiss My Ass" to stand for a particular state the author might have issues with.