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Life By Paul Laurence Dunbar Poem Analysis

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Life By Paul Laurence Dunbar Poem Analysis
A note from Vivian

A note from Vivian

My love for poetry began when I was in the seventh grade. My teacher Mr. Madura, read a poem entitled "Life", by Paul Laurence Dunbar. The poem's title caught my attention, so I listened intently, as he read the poem and I was somewhat perplex with the story. I said to myself, could life really be like this, " A crust of bread, a corner to sleep in, a minute to smile and an hour to weep in, a pint of joy, to a peck of trouble and never a laugh, but the moans come double"? When the class was over, I thought about how the Poet expressed his feelings and I assumed the poem had a lot to do with his life experiences and how he observed other people's lives, the rich, as well as the poor and was certainly endorsed by the time frame with-in he lived (1872 - 1905).

Hearing this poem awakened within me that day, the knowledge, that I also had some gifting in this area. I began to scribble lines here and there throughout my life, but I have not honestly given this gift a lot of time and attention in perfecting it to its' fullest.
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It was great to have discovered that information, but I was somewhat disturbed that this fact was not mentioned in my studies. I grew up in the 1960's and in that era, a lot of pertinent information was with-held with-in the educational system. It failed to acknowledge, the accomplishments of so many black people who have contributed greatly to the success of this country, in so many ways. Our only acknowledgement was slavery. However, in gaining this knowledge, the Poem Life brought me back to my gift of writing. It gave me the will and determination to publish my poetry and as of today I have accomplished four different

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