Sometimes, poets are inspired by other writers’ works, and such adoption may result in a piece of literature creating. Joy Harjo is one of such authors who utilize Gwendolyn Brooks’ verse “We Real Cool” to outline the key points from Native American history in her creation “An American Sunrise.” Harjo makes it simpler for readers to access the meaning hidden in the referential verse (Neely). It is not about expansion or re-direction but rather about adoption, addition, and clarification. It is done by explaining each of the verse’s lines and building the structured piece of literature from experiences from Native American history.
Harjo tries to show in “An American Sunrise” to which events the words from Brooks’ verse are linked. It seems to be a dialogue between two, one of which gives a clue, and the second clarifies the point and adds to it. It is intended to make the form of the presentation more impressive while saving a precise initial meaning. However, the work of Harjo is not deprived of patriotism, while Brooks does not add an emotional dimension in her verse.
Brook’s work is an excellent example of such literary devices as monosyllabic lexis, internal rhyme, parallel syntax, and what is the most remarkable, enjambment. It continuously emphasizes and repeats the word “we,” making readers associate the meaning of the verse with themselves and strengthening the impression. The phrases are brief and consist of a few words of one syllable. Harjo’s work is deprived of the above-mentioned literature devices but utilizes an incomplete anaphoric form, repeating “we” at the beginning of most sentences.
Works Cited
Neely, Tucker. Gwendolyn Brooks: “We Real Cool,” Two Ways. Library of Congress, 2020, Web.