The fact that Hell was actually the south shows how traumatic it really was.

Slim isn't necessarily scared because he's brave but because he believes that he is going to Heaven and just checking out how Hell is for St. Peter.

Accurate: This sign would definitely be in front of the gates of Hell.

This shows what music can bring to the individual soul. Whether it be "drowsy" or "raggy," it still brings a sort of affirmation to the awareness of the self.

This line portrays the past as well as the future. The obstacles Hughes has had to go through in his life has led him to what the future holds. His past does not define him as an individual, but his experiences have "grown deep" and continue to resonate with him.

This poem really resonates with me because of the imagery and comparison between a put off dream and things being destroyed over time. Time, in this poem, seems to be the key factor in keeping things moving. But, essentially, time is the thing that makes the dream erode and disintegrate into nothing. The ending gives me, as the reader, some kind of hope because the exploding can imply a certain revolution. After being given the promise of a dream, but not being able to fulfill it, can lead to an explosion or a time for change.

"Social intimidation" sounds more of a two sided problem, the intimidator and the intimidated. This implies that African Americans made it their problem when they were intimated. In reality, there is only one side to the problem and that is the intimidator. African Americans essentially were not intimated, nor were they weak, they were ultimately oppressed.

In other words, they feel the need to "prove themselves."

Don't take away the veil, essentially.

This represents how African Americans were treated. Their great ideas and artistic revelations were ignored and under appreciated, even though they were mostly more creative and significant than other ideas.

Jazz can represent the future for the African American, so, essentially, the future is their child. It is in their control and they have the power to make a change, whether it be using their advancement in music or other such things.

I really love this line as it should be applied to the present. Who cares what you look like, it's about what's inside: the knowledge you attain, the fun you allow, and the kindness you give.

I interpret this as the veil, but instead of being behind it they are overstepping it, crossing to the other side. By immersing oneself into white culture, one will lose their true identity and not be able to see back through the veil. Essentially, they are on the other side of the veil. The veil itself should be omitted for true equality.

I really love this line as its internal rhyme and depiction is very pleasurable to read.

A ton of repetition and repeating the same words over and over again can somewhat hypnotize the reader.

This is by far one of my favorite lines in literature. This rose can represent anything and everything you would want it to represent. That is why Stein's work is so universal despite the fact that it doesn't make too much "sense." I take this line as a symbolic way of saying that things are what they truly are. More importantly, identity can be a social construct, but having awareness over your identity is a sacred skill.

Softly reading aloud Stein's work triggers my asmr (autonomous sensory meridian response). The repetition of certain sounds is profoundly pleasurable to hear, even if it doesn't make much sense. Saying "cunning" that many times can also sound like "coming," such as pleasure is coming to you. Cunning is also like being crafty or witty, so, when focusing on the sound itself, it comes off as very sly and devious when said aloud softly.

The physician can be portrayed as society and "the poor" could be seen as the child with lice. Society constantly strains the poor to such an extreme extent that the poor has gotten use to it and have become accustomed to being poor.

Each line of the poem does not exceed more than three words, yet the title, which is arguably and seamlessly a part of the poem itself, has five words.

These "isolate flecks" imitate some silver of hope for the understanding and future of American. But if only there was someone to "drive the car."

Such a great line from Millay because of its feministic undertones and powerful comparisons and metaphors. The rose can portray a woman who became defensive with her armor/thorns, but regrets in doing so as she might think that it is unnatural for a lady to protect/stand up for herself.

This man that has died seems to have been one of lower significance. He might have done something lowly or terrible and deserved to die because he has no one to pay respects for him. Also, not including his name after "Here lies" makes is apparent that he could be anybody and it truly doesn't matter who he was as a person.

Love makes humans say crazy things. The whole poem offends love, as it is not everything in the world but only a mere ideal. But of course, Love is still something we strive for as it is part of our human nature. Somewhat hypocritical, but Love is an emotion, act, or feeling that makes us illogical. Love is an insignificant thing, but once I have it, I'm not complaining...

This line reminds me of Vladmir Nabokov's writing style. By interrupting the story, as if passive aggressively whispering to himself, it relates to Nabokovian writing style, as he is known for this.

This whole stanza can definitely compare to Lucinda Matlock poem. At the end, both poems are explaining the struggles and obstacles we as people have to overcome, but by living through it and seeing the positive, it can be rewarding. Basically, you do you, and you won't have any regrets.

