Harlem+Dancer+page

toc 

[|Please click this link and play the song in a different window while visiting the site!] (Instructions: right click and then click "play in a new window"). = = =The Harlem Dancer=

By: Claude McKay (1890-1948) Line 1. APPLAUDING youths laughed with young prostitutes Line 2. And watched her perfect, half-clothed body sway; Line 3. Her voice was like the sound of blended flutes Line 4. Blown by black players upon a picnic day. Line 5. She sang and danced on gracefully and calm, Line 6. The light gauze hanging loose about her form; Line 7. To me she seemed a proudly-swaying palm Line 8. Grown lovelier for passing through a storm. Line 9. Upon her swarthy neck black, shiny curls Line 10. Profusely fell; and, tossing coins in praise, Line 11. The wine-flushed, bold-eyed boys, and even the girls, Line 12. Devoured her with their eager, passionate gaze; Line 13. But, looking at her falsely-smiling face Line 14. I knew her self was not in that strange place.

Annotation
Rhythm: After reading it a few times you get the feel that it is supposed to be slow, to give a sad and somber feel that contrasts with the audiences happiness. Rhyme Scheme: Sonnet, Maybe even Shakespearean because of the ABABCDCDEFEFGG. //Line 1//http://www.eng.fju.edu.tw/ron/american_lit2/Images/images_files/dancerHarlem.jpg //Line 2// //Line 3// //Line 4// //Line 5// //Line 6// //Line 7// //Line 8// The phrase "grown lovelier for passing through a storm" reaches beyond her skilled triumph over the dance hall setting to reverberate throughout black history, or so the poem urges us to believe, and the dancer's pride and beauty stand for everything black Americans have won from adversity. //Line 9// //Line 10// //Line 11// //Line 12// //Line 13// //Line 14// top of page
 * APPLAUDING youths** **laughed** - Young, immature beings yet to grow up and learn their place in society.
 * with** **young prostitutes** - The prostitutes are not singling themselves out, but are instead satisfied with their doings and enjoy the act. Also immature and adolescent beings, they do not realize the injustice of their actions and therefore continue with their "degrading" acts.
 * And watched her** - The youths need to satisfy their eyes. They are too young for such actions in a strip club, but have the urge to do what not only is wrong, but what is immoral.
 * perfect, half-clothed** **body sway;** - The emphasis on the structure of her body signifies the importance of the ideal body during the Harlem Renaissance. Her half clothed body leaves room for clothes to be taken off, keeping the audience in suspense wanting more.
 * semicolon** - The semicolon represents the continuation between the dancer's body and her voice, two well-respected characteristics of any woman. It shows that there is more to a woman than her looks, maybe not her smarts in this instance, but more than looks nonetheless.
 * Her voice was like the sound of blended flutes** - A flute plays a soft, mellow, yet intriguing tone. The high-pitch sounds beautiful when put together with more flutes. The conglomeration of these instruments paints a picture of a gorgeous voice coming from the woman's mouth.
 * Blown by black players** - Blown represents the instruments still playing in the background, and the black players symbolize the people in the Harlem Renaissance and it being a predominantly African American movement.
 * on a picnic day.** - This tries to make the reader imagine a picnic... a peaceful, calm time of day where everyone is quiet and playful.
 * She sang and danced on** - For some unknown reason right now, the dancer continues to dance and sing, seemingly happy and enjoying her time.
 * gracefully and calm, -** The dancer is relaxed and not worried about her job, or at least her time there dancing and singing. This gives off a sense of relief where there is nothing to worry about.
 * The light gauze hanging loose about her form;** - The light gauze represents the remaining clothes on the dancer's body. The clothes are being waved around, coming off, perhaps like a striptease dancer. The semicolon adds dramatic effect, to capture the essence of the dancer's willingness to become "freer".
 * To me** - This makes Claude McKay act as a member of the audience.
 * she seemed a proudly-swaying palm** - Like the palm of a hand, soft and innocent, the dancer continued her actions as if everything was fine... there were no problems with what she was doing.
 * Grown lovelier for passing through a storm** - This makes the dancer resilient, a blossoming flower coming out of the darkness. She faced hardships and was able to bounce back to make a living. The phrase "grown lovelier for passing through a storm" reaches beyond her skilled triumph over the dance hall setting to reverberate throughout black history, or so the poem urges us to believe, and the dancer's pride and beauty stand for everything black Americans have won from adversity.
 * Upon her swarthy neck black,** - There is something about this woman that catches your eye. The dancer is flashy and noticeable. (Picture the background music dimming and the following image being played in slow motion).
 * shiny curls / Profusely fell;** - The beauty of curls, the emphasis on her looks as the curls are shiny highlights the woman's hardworking nature while the curls fall. Everything she has worked for seems to be coming to an end. Perhaps she is not true to herself and living a false life.
 * and, tossing coins in praise,** - This certifies the belief of this taking place in a strip club, while money is being thrown to the dancer as the audience take note of her wonderful movements. The sexual innuendo of this style of dancing makes the viewers want to repay the woman giving them this pleasure. The coins "tossed in praise" indicate that the world—and she herself—tragically underestimates her worth. She dances for mere coins, casually tossed by liquor-befogged youngsters.
 * The wine-flushed, bold-eyed boys, and even the girls,** - Picture the boys with their mouths wide open, eyes glued to the dancer, and young innocent girls want to emulate this stripper as the girls are joined in with the boys.
 * Devoured her with their eager, passionate gaze;** - Similar to line 1, these children are too immature to know what is right and what is wrong in society. The males want to have sexual interactions with this dancer, or someone who seems to act similarly to her, and the females would enjoy this attention, therefore they want to become someone with such an occupation, being under the spotlight of these futile men.
 * But, looking at her falsely-smiling face** - Possibly the most meaningful line in the poem, the dancer is not whole-heartedly into to this style of dancing and her job. She is simply putting on a show. She is not satisfied with herself by performing these actions, but believes it is what she must do to survive.
 * I knew her self was not in that strange place.** - Claude, being in the audience, was disgusted by the show. He refers to the strip club as "that strange place." This final line assures the reader that the dancer knows better, and does not lose track of her moral values, but rather gets caught up in the position of being used, a demeaning state being a stripper, and she is not up to par as women should be.

