Literary Response #5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Literary Response #5 - Essay Example In Brooks’ poem ‘a song in the front yard’ she impressionistically compares her life and childhood as one of growing up the front yard. For Brooks, the front yard represents a conservative take on life, one that is in-direct opposition to the more daring backyard life experienced by other individuals, or members of her neighborhood. In her description one witnesses the subtle references to life as a member of a poor urban culture. Brooks writes, â€Å"I’d like to be a bad woman, too,/ And wear the brave stockings of night-black lace/ And strut down the streets with paint on my face† (Brooks, 18-20). While it’s definitively unclear if Brooks is referring to street hookers, one can reasonably assume this is the reference that is developed. In these regards, these concluding lines of the poem are effective in demonstrating black urban life; as such imagery is distinct to more cosmopolitan areas, and also poor urban life. Characteristic of Brooks poetry, the lines are simple and easily understood, contributing to their effectiveness in describing her particular milieu. Brooks’ advances her description of black urban life in a more concise and lyrical poem, ‘We Real Cool’. This poem adopts a structure that some might indicate is akin to beat poetry, or even jazz inspired. Through short, descriptive phrases, Brooks offers a satirical look at men who frequent a pool hall in her urban neighborhood. She writes, â€Å"We Sing sin./ We  Thin gin./ We Jazz June. We/ Die soon† (Brooks, 4-8). While the descriptive qualities of these lines and indeed the entire poem are sparse, their poetic and impressionistic quality are effective in creating a vision of the true reality of the poor urban landscape, and the perspectives contained therein, that traditional descriptive methods may not be as creatively successful in articulating. In the ‘Bean Eaters’ Brooks continues her exploration of the black urban landscape, this time examining what appears to