study guide for lyrics

• Cecil Francis Alexander Irish woman who wrote hymns in the for of children's poetry
• William Blake-innocence in experience changed children's poetry
• illuminated works- process by which Blake could etch his poems and pictures into copper
• turned children's poetry into a complex work of art
• possible to read Blake's poetry as they appear on the page
• all but The Tyger are from the innocent side
• address many challenging social issues
• illustrations are an inherent part of the text; this lead to the beginning of picture books for children
• many have religious content
• most have a simple vocabulary, short phrases with simple syntax, use familiar imagery, and use repetition and refraim
• draws from the oral tradition; not all things in works are considered for children
• verbal ambiguity, covert satire, and sexual imagery are included in these
• African American poets
• more current authors
• Maya Angelu
• Gwendolyn Brooks
• Harlem Renaissance poets- time of flowering of "Negro Arts"
• Countee Cullen
• Langston Hughes
• Hughes-thought a black artist needed to represent or give a voice to the African American experience
• Cullen-thought a black artist needed to write about more universal ideas and experiences along with the African American experience
• didn't want to be called a "Negro poet"
• Incident-an expression of African American experience of an eight-year-old boy
• Mother to Son-a mother telling her boy about her experience being an African American
• life was hard in the slums
• crystal stair would be the white woman's' experience compared to the one of an African American
• Life Doesn't Frighten Me-universal expression of an urban area
• Hunchback Girl: She Thinks of Heaven-universal experience, tells about a girl who is handicapped; doesn't have to represent a girl or a handicapped person
• prayer