The act of building a wall is an ancient form of working, but figuratively, a wall can always symbolize rules and laws people of society have to abide by. But building the wall, or mending it, is an act of justice. It's acting out it's rights and freedoms for personal space and personal property. In this case, it's not about dividing one another from each other, but by embracing our personal freedoms to live in our own personal boundaries.

A lot of people are thinking that this is a negative point of view statement from this surprisingly uplifting poem. I believe that it is important uplifting component/idea portrayed here Lucinda Matlock has lived her life; with her ups and downs, i don't feel any sense of regret. She has done it all, and at her age, she would happily pass away due to her abundant love for her life. It's about her acceptance and lovingness.

I enjoyed reading this free verse poem because it was rhythmical and melodic. It reminds the readers that there is beauty in all the small, common things in life. All the trivial components in our day to day routines or sights and visions we overlook, such as the ones listed in his poem, can offer artistic outlets such as comedy, tragedy, etc.

An anxious thought: the good times will always take place in the past eventually. In the end, it will all end up to nothing. There will come a time that there will be nothing to look forward to, and all one can do is reminisce. "For old times' sake" is a phrase that gives me a sense of lost hope for the future. Nothing will get better, as it all goes downhill from here. In the end, this was Eben's fate.

The song could also spookily correlate with Eben's life, which is nearing its end as well. The only life he had inside of him was song, and with that being finished, he loses his double self, become alone again, ends his journey.

But before she seemed to take notice in John's "best intentions" for her. She harped on how caring and loving he is, but apparently now she sees right through his act.

How ironic it sounds to "cry at nothing, and cry most of the time". A sort of doubleness appears in this line as she cries at nothing of importance, but she cries frequently.

We now find out that John's sister believes that she is sick because of her hobby of writing. There appears to be sort of doubleness; John believes that the narrator is not sick and is merely just being dramatic, while John's sister believes that she is merely just sick. But both refuse the narrator's hobby of writing as it is not beneficial to either of them. In reality, it's ironic because it is not the writing that makes her sick but the actions and outrageous beliefs of the family members that do.

The "unasked question" idea may possibly correlate with this situation between the narrator and John. As discussed, the "unasked question" is nonexistent, invisible, yet we still are aware of it, as we ponder what it actually is. The "unasked question" here between the narrator and John is her illness, in which John doesn't take too seriously. He believes it is nonexistent, just like the unasked question. This creates doubt and hesitancy, whether it is self-induced or not, and it saturates it with ambivalence. The "unasked question" is the "veil" in which the narrator is separated from John - she believing she is sick and John believing that she is not.

This veil that Du Bois includes is an ultimate perception of the racism of white America. With this veil, African Americans are seen as not true Americans.This is white people's lack of clarity to see what African Americans really stand for. This perception could also be switched to the African American's lack of clarity. The veil only allows them to see themselves as what white American prescribes them for.

This phrase could have been included for two reasons. One reason being pessimistic; DeBois feels as though the unfair treatment of African Americans will never be at rest. The other reason could be more hopeful as it could portray African Americans never being at rest. They will endlessly fight for their human rights and freedom in society, as long as the oppression continues.

Even though this is truly about a metaphor, comparing things that are very unalike, we can see that their are even differences between these two unalike things. This can either be seen as defeating the purpose of the whole metaphor or emphasizing its allegorical meaning of the dynamo and virgin metaphor.

Being expressive means effectively conveying thoughts and feelings. This is seen as a humane trait. How can the dynamo be "not so human" and be "the most expressive?"

To Langley assumingely, the dynamo was a symbol of connivence and advancement, but to Adams the dynamo was a symbolic metaphor. Relating the dynamo to the Virgin Mary or the Christian religion expressively shows how Adams is a outlandish yet forward thinker. But the act of advancement is holy as any religion. Before the dynamo, energy was generated by water, animal, or wind. By taking something so foul and dirty such as coal and transferring it to a form as useful as energy, it unveils all metaphors.

This refrain portrays "They Lion" as a feeder of suffering and despair. Not only is it human suffering it retrieves its power from, but also the deterioration of grass, trees, and cars. After each descriptive stanza of imagery and despair, the lion grows and rises from the oppression.

This poem is a reaction to the 1960s racial tension and rebellion in Detroit. The oppressed show strength and vitality by rising out of the inhumane industrial lifestyle they are forcibly crammed into. These examples are shown as the deeper components of the upbringing of violence and rioting.