The Harlem Renaissance saw African Americans fighting for civil rights and equality and promoting black culture and arts. Poem the Harlem Dancer was a poem written by Claude McKay, which was originally published in 1922 to illustrate some of the struggles African Americans had during the Harlem Renaissance. The poem shows how life can sometimes be controlled by external influences that cause us to lose sight our best intentions. The poem concerns a Harlem dancer who is performing for a group of men and women acting like wild animals. The focus of the men is not on the bar or having fun, but the dancer on the stage. The dancer may be having a difficult time, but she doesn’t let it show through her moves.
Line one of the Poem The Harlem dancer shows that the scene is at a bar/night club. Everyone is filling in. Line four shows how calm it is because the author describes her body as if she’s singing a peaceful, graceful song. Line two gives a more accurate description of the dancer: “Her perfect, half-clothed bodies sway.” This tells us that the line suggests that the dancer is giddy about being naked in front strangers. The poem’s author introduced the dancer as a young prostitute to show positive diction. This was considered normal in the Harlem Renaissance era, but this behavior would be unacceptable for women of higher class. Line 3: The dancer’s sound is likened to a flute. Flutes emit calmness, peace, innocence and calmness. The flute is used to symbolize innocence. Although the dancer is half-naked, something about her makes it seem innocent. This line is also a metaphor as it is comparing her gracefully to something sweet. The line also uses a metaphor that says “Blown to pieces by black players on a picnic” People think of picnics as happy, sunny, loving, happy, and innocent. This means that the dancer must have been singing a happy song because picnic is peaceful. The word Black Players was also prominent in this instance, as though it didn’t belong there.
In line 5, it says that the performer danced gracefully and calmly. This shows how she could keep calm even in chaos. Six lines describe how the light was hanging loosely around the dancer’s form. This sets the tone for the bar. This section marks the beginning of the climax. The audience becomes distracted by the light that is illuminating the dancer’s silhouette. The light could also represent the dancer. Light can be thought of as bright and visible, shining light onto her situations. The author writes in line 7 about the dancer who seemed proud – she was swaying palms. Palms are beautiful, sunny, warm and tropical. The dancer’s movement is often compared to the movements of a palm-tree, while her beauty can be compared to the beauty found in a tropical Palm.
It says that a storm is coming, and it could be either referring to the individual storms the dancer may face. This can cause a raucous atmosphere in the bar. People shout at the dancers and knock over drinks. The dancer can maintain her composure in the midst of all the chaos and let the music control her body while gracefully moving to the beat. The line 9 description of the appearance and beauty of the dancer says that it is ‘Upon the swarthy neck, black shiny curls’. Line ten reads: “Luxuriant fell; while tossing coins to praise.” This shows that she is just another toy that men can play with. The Harlem dancing star is fun to see, but she is not taken seriously.
The atmosphere at the bar has been set. Everyone is drinking and having a good time, which puts the emphasis on the dancer. Her beauty and shape make her look so stunning, and women are also intrigued. Line twelve states that she “devoured” her body with a passionate, eager gaze.
Once they are drunk, however, the men are enticed to take her home. But the dancer is well aware of this and has not given in to the temptations. The ending paragraph says, “But looking at her falsely-smiling, I knew that she wasn’t in that strange place.” This ends with the message that sometimes people forget who or what they are. Women who present themselves in a particular way will be treated as objects by men.