Poem AnalysisThe speaker in this poem is clearly sick of being privileged and pampered. They want a chance to live on the wild side. You can tell this person is sheltered and isn't aware of the real dangers of the streets by when she states,"I've stayed in the front yard all my life. I want a peek at the back... A girl gets tired of a rose". This just proves that material possessions or wealthy, privileged living isn't the key to happiness. This girl is searching for a good time in poverty stricken areas, which makes me think that she's either down to earth or rebellious. As I'm reading further I see that she just wants to be a rebellious teen by staying out late, being in a bad environment, and putting herself in high risk situations trying to hang out with kids who are jail-bound. This girl makes me think of celebrities such as Lindsey Lohan or Paris Hilton who has the world at their fingertips but decided to search for "fun" in unhealthy areas because of their sheltered upbringing. This girl isn't worried about the consequences or risks, she states,"And I'd like to be a bad woman, too,". For some reason she has some type of reverence for for the street life. She just wants to experience life for herself and is going to have to learn that the grass isn't always greener on the other side.
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Literary Devices AnalysisThroughout this poem, I've only come across a couple of literary devices; rhyme and conflict. This poem isn't deep or has a play on words, it's pretty straightforward. The entire poem has a rhyming pattern, every two lines rhyme. The conflict in this poem is that the girl is at odds with her mother. Her mother warns her of the risky lifestyle that she is trying to adapt, but the girl is stubborn. She believes that lifestyle is wonderful fun, while her mom sneers at that thought. Her mom says that Johnnie Mae will grow up to be a bad woman, to which the girl doesn't see anything wrong with that. The girl admits,"But I say it's fine, Honest, i do. And I'd like to be a bad woman, too,".
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A song in the Front Yard
BY GWENDOLYN BROOKS
I’ve stayed in the front yard all my life.
I want a peek at the back
Where it’s rough and untended and hungry weed grows.
A girl gets sick of a rose.
I want to go in the back yard now
And maybe down the alley,
To where the charity children play.
I want a good time today.
They do some wonderful things.
They have some wonderful fun.
My mother sneers, but I say it’s fine
How they don’t have to go in at quarter to nine.
My mother, she tells me that Johnnie Mae
Will grow up to be a bad woman.
That George’ll be taken to Jail soon or late
(On account of last winter he sold our back gate).
But I say it’s fine. Honest, I do.
And 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.