Harper's Use Of Figurative Language In The Process Of The Slave Trade.
The activist and poet, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper describes the setting in detail of the process of the slave trade. Harper illustrates, the separation of children and parents being pulled apart and are being sold to separate families as objects. He also uses figurative language through his choice of words to give an emotional response to the reader.
In the beginning half of the poem, Harper uses specific and meaningful words in order to capture the reader’s attention. For instance in line 2, “wretchedness” and in line 3 “sons of despair” as a way to not only describe the pain and the emotional damage upon the African Americans being sold to slavery, but also causes the reader to have an emotional response. By placing the reader at an emotional
In the beginning half of the poem, Harper uses specific and meaningful words in order to capture the reader’s attention. For instance in line 2, “wretchedness” and in line 3 “sons of despair” as a way to not only describe the pain and the emotional damage upon the African Americans being sold to slavery, but also causes the reader to have an emotional response. By placing the reader at an emotional