Poetry · Question
How does Poetry develop the theme of Love and Beauty?
Answer
Poetry by James Weldon Johnson develops Love and Beauty across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
Romantic and aesthetic love is celebrated in poems such as 'Ma Lady's Lips Am Like de Honey' and 'The Glory of the Day Was in Her Face,' often intertwining with nature and sensory imagery.
The Mammy's tender care and love for the children she raises is depicted as beautiful, yet bittersweet.
The witch's physical beauty and the speaker's passionate attraction are central to the poem's tension.
The poem celebrates the beloved's face, eyes, voice, and smile as embodiments of natural beauty and love.
Evidence in the book
- The Black Mammy
The Mammy's tender care and love for the children she raises is depicted as beautiful, yet bittersweet.
- The White Witch
The witch's physical beauty and the speaker's passionate attraction are central to the poem's tension.
- The Glory of the Day Was in Her Face
The poem celebrates the beloved's face, eyes, voice, and smile as embodiments of natural beauty and love.
- From the Spanish
The reunion of former lovers after two decades evokes themes of lost love and the fleeting nature of beauty.
- Before a Painting
The speaker is overcome by the beauty of the painting, which evokes a sense of love and divine presence.
- Girl of Fifteen
The speaker's admiration for the girl's beauty and youth, and the emotional response it evokes, centers on themes of love and aesthetic appreciation.
- Down by the Carib Sea
The lottery girl and dancing girl are celebrated for their beauty, allure, and the passionate, romantic encounters they inspire.
- IV: The Lottery Girl
The speaker's infatuation with the lottery girl's eyes, smile, and lips frames love as a desirable prize.