Criticism
The choice of writing this poem as a sonnet is very fitting. First, iambic pentameter is very calm and sad rhythm that often times changes the way the poem is read. When reading the iambic pentameter one feels the sway of the poem as well as the overall fluidness. However, this sad subliminal message contradicts the whole point of the woman being gay and perfect. This shows that even though the dancer is perfect and beautiful, she is still only applauded by mere boys, children, and, is given little respect. The sadness in the sonnet is how such an amazing performance is forced to take place in a filthy nightclub with intoxicated souls undeserving of her glory being the only audience. The "falsely-smiling face" of the dancer indicates that she too is depressed within her soul. Her heart is not in the nightclub, but rather far away in a completely different world.

In this sonnet, race and color are constant recurring themes. The race of the dancer is in part what makes her so majestic, that with her movements she is describing all of the emotions of the black community. Even though the situation for the dancer is far less than perfect, it does not take away from her grace or the quality of her dancing. The dancer is on a completely different level then her environment, and although she has been forced to drop down to the unflattering position of a nightclub dancer, she "sways proudly" even when her heart is not in it. Another contrast between the dancer and the drunken audience can be seen if the audience is viewed as white. This makes the dance a prostitution, where the dancer must sell herself to satisfy the white audience. The white people are being shown the majestic soul of the black dancer and all the emotion that comes with it, but they are unworthy and cannot even begin to comprehend how amazing this woman actually is.

