Analysis of The Harlem Dancer

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two in the poem states that the youths are appreciative of watching someone who has a perfect figure who can easily be seen because she is dressed scantily or is wearing transparent clothing or is topless. They applaud her for this, viewing her perfect body as a work of art. The youths not only applaud but laugh at the movements her topless body makes as she sways.

The description of her voice to the ‘sound of blended flutes’ depicts her voice as one that is pleasing to hear, melodious and sounds like a mixture of different accents that come from mixed or exotic ancestry. The term ‘blended flutes’ delivers a different meaning when related to ‘black players’ and ‘picnic day’ from the last line of the first quatrain. ‘Black players’ are not limited to seedy strip joints and brothels and that is only a small possibly hidden part of their society and culture. A ‘picnic day’ represents fun, family, purity and clean recreational togetherness. ‘Blended flutes’ in relation to these ...

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satisfaction from her dancing. She is someone who had to endure struggle and adversity in her life and survived, although she does not outwardly show whether she endured unscathed or not inwardly, by the placement of the words in the second to last line; ‘falsely-smiling face’. Her pride and endurance relates to a line of dialogue by the character ‘The Emperor’ in the 1998 animated movie, ‘Mulan’, which is, ‘The flower that blooms in adversity is the more beautiful of all’. She has not diminished in beauty or glory due to her hardship but has ‘grown lovelier’.

The second quatrain describes her ability, grace, pride and emotional strength. This is a continuation from the ...

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