Blog 2 Revisited: A look at the mechanics of how McKay presents his motif

A motif of happiness and turmoil is intertwined throughout the lines in Claude McKay’s, “Harlem Dancer”. In the first paragraph of my second blog entry, I wrote that McKay describes the protagonist as a young, beautiful woman who exudes a feeling of happiness. He employs words that indicate a delicateness and softness about a subject, like “luxuriant” and “sway”. In addition, he portrays the dancer protagonist as a strong person by describing her as a “palm (line 7)”. McKay also appeals to one’s sense of sound by creating a surround sound effect. This is achieved when he writes that the dancer’s voice is like the “sound of blended flutes (line 3)”. Indeed, by indicating a melodious sound, McKay captures the moment of fleeting happiness that he wishes to depict of his seemingly perfect dancer. His diction is very particular and the reader is rendered in awe about her form as she tastefully displays her craft.

            However, in the second paragraph of my blog entry, I wrote that McKay also uses his pinpoint diction to describe the turmoil that permeates through the dancer’s body. This is evidenced in the following excerpt where he describes her personal emotional “storm (line 8)” by presenting “a falsely smiling face” (line 13). The reader is left with a sense of gilded emotions that the dancer presents to the audience. The precise diction is also evident in the use of contrasting words that bring the audience into the turmoil that the dancer experiences. For instance, she is described as a strong “palm”, and yet she has also passed through a “storm”. This contrast illuminates the contrast in the motif of happiness and turmoil in that the dancer is in a “strange place”. Usually, one imagines that a dancer knows her craft well and wants to evoke a certain emotion to the audience. However, this dancer is herself in conflict and is not at ease. This transcends from the dancer to the audience and ultimately, the reader, so that one can also feel the unease. McKay flourishes in crafting this emotional tornado using colorful diction and contrast to highlight his motif of happiness and turmoil.

The Duality of McKay's "Harlem Dancer"

In Claude McKay’s, “Harlem Dancer”, he uses a double edged motif of happiness and turmoil to express the anguish that the protagonist feels about her profession. The positive images conjured include, “perfect, half-clothed body sway (line 2)”, “proudly-swaying palm (line 7)” and “black shiny curls luxuriant fell (line9-10)”. One should pay attention to the image of strength with “palm” and the “luxuriant” quality, which lends a posh description of the dancer. To engage the sense of the ears, McKay writes that the dancer has a voice like “blended flutes (line 3)”, which likens her voice with harmonious music. These descriptions evoke a sense that a talent, beautiful, confidant woman is enjoys giving her performance to the audience.

However, one later realizes that she does not enjoy dancing for her audience and shields her true emotions for the sake of her performance. McKay writes that she seems stronger for “passing through a storm (line 8)” and had a “falsely-smiling face (line 13)”. It is important to note that the previous sound of “blended flutes” contrasts with the “storm” that is presented as the yang in the dual emotions that the dancer feels. In addition, the “falsely-smiling face” means that she is presenting a façade to the audience.  Furthermore, the image of a seaside beach depicted by her body being like a “palm” is in contrast with the “strange” place that the writer alludes to. This strange place is of unknown description, but one gathers that it has a negative, uncertain quality to it. Thus, McKay uses imagery and sound to present the happiness that the Harlem dancer must show to the audience and the inner turmoil that she feels from dancing for money in front of an audience that “devours” her form.

An Analysis of "Sonnet 75" By Edmund Spenser

“Sonnet 75”, written by Edmund Spenser, has some shared characteristics as well as differences compared to a tweet and a novel. A tweet is usually a short phrase or sentence that describes one’s current feeling or problem and the writer may or may not follow conventional use of grammar and punctuation. A novel is usually at least several pages long and consists of a problem or issue that must be solved. In addition, a novel usually contains grammatically correct language. A sonnet is fourteen lines long and depicts a problem that the writer expresses, and it allows the writer to first describe the issue and arrive at a conclusion at the ending couplet. Expectations for a tweet are to satiate public curiosity and give a window into a person’s everyday life, whereas the expectations for a novel are to entertain. I think the expectations for a sonnet are to provide insight into the emotions that a writer wishes to convey and perhaps provide advice for readers.

            In Spenser’s “Sonnet 75”, he introduces his problem of keeping the memory of his loved one alive through writing by using rhyme and rhythm. He expresses his problem by using a Spenserian rhyme scheme to create flow in his sonnet. In particular, he uses strong verbs like “immortalize” and “eternize” to stir the emotions of the reader. The common thread between these strong verbs are synonyms and refer to the continuity of time: immortalize is to keep alive forever, eternize is everlasting, and renew is to rejuvenate and make it right again. He also creates rhythm by incorporating words that his lover utters to draw the reader in to emotions felt in the past. The last couplet solves the problem of eternally remembering his loved one by saying that time ravishes all things, except the writing that highlights their love.