Another contrast in the poem is the park-like atmosphere and the nightclub. These two surroundings are considered almost opposite, and this makes the reader feel the urgent need for money that the dancer must be experiencing. She is dancing a picnic, very nicely, gaily, smoothly, and gracefully, but is only able to do this at a nightclub, where the only people that watch her are drunk little boys, an audience that would never appreciate the grand dancing she offers. Also, writing a sonnet gives the world a different view on African-Americans. Sonnets were originally written by Shakespeare, making them very difficult and respected. Being able to write a sonnet makes the author very educated, which contradicted most people's view on the race. They thought the African Americans were uneducated and unintelligent. However, McKay writing this poem in the form of a sonnet changes this stereotype and proves it to be false. top of page

Genesis/Publication
The Harlem dancer was originally published by Brace and Company in 1922, in the book, //Harlem Shadows//. [|1]. The poetic works in //Harlem Shadows// was seen as "new creative energy" in the black community. The fact that these works were done by an African-American writer, especially one that was first picked up by a large, mainstream publication company, attributed to them being seen as one of the first steps in literary synergy. [|2] Popular themes of the collection, //Harlem Shadows// include: "Gender, sexuality, class, or nationality as key to understanding the period, Harlem as a social space, revisions of Harlem Renaissance critical narratives, teaching the Harlem Renaissance, neglected or rediscovered writers of the Harlem Renaissance, contemporary discourses in 1920s African American Literatures, and the Harlem Renaissance and Aesthetic Modernism" [|3] McKay, with the publication of his poems, had come to be known as a passionate and fiery poet of his time. Although he was missing the “jazzy inventiveness” of Langston Hughes and the “stately craftsmanship” of Countee Cullen, his work “compensated through the sheer force of its honesty and bluntness.” McKay revealed the despite, distress, antagonism, and hostile feelings towards Christianity. [|4] top of page

About Claude McKay
Claude McKay was born in Sunny Ville, Jamaica, British West Indies in 1889. He was the son of Thomas Francis and Ann Elizabeth McKay. Claude's original first name was Festus. He was the youngest of 11 children in the family. For Jamaicans, his family had a decent amount of money. Or Claude McKay's family was wealthy while living in Jamaica.

He left in 1914. For seventeen months he was a policeman. He really regretted this decision. He saw himself as an "agent of colonial oppression." From 1915-1918, Mckay worked as a waiter and a porter. During these years he published some of his works in magazines, such as //The Seven Arts Magazine, Pearson's,// and //The Liberator// .They had inherited land from their m other and father's parents. When he was young his older brother, who owned many English books, played the role of his teacher. When Claude McKay was twenty three years old, he published two books called __Songs of Jamaica__ and __Constab Ballads.__ They were filled with Claude McKay’s views on Black life in Jamaica. In them, he used a form of Jamaican language which is known as a patois of English. He was the first Negro to receive the medal of the Institute of the Arts and Sciences in Kingston, Jamaica. Three years after the publication of __Songs of Jamaica__, Claude McKay went to the United States of America to attend the Tuskegee Institute. After only a few months he moved to Kansas State University to further his education. At Kansas State University Claude McKay witnessed an abundance of racism. In 1917, the racism sparked Claude McKay to write two famous sonnets: __Harlem Dancer__ and __Invocation__. Along with writing about racism, Claude McKay wrote about romance, and his heritage. Some of his poetry ignited the Harlem Renaissance, such as his poem __If We Must Die__, which was written in 1919.

Claude McKay was a worldly man. He went to England, and lived for more than a year in London. In London, he wrote //Spring in New Hampshire//. From 1919 to 1922, McKay worked as an associate editor for the //Liberator// magazine. He also wrote the Harlem Shadows in 1922, which was considered a landmark of the Harlem Renaissance.

Between the years of 1922 and 1934 he lived in various places such as Great Britain, France, Russia, Germany, Morocco, and Spain. Claude McKay moved to Russia due to an interest in communism. Claude McKay started to become disinterested and disillusioned by communism, and in 1934, he moved back to the United States and lived in Harlem, New York. In Harlem, New York, Claude McKay converted to Catholicism. Overtime, Claude McKay had written over four volumes of poetry! He also had written many essays, one autobiography entitled; __A Lon____g Way from Home__, and even a novel titled __Home to Harlem__.

