In his essay, Locke makes a distinction between the "old" and the "new." The old being subjected to the formula of " something to be argued about, condemned or defended, to be “kept down,” or “in his place, etc.” In this poem, Brown is not only challenging the non-POC "they" in this story to acknowledge that times have changed, but he is also encouraging Black people to step into their "new" identity by laughing and getting stronger while inching along.

In Hughes's essay, he brings up "A very high mountain indeed for the would-be racial artist to climb in order to discover himself and his people." in reference to middle class black families who try to emulate the Nordic lifestyle. This automatically causes a divide within the community since it promotes an "us" vs "them" type of mentality which greatly contrasts from those who go an hear Ma Rainey. There is no need for financial wealth or social standing, instead, people come simply as they are.

In “Ballad of Lenin,” Langston Hughes explores this idea of how in death, the privileged men need to make room for the men who toiled the earth. Although the men in the Hughes poem are narrating from the afterlife, if they were alive, I would picture them as the voices in "Strong Men."

Both Locke and Hughes focus on how identity plays a role in these young men's lives. However, Locke seems to be a little more pessimistic as he is also informing the youth about the hardships that will follow them if they choose to embrace the metamorphosis. They essentially have to carve their own place in society.

There is a famous quote passed around stating "Write about what you know" in reference to what and how authors should write. Writing about what they know, to me, is about authenticity and vulnerability, which always produces the best, most powerful work.

As each stanza alternates characters by contrasting their economic, financial, racial, etc status, the narrators asking for room are stating that death has leveled the playing field and that it is time for the privileged to make room.

Like the narrator of Seth Compton advocating for his circulatory library from his grave, our multiple narrators take it upon themselves to advocate for the work that they have done to serve their nation.

This line parallels the zombie theme that we have been going over in class. In this case, the narrator has acknowledged the fact that "he can't get up" he has no ability to transition forward, and will now be forever stuck in the "past"

Like the literary collage that takes form as the Waste Land, our narrator returns back to a his foundation in order to make sense of the collective images that make up his life.

This line is reminiscent of the Yellow Wallpaper due to the conflict with the narrator's physical surroundings. This illuminates the theme of not quite belonging somewhere (Chicago, in this case) and yet still finding a sense of security in the instability of it all.

This is a clear indicator of the seasons as the "torchlight red" would indicate summer and the heat that it brings to cause people to sweat. The frosty silence in the gardens is reminiscent of the morning dew on autumn mornings. The end of the stanza talks about "He who was living is now dead" which is fitting as a way to allude to the winter season in both language and the placement of where it physically sits in the stanza.

The violet hour reminds me of the sunset when the sky turns purple, which signals to me a transition from the day into the night. This is parallel with the seasons and zombie theme, as the violet hour is a moment in time where it feels as though it is not quite day, but not quite evening. Starting this stanza with this romanticized image of transition sets the tone for the rest of the piece.

The line regarding bones and a chuckle spread ear to ear feels a bit deranged and zombie like, and when compared to the line above "By the waters of Leman I sat down and wept..." there is a juxtaposition that comes into play. Eerie zombie vs. a solemn day by the river promotes life, death, and the rebirth that this particular narrator is experiencing.

This poem references water several times throughout these stanzas: spring rain, no sound of water, your hair wet, etc. For Madam Sosostris to select this particular tarot card for him suggests to readers that the narrator is meant to go through some sort of struggle in order to change. Similar to how water smooths a stone, the narrator must also give in to water, and if he doesn't, he will end up drowning.

This line continue to adds to the theme of how water inevitably ushers in growth and change. Even the dead have a purpose here since their decaying bodies are now expected to bloom.

This is a visual juxtaposition as things usually flow down a hill rather than up- given that the narrator titles this the "Unreal City" readers feel a sense of eeriness as this town presents itself as unfamiliar and anti-traditional.

"Desolate and empty is the sea."

"Fresh blows the Wind/ to the homeland./ My Irish child,/ where are you dwelling?"

"I'm not Russian at all, I come from Lithuania, pure German."

In the narrators hierarchy of needs, love as a feeling does not hold much importance, but at the end, it still prevails which illuminated the theme of how humans ache for love even when it gives them nothing of tangible value

The contrast in texture: powdery vs dew paints a vivid image and feeling for the reader that sets the tone for the rest of the poem

To me, the anonymity represents the fact that this poem is for “every man”

It seems like they are rejecting the idea of reckless writing that doesn't really serve a purpose besides hitting on the points on a checklist of what a poem should traditionally be

The utilization of reality and concrete details seem to bear more importance than "superfluous words" but I wonder if that will limit a writer's personal style.

This specification gives me the impression that they are trying to move away from strict, concrete rules to instead incorporate something more fluid and flexible.

