"Amanda Gorman ‘gutted’ after Florida school bans Biden inauguration poem"
Amanda Gorman’s poem ‘The Hill We Climb’ is a moving depiction of the United States as it was on the cusp of President Biden’s inauguration in 2021.
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Throughout ‘The Hill We Climb’ readers will encounter allusions .. https://poemanalysis.com/literary-device/allusion/ .. to contemporary society in the United States, and recent economic, social, and political issues, all through the perspective .. https://poemanalysis.com/literary-device/perspective/ .. of the poet herself. The poem was first read at the inauguration of Joe Biden as president of the United States on January 20th, 2021. Gorman acknowledges herself in the piece as a “skinny black girl” who “found herself reciting for” a president. This occasional poem follows others written and read at five previous inaugurations.
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Summary
From the beginning to the end of the poem, Gorman uses images of light and darkness, hope and fear, to describe the two opposing sides of America, those who want to divide and those who want to unify. Her image of the country is not one that’s defeated or failed but one that’s still on its way to being what its rhetoric already suggests it is. She seeks to inspire hope in those listening that a better day is dawning and that better times are ahead. In the concluding sections, the poet asks that “we,” American citizens and anyone listening to her read, be brave enough to “see” and “be” the light/hope that’s coming.
In ‘The Hill We Climb,’ the poet engages with themes of the future and past, as well as hope .. https://poemanalysis.com/poetry-explained/poetry-themes/ . The latter is the primary theme at the heart of the poem and what she wants readers and listeners to walk away from the piece feeling. She returns several times to the image of light/darkness and how America is stepping out of the “shade” and turning towards the light. She’s careful to remind the reader that this isn’t an easy path, things don’t change overnight. But, if one reaches out, puts down their arms, and allows the beauty of the country to come through, then the future is going to be a far better one than it could’ve been.
Literary and Historical Context
This piece was performed at the inauguration of President Joe Biden, the 46th President of the United States, on January 20th, 2021. It was viewed by millions on television and by a select few in person who were under the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic. The poem encapsulates the broader history of the country and its struggle for and against equal rights for all people, as well as more recent history. This includes the events that took place in the United States over the previous four years and even the weeks before the inauguration. This includes the murder of George Floyd, and other police murders throughout the last years and decades in the country’s history, the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and more.
In addition to being historically important for all Americans, Gorman’s poem had a literary significance that’s also noteworthy. She is the second he has in the past cited Maya Angelou .. https://poemanalysis.com/maya-angelou/biography/ .. as one of her primary inspirations, something that’s made even more meaningful by the fact that Angelou was the first Black and first female poet to read at a presidential inauguration.
[INSERT: "Negro failure is genetic" Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, "Unless of course ANTIFA 'members' emerge from them limos and busses with M-16's." Phillis Wheatley During a time when black people were discouraged from learning how to read and write, Phillis Wheatley, a Senegal/Gambia-born black girl who was kidnapped and sold into slavery, defied them all and published a book of poetry. She's not only the first African American to have a work of poems published (endorsed by John Hancock and George Washington), but also one of the first women to do so. Afeni Shakur, Frederick Douglass, Barack Obama, Zora Neale Hurston Like so many other great authors throughout history, Zora Neale Hurston died without knowing how powerful a leader she would become. Hurston was born in Alabama, but was adopted to New York, becoming a significant contributor of the Harlem Renaissance and an honest voice for the black experience of her time. With her candid accounts of life, writers like Ralph Ellison were inspired by her and have carried her legacy into today. Thurgood Marshall, Ta-Nehisi Coates, James Baldwin, Muhammad Ali He floated like a butterfly, stung like a bee … and went to jail for refusing to be drafted into a war he didn't believe in. You guessed it: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali made a name for himself in and out of the ring. Besides being considered one of the greatest heavyweight boxing champions of all time, Ali was a social activist, refusing to fight for something he didn't believe in Sidney Poitier, Oprah Winfrey, Harriet Tubman, Ella Baker Arranging peaceful sit-ins and collaborating with other great leaders like MLK during the civil rights movement means Ella Baker was a prominent person in black history. She was inspired by the resilient stories of life as a slave, told to her by her grandmother, that moved her forward with purpose in life. Determined to bring justice and equality to America, Baker organized pivotal events that helped put a stop to segregation and Jim Crow laws. Shirley Chisholm, Madam C.J. Walker, W.E.B. Du Bois, Maya Angelou It's an insult to call Maya Angelou simply a poet. She worked closely beside MLK (who was killed on her birthday) and Malcolm X during the civil rights movement. She acted in theater and film, while receiving dozens of honorary degrees. The title of great black American leader was just one of the many crowns worn by author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the first bestselling nonfiction book by an African American woman. https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=156195559] -------
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