In 1948, Claude McKay died. He died of a tragic heart disease in Chicago, Illinois. Claude McKay's body was then sent to Woodland NY where he was buried at the Calvary Cemetery. Claude McKay lived a good life He touched many people's lives and wrote an abundance of inspirational poetry. [|5]

During Winston Churchill's address to the American Congress, he concluded his speech by quoting part of one of McKay's most famous poems, "If We Must Die" in an attempt to "encourage American aid and American entry in the fight against German Nazism." This poem was a response to the 1919 lynchings on Negroes in the South of America. "The sentiments of the poem were universal and in the historical context of a colonial power, ironic..." top of page
 * Interesting Note:**

If you liked Harlem Dancer, then you should probably read...
[|Harlem Shadows] [|The Lynching]** [|The Tired Worker] [|To O.A.E] [|Wild May] [|The Tropics of New York]** [|If We Must Die]** [|Spring in New Hampshire] - Third poem from top.** top of page
 * [|After the Winter]**
 * [|The Barrier]**
 * [|Flame-Heart]
 * [|A Memory of June]
 * [|America]
 * [|Heritage] - Second poem from top.
 * [|The City's Love] - 9th poem from top.**

Through the Eyes of the Group
//Torey// What is amazing to me about this poem is how Claude Mckay was able to take a position as looked down upon as a stripper and made this woman seem so glorious. The poem is filled with great imagery and most of all, feeling. To be able to put that much emotion and pride into writing is fantastic and makes me really enjoy this poem. //Dan// I enjoy Claude McKay's style of poetry. Leaves alot to decipher and interpret. Very powerful not only in subject but in its portrayal throughout the poem. Makes you feel connected to the dancer and want to see the best in her. Great use of literary devices such as imagery and symbolism. I preferred if we must die. Made me understand his perspective, had a more controversial topic, and was attacking in his way of writing.

//Richie// I thought this poem was interesting. It exemplified the Harlem Renaissance exquisitely. There were lots of details which made it possible to picture the scene in your head, such as the body swaying, coins tossing, and crowd staring. I prefer poems that rhyme, so this was interesting to me. Claude McKay was a great writer and I was glad to read this poem.

//Colin// The poem overall is both racy and classy. This poem celebrates the sensuous side of the Harlem Renaissance. This sensuality is different from other poems in the Harlem Renaissance because it does not mention the oppression of African-Americans, which is unique for a Renaissance poet. The only criticism I have of it is that it seems to have a lot of forced rhyming, which dissuades from the beauty of the poem. //Guy// The symbolism and imagery in the poem truly paints a picture in the reader's mind, and Claude McKay does an excellent job of making the reader feel the way he was feeling when he wrote the poem.

//Brett// This poem is extremely surreal such that it portrays the way adolescent beings act and feel. I thought Harlem Dancer was fantastic because I was able to make connections with it, relating it to real life topics going on in the world. The way Claude separates temptation from what is right is one of a kind.

//Alec// Claude McKay used a great deal of symbolism in this poem. I find it interesting because the Harlem Renaissance was very graphic, and so is this poem. But he uses the symbolism not to show oppression, but to show the good parts of the Harlem Renaissance. I also really enjoy the rhyming scheme, I think it gives the poem that little something that it needs to make it great.

//Blake// I really like the way the poem, unlike almost every other poem of the Harlem Renaissance, is not really about the hardships of African Americans. It was really nice to read a poem that wasn’t wholly depressing! However, it does deal with another aspect of humans, as opposed to war, fear of the unknown, and wanting to be superior, it deals with sex, a more over looked aspect of the Harlem Renaissance. In addition, the way he writes makes it so easy for the reader to visualize what is happening, that someone with little to no imagination could picture it. I thought it was interesting that he, in a way, admits to being at the strip club, but sort of saves himself by mentioning that he noticed that she didn’t want to be there which makes the reader over look the fact that he was there. I didn’t like the way that the rhyming seems a bit forced, which gives it that “listening to a second grade teacher read a poem to her class” feel. But, despite the strained rhyming, I really enjoyed the poem and thought that it was crafted with the mastery and care that a great painter such as the “Renaissance man,” Leonardo Da Vinci, or his Dutch counterpart, Johannes Vermeer, would put into one of their works of art. top of page