This imagery reminds me of someone holding a white flag to surrender. I wonder if that poem has anything to do with that, especially with the theme of death and darkness being prevalent throughout the stanzas.

I’m curious to know what he’s referring to when he mentions the promises he has to keep. Who did he make the promises with?

This line contradicts the lines in the above stanzas where he indicates that the two roads are essentially the same.

The quote "ignorance is bliss and knowledge is power" comes to mind. The villagers had access to some form of intellectual growth, but maybe they did not welcome it because it was more comfortable to continue living their life the way they've always had.

Digging how meta this poem is, and the nod to Homer and Whitman just drives it home. It is as if Petit, the Poet is just now realizing that he was "blind" to the nature, love, and life of his village, and is now gathering a checklist of all the technical information he knows about poetry to try it out in a stanza for himself.

His maternal response to the jug makes it seem as if this is the only thing that he really has left in his life.

The words "would have" implies that the strangers have not yet shut the doors, so I wonder if Flood is projecting his past memories/doors onto his current state of life. If so, his intentions of staying isolated seem to stem out of the desire to protect the memories/doors that he had with "the friends of other days had honored him" in the fourth stanza. Perhaps we would rather stay alone than endure the "many a change" he referred to in the fifth stanza.

The narrator starts speaking directly to the reader in the second stanza, so although the point of view switches from first person to second, the stanzas are still woven together because the theme of "being sublime" or something other than clerks that stayed in the same ancient air remain consistent. Is the narrator trying to illuminate how readers can be examples of a "clerk'' like figure stuck in the cycle of holding onto the past? Or is the narrator referring to the clerks as "you" in the second stanza?

The doubling of this juxtaposition is interesting, poets have never been known to have access to material riches, but they do what they love. On the other hand, king inherit royalty, and with it wealth, but they may not necessarily live a fulfilled life filled of sublime. It seems as though Robinson is leveling the playing field of poets and kings- at the end of "time," their status wont matter.

It's a shame that the narrator feels the need to carry the burden of her husbands inability of taking her condition seriously. This story feels like its heading in a very Stockholm syndrome like direction.

She knows what is good for her and is completely qualified to make decisions, but knows that because of her husband, she lacks the autonomy to go through with what she wants.

The narrator, on bed rest presumably for postpartum depression and other mental illnesses, shows here that not only is she uncertain of the medication she is on, but that she is not given ownership over her own body as well. Historically, the role of women during this time is to give birth and tend to the house, however, Gilman uses double consciousness throughout this story to show the consequences of preventing women from the liberty to do the things they want to do, such as write.

For someone who has every right to stay angry and resentful, it is interesting to see Du Bois come up with the silver lining for the prejudice that he unfairly faced.

This line summarizes what I consider the heart of why this was written. For Henry Adams, his main concern in the Dynamo and the Virgin was the pursuit of knowledge and the struggle of not obtaining it, here, we see Du Bois after the pursuit of basic human rights and respect- the very thing that Henry Adams would never have to think twice about.

Here we see that Du Bois personalizes the oppression he experiences by comparing it to his shadow- something that is not concrete, nor is it an indicator of his identity- but it still follows him around wherever he goes. This reminds me like the ghost we talked about in the Dynamo and the Virgin because the feeling of being there and lingering on is prominent.

I wonder if this is referring to turning his attention in general from religion to something more concrete, or if he is symbolically letting go of his faith for the pursuit of science and technology.

Although not personified, the Dynamo and the Cross/Religion/Virgin are referenced heavily throughout the text in a characterized way with the purpose of being each others' foil. The dedication of early Christians to the religion is meant to parallel the dedication to the dynamo- a clever way for Adams to tether the two extremely different -one subjective, the other objective- subjects in a compelling way.

"primitive form of radio signal detector used in the first radio receivers during the wireless telegraphy era at the beginning of the 20th century" -wikipedia

It is unfortunate that the "force" of a woman in this context is directly correlated to her fertility. Following the religious theme, it reminds me of 1 Timothy 2:15 But women will be saved through childbearing--if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. a verse in the Bible that is as equally problematic as this line.

This line in particular drives the poem for me. Throughout the poem, Levine uses the narrator's voice in a calm, steady, rage. "They Lion grow" is meant to be symbolic repetition of the growth after the riots, but this line in particular references the utilization of the Earth (oak) to "Rise Up" and rebuild.

Through the use of generational motifs- the mother hardening like pounded stumps, the narrator's self reference, and finally this line- Levine illuminates the state of life due to the riots. To me, his reference to the inheritance of They Lion almost feels like a warning or a reminder of the common trope of how "history always repeats itself." It is both a guide an explanation for the future, as it is a look into this specific riot.