The Harlem dancer is a poem that celebrates the soul of african americans living in the north. In this poem, Claude Mckay is creating a festive atmosphere through the diction of party "applauding"(l1)"laughed"(l1)"voice"(l3) " sound"(l3) " flutes"(l3) "sang"(l5) "danced"(l5). The first word of this poem is "APPLAUDING" it brings the reader right into this party atmosphere ,and its written in capital letters which emphasize the importance of the word. The main attraction in this party is a dancer. She is being watched by the "laughing youths with young prostitutes". They are watching her " perfect, half -clothed body sway;". They are focusing on her body, she is also being "devoured" by these people. The verb devoured is usually used for animals. The people watching her are associated with animal characteristic. The dancer is the prey and they are the predators. The only one that seems to be looking on beyond her figure is the "me". He sees her differently than the other people "to [him] she seemed a proudly- swaying palm growing lovelier for passing through a storm." He is admiring her for not paying attention to the laughters of the young people there to watch her. She just keeps on dancing "gracefully". All of those that are making fun of her are looking down on her, for the exception of the poet. He is the only one that is putting her on the same level as him " i knew her self was not in that strange place". In this line the "her " and the "i" are on the same sentence because they are both black, and the rest of the spectators are white.
I agree with your analysis although, I have a different view on the poet's position in "The Harlem Dancer."
ReplyDeleteYou state that the author is admiring the "perfect, half- clothed body" because she is not paying attention to the laughs of the young boys and girls.
I believe that he is admiring her for a whole other reason and that the relationship between the dancer and the poet is deeper than that. The author first admires the dancer like a young boy. He gets caught in the spectacle of the perfect women swaying gracefully but then realizes that he has lost his principles and only intervenes on the last lines. He wants to get her out of this world where she "doesn't belong" but at the same time, his words are going against his thought. He only describes an ideal physical beauty which makes his last statement a bit superficial since she has no name, no face, no personality. He cannot know in which world she belongs too according to her physical traits which makes the author's judgement counterfeited.
I actually think differently, somewhat at a half way point between both of your opinions.
ReplyDeleteThe dancer is used more than anything to criticize the times, the hypocrisy of the situation in which the dancer lives. As Melanie said, the dancer, the persona, and most likely the prostitutes are black meanwhile the boys in the audience are white, coming to amuse themselves in the segregated part of town.
There is a complete descrepancy between the dancer and the audience. On the noise level, "APPLAUDING" (l.1), with its capitals, and "laughed" (l.1) show the loud and insensitive nature of the audience, in contrast with "the sound of blended flutes" (l.3) and the "palm" (l.7), that show the dancer's silent resistance. The images work with the presence of smooth natures, making the blows just slide off without effect. That same idea is shown with the idea of a mask, put into place by "gracefully and calm" (l.5) and "falsely-smiling face" (l.13) that hides the torture from the white man. The image of the "palm/ Grown lovelier for passing through a storm" (l.7-8) is used to show the common fate of the black people, demonstrated by the presence of the author with "me" (l.7) and "I" (l.14), on the dancer's same level.
Furthermore, the objectification of the dancer is not done by the persona, but by the audience. This is apparent by the nameless statute of the dancer and the focus on her "perfect, half-clothed body" (l.2). The audience's animal desire for her, shown by the verb "Devoured" (l.12) exemplifies their superficial interest, meanwhile the persona poeticizes her, making his interest go to other levels.
Finally, there's the opposition of locations. The dancer is situated in "that strange place" (l.14) while her singing evokes "a picnic day" (l.4). She is stuck in the reality where she has no hope and is downtrodden by the society, yet she still can permit the escape of her predators into better, happier times.
Thus, this sonnet is not a personal dilemma of the persona himself, nor so much a celebration of the African-American people: it criticizes the harsh reality inflicted onto this people, and uses a awe-inspiring subject to denounce it.