Power, Audre Lorde

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Klorissa Mangini November 9, 2012 Eng 113 Audre Lorde’s “Power” Audre Lorde’s poem “Power” is one full of emotion and angst. Written in 1978, the author uses her prose to speak out against an intolerable act that happened in New York City in the late 1970’s, when a little African American boy is shot down by a white cop that is later acquitted. This poem attacks the problem of racism through structure, imagery, and tone. In the first stanza, Lorde expresses the importance of putting children first. She also states the significance of “The difference between poetry and rhetoric.”(934) Poetry is a form of art in which the writer can express their thoughts metaphorically and imaginatively. While rhetoric on the other hand, uses language more effectively to persuade someone to do something. This is what Lorde is trying to do to communicate the importance of our children. The second stanza begins with two lines that provide the reader a more horrific image to really grab your attention. “I am trapped on a desert of raw gunshot wounds and a dead child dragging his shattered back.”(934) Lorde is figuratively saying she is trapped on a desert to imply her feelings towards her surrounding society. At the time of the poem (1978) our country was dealing with racial injustices and civil right issues. Humanity, in this time, is being dominated by powerful white men and Lorde feels as though society will never grow under these conditions. “…without loyalty or reason…”(935) expresses the lack of vigilance the cop had for the value of life, and the courage the people should have had to fight for the death of an innocent child. The thirst she describes is one for justice. In line 13 “trying to make power out of hatred and destruction” (935) is the power that is bestowed in some men like the officer in which they use in a negative and damaging way. The abuse of
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